Young Americans Might Just End Religious Divisiveness in America

If you flip on the TV or scroll through social media, it’s easy to see America has become a divided place. But a recent study conducted by MTV andPRRI of a cross-section of young millennials and members of Generation Z found that the up-and-coming generation no longer views faith as something that divides communities.

The respondents were asked about whether they feel the country is divided over things like politics, wealth, race and religion.Though they overwhelmingly said politics divide (77 percent), a majority said wealthcauses division (57 percent) and half saw race as a dividing factor in America. Just 38percent felt America was currently divided by religion.

Part of the reason why this is so significantis because it represents a significant culturalshift compared to recent generations: 2016research from the University of Minnesota(which featured more older Americans thanthe MTV study) found most people believedreligion was actually more divisive than racein America.

Considering that other studies have found that nearly 80 percent of the same demographic say they believe in God and a majority say religion is important to them, the attitude shift could mean in the future, religion won’t fade out of American life, but instead will become something that is no longer so culturally divisive.