American incivility and polarization has a myriad of causes. The causes that concern me the most are our lack of a shared understanding of objective truth, the marginalization and exploitation of faith, and our isolation from our neighbors and fellow citizens. I have already written on the loss of objective truth. Right now I want to write on the marginalization and, conversely, the exploitation of faith.
In a conservative communities like Utah affords, you can hear the lamentation of how the freedom of religion is under attack and this concern is not unfounded.
In the later half of the 20th century, the nation started to embrace the idea of separation of church and state. In many facets, this was a good thing. For example, schools could not refuse to discuss the ideas of evolution and other non-biblical theories about how the world was created and some state laws and local ordinances that tried to enshrine forms of Christianity as a official faith were overturned.
However, as with any movement, moderation did not apply and the pendulum likely swung too far. Whether the inflection point was losing prayer in public or some other step away from religion, I do not know and I have not done enough research to define that point. Regardless, the point we have reached is one where more and more Americans do not affiliate with religion at all.
On the other side, reading twitter provides a host of people who either are having their faith exploited by people seeking power or people who are trying to exploit the faith of others to obtain power. In some cases, people of seemingly genuine faith are duped into believing that leaders and celebrities are baby eating lizard people or that the leader being pushed on faith leaders is an incarnation of the Lord. There are the pushers as well, those who make outlandish claims that everything is a conspiracy gains Christians and votes are stolen and changed in massively and well orchestrated frauds...
Sidebar: If the Democrats and the Federal government were well organized enough to steal 7+ million votes over multiple states while not making the elections of rank and file Republican congressmen, senators, and state leaders null in the same elections, you would think they would be well enough organized to succeed in trying at least one of the 91 criminal cases that have been charges against the anointed party leader. I digress.
Admittedly, I am not a good enough writer to get this thought fully formed and fleshed out. However, the most important points are 1.) Shared moral standard that Americans once shared because of shared communions and congregations no longer exist. 2.) Power structures that once existed by virtue of shared moral standards have crumbled. 3.) People who reject faith rhetorically attack the need of faith in the public sphere, and 4.) people of faith are ready to physically fight for a return of the moral standards that once ruled out country.
If we are no longer forming communities around local churches or faiths, we need to find ways to build communities around something else.This maybe one of the most difficult problems we face. Social causes and political party activity can only form partisan communities, and from such partisan communities can only spring forth contention - first rhetorical (we have this now) and then actual contention.
