They found out most of the countries studied had become more religious. but between 2007 and 2020, the overwhelming majority became less religious. the standout in the recent studies is the u.s. of a. for a long time america was the outlier in showing that rich, advanced countries can still be religious. in recent years though, it has been reversing course to dramatic effect. since 2007 the u.s. has been secularizing more rapidly than any other country for which we have data, notes ingle heart. adding by one recognized widely criteria it now ranks as the 12th least religious country in the world. inglehart explains this secularization has many causes, mostly related to the decline of group norms, wxxxxs of control and rise of individualism. and here s the interesting part. as the broad place is taking place in the u.s., it s coinciding with increased polarization. so the picture that emerges is of a country that is rapidly secularizing but at the same time seeing a strong backlash to t