Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
What Did We Learn November 3?

What Did We Learn November 3?

Last updated on: November 7, 2026 at 5:49 pm by Richard Ostling

0 Comments

What Did We Learn November 3? 2026-11-07T17:49:21-05:00 Richard Ostling

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Crosses with American flags symbolize church and state / tedmcdonald @ pixabay.com

Pundits are mostly speaking with one voice about this week’s Democratic sweep, which is historic by any measure. “A completely new reality.” “The map was remade.” “Generational wipeout.” “Beyond the wildest dreams.” “Political earthquake.” “Absolutely brutal.” “Unimaginable.” “Gargantuan shift in power.” A neologism: “Blue-nami.” And the moldy standby: “The American people have spoken.”

Then more partisan voices: “The Donald Trump era is over.” “The absolute worst might for JD Vance.” “Trump Republicans are losing America.” “This country is furious with Republicans.” “A massive vote of no confidence.” “Stunning rebuke.” “Things are about to get a lot uglier,” and an ominous “lawyer up!”

Diversity is increased. Most notable is the first Muslim Senator, Abdul el-Sayed of Michigan, who will join a new high of seven in the House: the re-elected Lateefah Simon and Aisha Wahab (California), André Carson (Indiana), Rashida Tlaib (Michigan), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), and newcomers Adam Hamawy (New Jersey) and Darializa Avila Chevalier (New York).

Other Firsts

The nation’s and Georgia’s first elected female Black governor is Keisha Lance Bottoms, along with the first Black governors in Florida (Byron Donalds) and Wisconsin (David Crowley), and the first female governors in Minnesota (Amy Klobuchar), Ohio (Amy Acton), and Tennessee (Marsha Blackburn). The appointed Darline Graham was South Carolina’s first female Senator, defeated by the first elected female, Annie Andrews. Female first-timers scored numerous House victories. Gina Hinojosa will be the first Hispanic governor in Texas. Deb Holland (New Mexico) is the first Native American female governor, and Peggy Flanagan (Minnesota) the first elected to the Senate. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire is the first openly gay Senator.

Simultaneously, a singularly ugly campaign exposed an unsettling underside of American pluralism. Muslims, both new immigrants and established citizens, objected that they were lumped with terrorists in collective and persistent Islamophobia while Jews said criticisms of Israel blurred into antisemitism.

Amid parties’ celebration or mourning, what does the election mean for the victors? One commentator wondered “are Democrats winning, or Republicans losing?” Some are saying that now “Democrats have to deliver” or “need to get to work on their agenda.”

The Numbers

At this writing, the authoritative Associated Press count says Democrats will have 54 Senators with Alaska and Mississippi still undecided, at least 254 of the 435 House seats with leads in eight more, and a generational increase to at least 28 governors who encompass three-fourths of the U.S. population and will influence the 2028 elections. Down-ballot, the National Association of State Legislatures tabulates that Democrats moved from control of 39 legislative chambers to 51, while Republicans dropped from 58 to 46. Democrats look likely to control two chambers in 24 states and in 22 of them also have the governor.

A couple of other numbers this election year also deserve emphasis. In January, the Gallup Poll reported that its surveys during the past year asked a total of 13,000 U.S. adults, “Do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent?” Independents have steadily gained support in the 21st century, reaching an all-time high of 45%.

Despite this week’s triumphs, Democrats must reckon with the reality that Gallup finds only a pathetic 27% of Americans identify with their party any longer. The Republicans, so hapless and demoralized at this juncture, claim an identical 27%. The two-party system the nation solidified under Lincoln 162 years ago has eroded, with both parties weakened, power flowing to the right and left wings from a collapsing center, and to non-party activists. No credible replacement is on the horizon. Recent developments, including riots, signal similar disillusionment and instability in such democracies as Britain, France, Germany, Poland, and Israel.

Bold Scenario

At this point, The Religion Guy boldly wonders: To what extent does the ailing American body politic affect – and perhaps also reflect — the dynamics in the nation’s religious culture? More specifically, does this relate to how Protestantism in this historically Protestant culture has been reconfigured?

At the height of post-war American religious prosperity in 1955, Jewish sociologist Will Herberg wrote the highly influential book “Protestant – Catholic – Jew.” He depicted the three religions as celebrating and consolidating a shared affirmation of “the American Way of Life” even as they exercised religious freedom for their separate faiths. Religions may compete, but they unify the nation when robust. That era turned out to be the apogee of what’s called “mainline” Protestantism, which had enjoyed dominant influence for centuries but was about to enter an era of unprecedented and unremitting decline that continues to this day.

There were also robust “evangelical” denominations, notably the vast Southern Baptist Convention. But the “mainline” groups contained vigorous conservative sectors that were part of the broader evangelical movement and had something of a moderating effect. One of the barely-noticed phenomena of recent times is the collapse of these conservative wings within mainline groups as they moved leftward on the Bible, sexual morality, and, to some extent, politics. This made the mainline weaker and less pluralistic, while more of evangelicalism withdrew behind sectarian barriers wary of American culture.

Independents Arise

Accompanying that trend was the rise, also barely noticed, of totally independent self-governing local congregations, mostly evangelical, with no ties to the historic Protestant denominations right or left. The most recent Religion Census (conducted by scholarly experts, not government) counts 44,319 such congregations with 21,095,641 followers, far outnumbering the Southern Baptists as U.S. Protestantism’s largest definable bloc.

The independents range from conventional churches and megachurches to partisan Trump fan bases to unstable or eccentric celebrity empires to e.g. Cleveland’s LifeWorks Church, whose pastor last week revealed his polygamy while his stepdaughter accused him of sexual abuse. Then there is Missouri’s Faith Walk Ministry, where in September federal prosecutors charged pastors with a $1.9 million fraud scheme using 40 pandemic relief accounts.

As in politics, the Christian left and right wings and the independents exercise power at the expense of the mainstream middle, with a loss of mutual interaction and respect. Sound familiar?

Progressive Christian

General Christian

Politics and Religion

Uncategorized

"Mainline" Protestant

"Protestant - Catholic - Jew"

Previous Post

October 23, 2026

Why Are U.S. Religious Labels So Complicated?

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"(First off, a correction: telescopes were invented about 1,300 years after Ptolemy's death.)Skeptics have been ..."

Ray Ingles

UFO buzz: Will life on distant ..."

"NIPs... spurn labels and are averse to “organized religion” with its expectations about moral lifestyles ..."

Ray Ingles

How do categories differ among America’s ..."

"Atheists are those who are certain God does not exist, and the same for all ..."

Brian Westley

How do categories differ among America’s ..."

"We already know what happens, Christianity is the only worldview that has completely answered all ..."

Lekrikrekral

Why doesn’t the Bible mention dinosaurs?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Solomon Samuel David Eli