A more secularist America?

Another piece of interesting news comes from Andrew Sullivan, who links us to his Times of London article on atheism in America. A chunk of text he quotes on his blog:

It's a reminder to exercise a little skepticism when you hear of America’s religious exceptionalism. Yes, America is far more devout than most of western Europe; but it is not immune to the broader crises facing established religion in the West. The days when America’s leading intellectuals contained a strong cadre of serious Christians are over. There is no Thomas Merton in our day; no Reinhold Niebuhr, Walker Percy or Flannery O’Connor. In the arguments spawned by the new atheist wave, the Christian respondents have been underwhelming.

I did research on the topic very recently, for a short two-session course named "Politics and Religion in America" which I liked very much. The paper I wrote was on the return of the Religious (Christian) Right to the fore of political debate in the United States during the Bush years. I have always been interested in the roots of American religiosity, which becomes so conspicuous when compared to the European societies. The above article is a piece of good news for me.