Once again I think that Stephen has a fair point and I agree with some of what you posted. But there is another aspect of this that I think...maybe not dominates... but is the most significant individual factor among many in America.
On reflection I think Stephen made an excellent point, and actually a rather scary one as the implication would be that for most matters of policy or democratic choice - the decision is based upon faith in the agency presenting the choices rather than even a basic level of rational understanding.
I guess I take it for granted to have at least a basic grasp of the world around me, but if one thinks of the response most people will give to something as basic as how an electric light (generally taken for granted) works - most might get as far as "electricity" - which is just a convenient label for the defense of their ignorance. That is despite the fact that the generation and transmission of electricity can be (and is) taught to teenagers and incandescent bulbs (at least) are hardly more complex.
That said - I also do not fully understand how an electric light works notwithstanding I can fill more time and use more words than most to do so. For instance I can't say I'm comfortable I fully understand what an electron
is... or how resistive heating causes photons to be released.
America is by far the most religious country of the First World and one has to search out countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and such to find places where religion is so strong and has so many of extreme beliefs. America was founded by religious extremists (2 of my relatives came here straight from prison in England because of their religious beliefs on the 2nd ship to colonize New England) and it still dominates a significant part of the discourse here. Openly avowed religious beliefs are a prerequisite to high government office in this country which was supposedly founded on freedom of religion. Religion permeates everything and is a significant factor in all aspects of our culture.
Religion is interesting to introduce - and yet, I'm not sure if it's that simple a divide. Given the point Stephen made above - if people do not truly understand the science, they are choosing to place faith in science and scientists just as surely as if it was another religion. If they can not or will not understand the science, they are just accepting and believing in the facts just as surely as if they came from a religious text book. To such people, it is just as valid to believe a scientist as a preacher? Indeed - there is no difference between the two in this case!
And if you don't like the message, that undermines it - as liking and agreeing with the message - moderated by the indoctrinations your society projected onto you - is a requirement for people not using a scientific method to understand their world (most people). To be fair it isn't practical to apply scientific analysis to every single fact one encounters and even knowledgeable and rational people can easily fall into adopting scientifically invalid information if enough peers repeat it (plenty of common urban myths provide an example).
The prime way religion interferes with science is that science is based upon rational thought and verifiable/repeatable facts. Religion is subjective and requires not proof but rather the ability to suspend rational thought. Two incompatible things. What is tending to hold America back right now is the innate conflict between reason and faith. For those who are very religious faith will out under almost all circumstances. In other words reason is loosing at this point. And since religious faith is so wide spread that is what accounts for those high numbers of evolution deniers in the those non-Republican voting blocks.
Here too, I'm not sure it's quite that simple. Religions provide sets of rules and frameworks people can use to
rationally view the world. Those rules often come in books that are provided as "proof". Is this so different from taking a working knowledge of basic physics and applying it to the world? I cannot pretend to understand how the equations I might use were arrived at, or even what they really mean - they are a tool I can apply, but not a tool I can claim full understanding of by any means? For most people it is perhaps just as rational to say "because the bible says so" as to say "because the laws of thermodynamics say so". The anthropomorphism of deities makes the religious stuff more accessible in some ways!
I also caution that for many people their religion is a very real thing. They may truly experience psychosomatic effects that convince them of the reality of their beliefs (even visions, voices, sensations). They can accumulate a lifetime of experience from which they select memories and information that reinforces their world view and makes it ever stronger (religion tends to be strongest in the old).
Combine a lot of religion, an education system degrading, a disinterested populace, clever messaging on a variety of fronts, and voila. Here we are. A big generalization on my part I admit, but comments about culture are always generalizations. Having lived in Europe for 5 years and traveled to most parts of the world the religiosity of America compared to other countries has always really struck me. And I think it has grown over the last 40 years as I don't remember it being as strong when I was 20.
I think there's still plenty of religion left in Europe - but it tends to be quieter and less politically active. I'm not convinced religion is growing in the US inasmuch it is something there I associate with people quite a bit older than me (as a general rule), though I'll grant religion does seem stronger there.
I actually think the dominant force in the US is the ideology of individualistic consumerist capitalism. That is what seems to drive the nation and that is what seems to drive how people vote. Even (and especially?!) those claiming to be Christians - for whom their religion should be all about loving their neighbour as themselves - are happy to vote in favour of regimes that take away support from the poor and favour an increasingly unequal society.
That said, I grant that one can easily find peripheral (but still significant) areas of debate that undoubtedly are heavily influenced by religion in the US:
- same sex marriage
- prohibition of most recreational drugs
- abortion
Unfortunately, even the adverse effects of climate change will have a rational religious explanation. It is the end times - the final war between good and evil - the second coming - judgement day... prophesied for centuries, informed to us by god... want to argue with that?
