Idealism may exist especially
in young adults because they have not experienced decade upon decade of the intractability
of a deeply flawed social, political, and economic world’s status quo, which typically
permits only incremental change. Zealous optimism can be expressed in a variety
of domains, including religion, social issues, and politics. For example, political
group-affiliation can stimulate a more intense devotion to religion, and vice
versa. Even a passion on social agendas can translate into increased religiosity,
and the latter can overreach onto the former. It can be asked of such instances
whether the religiosity is genuine, or merely transferred energetic enthusiasm
from another domain. The upsurge in religiosity among young Republican men polled
by Gallup in the mid-2020s may be more political than religious. Relative to
the growing numbers of non-religious-affiliated people in the U.S. as well as
the E.U., the uptick among young Republicans should be put into perspective.
The full essay is at "Religiousity among Young Republican Men."