How 2021 Collapsed the Divide Between Religion and Politics

The Year of Our Lord 2021 began with the hopeful conviction that it could not possibly be worse than the pandemic year of 2020, which this time last year I called a good year for bad religion. Somehow, we all now know, 2021 was even worse. Of course there were hopeful stories about interfaith cooperation, love of neighbor and resilience in the face of a continuing coronavirus pandemic. Off the front pages, believers everywhere said prayers, sang hymns and read Scripture -- as they always have and always will.