For the first time in 80 years, the number of Americans with dedicated church attendance has fallen below 50%. According to a Gallup poll released Monday, only 47% of those polled confirmed that they are members of a religious body. This is quite a decline from previous years of polling, which saw the number hover around the 70% mark for several decades. Unsurprisingly, the downward trend began around the dawn of the new century.

In the past few years especially, the secular religion of politics has become an obsession. On the Left and Right, adherence to a political philosophy can overshadow, or at the very least compete with, all other long-held beliefs. While the shift didn't suddenly begin in 2008, it was certainly pushed further along by Barack Obama's presidency. In response to his eight years in office, the Right searched for an answer that would stem the tide of progressivism. President Donald Trump created his own revival among the GOP faithful. Many religious conservatives even found a deep connection between his election victory and the idea that God would save the nation through him. But political allegiance isn't the same as spiritual, no matter how closely they resemble one another.