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{"id":236,"date":"2015-01-16T17:37:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T17:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2015\/01\/the-increasingly-irrelevant-christian-primary.html"},"modified":"2015-01-16T17:37:00","modified_gmt":"2015-01-16T17:37:00","slug":"the-increasingly-irrelevant-christian-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2015\/01\/the-increasingly-irrelevant-christian-primary.html","title":{"rendered":"The Increasingly Irrelevant Christian Primary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yeah, no, especially when it comes to politics. We really don\u2019t need more moral instruction and biblical exhortation from elected leaders. Most indicators of social dysfunction\u2014<\/a>such as crime, sexual assault, and bullying\u2014are declining. When it comes to politics, what we need is restrained spending, reduced and simplified regulation and taxation, and an embrace of social tolerance that allows diverse individuals to peacefully get on with their lives. If Republicans choose to nominate a candidate who talks as if voters are sinners in the hand of an angry God, they will alienate independents and even conservatives who are forming a large and growing \u201c leave us alone coalition<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Americans turn away from religion, the hot-button issues that once divided voters are finding wide acceptance. Nearly 40% of Americans are \u201cunchurched\u201d and \u201cessentially secular,\u201d says religion researcher David Kinnaman, who oversaw a 2014 survey of more than 20,000 respondents. That\u2019s only going to continue. Baby boomers are less devout than their parents, and Gen-Xers and Millennials are less observant still. <\/p>\n

Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"