The Economist - USA (2021-07-10)

TheEconomistJuly10th 2021 UnitedStates 29

P

oliticiansexaggerate, butun derstatementisa rarerquality.When inJuneMittRomneywitheringlylikened theconspiracytheorythatlastyear’s presidentialelectionwasstolentopro fessionalwrestling,theRepublican senatorfromUtahmightnothavereal isedquitehowaptthecomparisonis. Wrestlingandconspiracytheorieshave muchincommon.Bothtellimprobable storiesofcartoonvillainsandlarger thanlifeheroes.Convolutedbutcom pellingplotlinesarewoventogetherto createa worldofdramaandintrigue moreengagingthanhumdrumreality. Theyevensharesomeofthesamecast. Bignamesfromthepast,suchasVal VenisandChrisJericho,havebecome enthusiasticconspiracytheorists.Given howmanychairstotheheadwrestlers takeovera career,perhapsthisisnot surprising.Andsomehavesteppedinto politics.Jesse“TheBody”Ventura,a wrestlerandformergovernorofMinne sota,oncehostedatvshowinvestigating claimsthattheciahadbeenturning citizensintoassassinswithhypnosis, andthatoilcompaniescausedtheDeep waterHorizonoilspillin 2010 toproﬁt fromthecleanup.AlexJones,thefoun derofInfowars,aninternetpurveyorof bogusconspiracytheoriesanduseless supplements,wasa frequentguest.The show’scohostfora timewasJuneSar pong,laterdirectorofcreativediversity atthebbc, Britain’spublicbroadcaster. Occasionallywrestlers’conspiratorial beliefsseepoutintotherealworld.In 2013,immediatelyaftertheBostonMara thonbombing,GovernorDevalPatrickof

Massachusettswasaskedata presscon ferenceif theattackwasa “falseflag”, conspiracytheoristlingoforanoper ationdeliberatelydesignedtoimplicate aninnocentparty.Thequestionerwas “Bionic”DanBidondi,anInfowars“re porter”andsemiprowrestler.InMay WorldWrestlingEntertainmentcutties withDrakeWuertz,a referee.Hiscon spiratorialbeliefshadreceivedsome attentioninthesport’spress,butbecome impossibletoignorewhenheberateda Floridaschoolboardoveritsmaskman datewitha passionusuallyreservedfor thering,sayingit “playsintothehands” ofchildsextraffickers. Thetwoworldsalsoshareanomertà likecode.Wrestlers’commitmentto “kayfabe”,theimperativenevertobreak characterincaseit rupturesthesuspen sionofdisbelief,occasionallyborderson ludicrous.TheWildSamoans,a tagteam duo,weretravellingwithfellowwrestler Terry“HulkHogan”Bolleawhena state trooperdiscoveredMrBollea’sunregis teredfirearm.Accordingtowrestlinglore theWildSamoanssaidnothing—their charactersdidnotspeakEnglish,so neitherwouldthey. MrJones,whoseshowoncehosted DonaldTrump(himselfa participantin Wrestlemania23),seemstolivebya similarcode.Ina hearingoverthecusto dyofhischildren,hislawyersuggested thathisrantsaboutthedeepstateand 9/11shouldbediscountedasevidence becausehewasreallya “performance artist”.Hislawyermightouthim,butMr Joneswouldneverbreakkayfabe.His credibilityandlivelihooddependonit.

Conspiracies

Wrestling withcommon sense

America’sfavouriteformoftheatreoverlapswithconspiracytheoriesandpolitics

Religiousaﬃliations

Noneoftheabove

I

napril 1966 Timemagazinestirredout rageinAmericawhenitpublisheda cov erstoryasking“IsGodDead?”,morethan 80 yearsafterNietzschehaddeclaredHim tobe so.TodayAmerican religionlooks lessexceptional.Accordingtoa recentsur veybyGallup,a pollster,forthefirsttimea majorityofAmericansdonotbelongtoa church.“Weareofficiallylivingina pagan nation,”rued theeditorofone Catholic magazine.Pollstersattributetheslumpin church membership to the rise of the “nones” or religiously unaffiliated, who nowrepresentathirdofthepopulation. Yetit isa subgroupofthenones,thosewho believein“nothinginparticular”,thatis redrawingAmerica’sreligiouslandscape. Thoughusuallylumpedinwithathe ists andagnosticsunder the religiously unaffiliatedcategory,nothinginparticu larsarea distinctreligiousgroup.Theyare twiceasnumerousasatheistsandagnos tics—nearly one in four Americans are nothinginparticulars—and are growing faster than any religious group. As the crypticnamesuggests,theirdefiningchar acteristicisanaversiontobeingdefined. “Theydonotwanttobepinneddown,” saysRyanBurge,a socialscientistandau thorof“TheNones”.Insomewaystheyare remarkably average: unlike atheistsand agnostics,whoarepredominantlyyounger men,theyaremorelikelytobemiddle aged,andarejustaslikelytobewomenas men.Themajorityofnothinginparticu larsbelieveinGod,anda thirdofthemat tendchurchsporadically.Yettheyrejectal legianceto anyreligiousgroup andare scepticalofinstitutionalauthorities.Wari nesstowardsthecovid19vaccineisanex

ampleofthistendency. Mr Burge says nothinginparticulars arealienatedfromsocietyinmoreways thanjust religiousaffiliation.Theyhave thelowesteducationalattainmentofany bigreligiousgroup—onlyoneinfivehavea bachelor’sdegreeorhigherqualification. Nearly60%makelessthan$50,000a year. Whenit comestopoliticstheyleanneither right, like most white evangelicals, nor left,likeatheistsorblackProtestants.(On lya thirdofthemvotedforDonaldTrump accordingtoMrBurge’sanalysisoftheCo operativeElectionStudy.)Theyrarelytake partinpoliticalactivities,suchasattend ingaprotest,donatingmoneytoacam paignorevenputtingupa signintheyard. “Apathy is the big word that comes to mind,”saysMrBurge.

WhereasChristianityhasdwindledin America,nothinginparticularsaregrow ing at a breathtaking pace. Since 2008, whensocialscientistsﬁrstbegantracking them,theirrankshaveswelledby60%.Mr Burgereckonstherearetworeasonsfor their rise. First, as America’s religious makeupchanges,itisbecomingmoreac ceptablenottoidentifyasa Christian.It couldbethattheiremergenceislessabout peopleleavingorganisedreligionthanre vealingtheywereneverreallypartofit. Nothinginparticulars arelargelydrawn fromthatsegmentofAmericanswhohave becomedisaﬀectedastheyhaveseentheir economicprospectssinkwithrecessions andthelossofwellpaidbluecollarjobs. “Theyarejustleftoutofsociety,sortof driftinginspace,”MrBurgesays.n

N EWPORT America’sfastest-growingreligionis neitheratheistnorchurchgoing

The Weber forecast United States, church membership*, %

Source: Gallup

*Adults who are members of a church, synagogue or mosque

80

70

60

50

40

2010200090807060501937

The Economist - USA (2021-07-10)

Get our desktop app

Company

Features

Documentation

Resources