Contrary to the standard secularization story, recent U.S. survey data suggest weekly religious attendance increases with educational attainment (e.g., CES 2022–2023: 23% among high‑school grads vs 30% among those with graduate degrees). Philip Schwadel’s work is cited to show each additional year of education raises the likelihood of service attendance. Parallel signs of revival are reported in Europe and the UK, alongside a sharp decline in progressive mainline denominations.
— If religion is resurging among the educated, it rewrites expectations about who shapes faith‑based civic life and policy, and complicates culture‑war assumptions about religion versus elite education.
Joel Kotkin
2025.10.15
100% relevant
The article’s claim that the 85,000‑respondent Cooperative Election Study shows higher weekly attendance among graduate‑degree holders, plus Schwadel’s finding that each year of education increases attendance odds by ~15%.
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