Kenneth D. Wald

Kenneth D. Wald is a professor of political science at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He has written and contributed to numerous books on religion and politics, including Religion and Politics in the United States, from which the following viewpoint is excerpted. Wald asserts that religion remains an important force in the United States as measured by church attendance, surveys on religious beliefs, and other indicators. The vast majority of Americans profess belief in the central assumptions of Christianity in particular, including belief in God, the divinity of Jesus, and the reality of life after death. The vitality of religion in America disproves the hypothesis that religion inevitably declines as a society undergoes modernization, Wald contends.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What “naive understanding” of secularization does Wald argue is proven invalid...