India Uncut

In response to this, which was a response to this, Suresh Venkatasubramanian of The Geomblog writes in:

[T]here have been recent reports of the Air Force academy enforcing a 'de facto religion': evangelical christianity, on its cadets, with cadets of other faiths feeling discriminated against.

Religion is a far stronger presence in the US than it may appear in 'liberal enclaves'.

Well, we've never heard of corresponding pressures in the NDA, have we? I used to think that as societies grow more and more prosperous and advanced, the hold of religion decreases. But clearly it isn't quite as simple as that.

Update: Moments after I put up this post, Suresh wrote in again:

[I] went back and re-read the article and your post. Now that I think about it, I really strongly disagree with the sense that religion is not a big deal in the US. It is in fact a huge deal, and in many ways has always been this way. Richard Hofstadter's book "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life" is a tour de force that links the vibrant evangelical community that developed in the US very quickly after colonization with anti-intellectual forces that stood opposed to the 'high church' of the north-eastern protestant groups.

Today's brouhahas over evolution and the like are mere windows onto this ferment: now with a supreme court spot open and abortion in peril, you'll see even more of it.