Over the past quarter century, deep changes in religious life and public policy have converged in ways that have transformed both. But aside from some attention to the increasing significance of spirituality and the growing political activism of religious conservatives, the news media have generally failed to grasp the scale and scope of what may be the most important and fundamental alteration in the character of American public life since the disestablishment of religion in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
Denominational structures are in eclipse.
Congregations are now only one of many settings in which believers practice their beliefs. Clergy are as likely to be called to ministries in care-giving, service provision, and agency management as in traditional pastorates. Since organized religion and faith communities have a long history of commitment to the needs of the dependent and disabled, the increasing importance of faith-based service provision has not been regarded as anything new or different. But there are other reasons, the most important of which have to do with the architecture of public perception. Because for more than half a century we have looked to Washington as the center and source of power, influence, and change, we are simply not equipped to monitor or assess large-scale shifts when they begin to unfold elsewhere.