Reports of American Religiosity Greatly Exaggerated

Michael Brendan Dougherty looks at recent suggestions that "American religiosity [is] responsible for making atheists unhappy" and suggests instead that "all people with firm convictions about metaphysical questions — religious and atheist alike — feel alienated from American society" — I Want to Believe (Just Not Too Much). Says the author, "American society may be too religious for atheists, but it’s a religion too shallow for many of the religious."

Rod Dreher, in linking to the article, wonders whether "Americans treat faith as a vaccine: we get just enough of the stuff to prevent our souls from being 'infected' by the real thing" — Lord, help me believe -- but not just yet.