The "Observant vs. Secular" Divide

Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect made an interesting point on the PBS Newshour 4-8-05. Here are some edited comments:

HAROLD MEYERSON: We've in essence replaced the old rift between Protestants and Catholics, which was a huge source of political tension in this country in the
last part of the 19th and the first part of the 20th century. That's been replaced now by a tension between the more religiously observant and the more non-religiously secular. And the pope had become kind of a unifying figure for the more religiously observant. (No matter what your own personal religious belief.) There's a kind of new dividing line, which isn't Protestant/Catholic but more observant secular and this Republican coalition that George W. Bush heads is very invested in the growth, the care, and the feeding of this observant coalition. It's a very important part of the Republican coalition.