Robert Putnam, How Religion is Reshaping America

Over the past 50 years, religion in America has radically transformed. The 1960s saw a drop in religious observance and spurred a conservative reaction that, over the next 20 years, created the Religious Right. In the 1990s, younger generations, put off by the deepening link between faith and conservative politics, began to abandon organized religion altogether. Because it has long inspired volunteerism, philanthropy, and community engagement, the decline of religion threatens to impoverish civic health. But despite these trends, religious tolerance seems to be on the rise: up to one-half of all American marriages are interfaith; even deeply religious Americans believe people of other faiths can go to heaven; and one-third of Americans have switched religions. Where does religion stand today, and what does it mean for our civic health? In an event co-presented with UCLA’s Center for Civil Society, groundbreaking political scientist Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone and the forthcoming American Grace, visited Zócalo to chat with UCLA’s Bill Parent and ask whether Americans can get past the new religious divide, and what the future holds for religious life in America.