Ben Shapiro, the former editor of Daily Wire, analyzed a new study that found a correlation between religious belief and indicators of a successful life, such as education level and marital status.
Shapiro discussed the theory during his podcast on Tuesday, referring to a study by the political scientist Ryan Burge, who specializes in studying religion in American culture. According to Burge’s recent Substack article, religion in the U.S. has become an enclave for individuals with college degrees, stable marriages and children, and middle-class income.
Burge presented a chart indicating that as education levels rise, so does religious practice or belief to some extent. Shapiro replied that this contradicts what we’ve been told. It contradicted the media’s usual portrayal of religious Americans.
Shapiro said that the media suggests that the most educated individuals tend not to attend church, while the least educated individuals constantly tend to attend church, which doesn’t seem true. The facts show that married individuals attend religious services much higher than those who are not married.
According to Burge, churches should be more open and welcome people who don’t have successful lives. Shapiro mentioned an alternative method of interpreting the data, saying one could read it in reverse.
Shapiro made the point that the standards our society’s elite have set for themselves in terms of marriage, parenting, wealth, and education differ from those they’ve imposed on the rest of the population. And it is evident in the social science data. Shapiro referenced Charles Murray’s landmark book Coming Apart.
He mentioned that the media was promoting a narrative of success that contradicted reality, expressing concern about the negative impact this message had on society.
Shapiro said that if you observe the media or the government’s treatment of this, it is exactly the opposite. They claim that the individuals most likely to succeed in our society are unmarried women who graduated from Berkeley, have no children, and hold negative views toward God and the church.
According to Shapiro, you would believe those individuals are more likely to achieve success if you listened to the media.
