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by WILL FOLKS
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We’ve published several stories recently about the shady cast of characters purporting to represent the interests of the Almighty before the South Carolina General Assembly.
These false prophets have been beating their Bibles and blaring their indignation against a proposed private sector gaming project – neglecting to mention the tens of millions of dollars their Christian colleges and universities have been raking in from a state-sanctioned government gambling monopoly.
“Scripture warns against unjust gain,” one of these pharisees said recently.
Unless government is cutting the Bible Thumpers in on the racket, apparently…
Astoundingly, the mainstream media in South Carolina has chosen to completely ignore this abject hypocrisy… a curious hall pass to give these Temple moneychangers considering the hostility with which the liberal press has traditionally viewed evangelicals.
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What gives? Perhaps the media have realized religion is making a comeback (although I’d argue that’s all the more reason to call out those who exploit it for political gain).
Last February, Pew Research Center released data from its latest Religious Landscape Study, which concluded “after many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off – at least temporarily.”
After significant declines, Pew researchers found the percentage of our population identifying as Christian remained stable between 2019 and 2024 – hovering between 60% and 64%. Last November, Pew provided updated state-level data from its study. According to those findings, South Carolina ranked No. 2 nationally – trailing only Mississippi as the “most religious state” in America.
Obviously, this would not be a typical “thank God for Mississippi” situation – as the invocation of the Palmetto State’s unofficial motto in this context could portend bad tidings.
Anyway, a total of 46% of South Carolinians were “highly religious,” according to Pew – including 71% who believed with “absolute certainty” in God, 57% who prayed daily, 55% who said religion was important in their lives and 47% who attended church at least monthly.
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Breaking down the numbers, in 2024 77% of South Carolinians identified as Christians – including 39% who were evangelical protestants, 17% who were historically black protestants, 13% who were mainline protestants and 7% who were Catholic. Those numbers are roughly equivalent to 2014, when 78% of South Carolinians identified as Christians – including 35% who were evangelical protestants, 16% who were mainline protestants, 15% who were historically black protestants and 10% who were Catholic.
The percentage of South Carolinians religiously unaffiliated (i.e. atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”) actually declined from 2014 to 2025 – dipping from 19% to 16% – while the percentage of those identifying with another religion increased from 3% to 6%.
Nationally, that figure jumped to 7.1% in 2024 – up from 5.9% in 2014.
The resurgence of religious engagement in America is a distinctly positive development, from my perspective.
“There is a clear correlation between the decline of worship and many of the problems our nation is facing – including a breakdown of the traditional family unit and the redefining (or rather un-defining) of sexuality and societal norms,” I noted in a post five years ago.
Certainly, I’m not advocating for government-imposed morality – just fundamental fairness. Although, as I noted in that same column “the further our society strays from a core code of ethics the less in touch we are with the sense of shared humanity – and collective respect – we desperately need if we are to survive as a civilization.”
Sadly, all too often those purporting to embody that “core code” are the very ones exploiting it… one reason our media outlet remains committed to exposing corruption in all institutions (including religious ones).
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
No coincidence that the two most religious states are also the two stupidest states.