Religion and democracy: Could going to church actually save the US?

The God-shaped void

Real talk: the vibes in American politics are officially off. We’re more polarized than ever, and a new book, Can Religion Save Democracy?, suggests we might be looking for solutions in the wrong places. Authors Matthew Kaemingk, a conservative evangelical, and Shadi Hamid, a liberal Muslim writer, argue that as people have exited religious spaces in droves, they haven't actually left their intense moral passions behind. Instead, that energy is being dumped straight into the political arena, creating a new kind of secular fundamentalism.

Politics as a cult

It’s giving… fanaticism. The authors point out that when we lose the structure of organized religion—which historically helped temper our base instincts and encouraged community trust—our need for belonging doesn't just evaporate. It moves to the ballot box. Think about the quasi-religious fervor surrounding political figures or the "us vs. them" dogmas of various social movements. According to the book, this shift has turned scripture and faith into political weapons rather than tools for moral constraint.

The liberal pivot

So, what’s the move? The authors aren't necessarily trying to convert nonbelievers or make you start chanting in a pew. They’re issuing a challenge to liberals and secular Americans: stop dismissing religion as a threat. They argue that liberals actually played a part in this mess by writing off religious institutions, which left a power vacuum that more extreme voices were happy to fill.

Instead of dunking on the devout, the authors suggest we should be more curious and respectful. For the religious, that means leaning back into congregations. For the non-religious, it might mean borrowing some of those "prayer-like" practices—like meditating on forgiveness or recognizing that maybe, just maybe, earthly politics shouldn't be our entire personality.

Why it matters

If we’re going to stop our democratic norms from fully nose-diving, the authors claim we need to rebuild the "third spaces" that churches once provided. By treating religion with curiosity rather than contempt, we might just find a way to make our politics a little less fanatical and a lot more human. Say less.