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Although we differ on the specifics, both of us believe in hell. This makes us part of a shrinking majority. Only 59 percent of Americans today believe in hell. That\u2019s down from 71 percent in 2001. But these figures, while striking, fail to capture the remarkable shift currently underway in the United States. No one talks about hell much anymore, at least not publicly\u2014not even religious people. We\u2019ve both attended weekly religious services for most of our adult lives, and there\u2019s just no other way to put it: Hell comes up less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hannah Arendt<\/a> was one of the few modern philosophers who grasped the political consequences of losing belief in hell, writing, \u201cThe most significant consequence of the secularization of the modern age may well be the elimination from public life, along with religion, of the only political element in traditional religion, the fear of hell.\u201d The contemporary retreat from hell has any number of causes, many of them understandable. As pastor Robert Golding notes, modern people find the concept of hell \u201cillogical, unnecessary, and cruel.\u201d Innovations in criminal justice now emphasize rehabilitation over mere punishment and bristle at the thought that anyone\u2014even hardened criminals\u2014deserves endless punishment or, worse, death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many readers will, no doubt, scoff at this idea. They might protest, \u201cI could never believe in hell!\u201d That\u2019s okay. We\u2019re not going to try to convince you to believe in it. One need not believe in hell to grasp its importance or its utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the good of our democracy, you should want your religious neighbours to take their belief in hell more seriously\u2014not less. And even if you don\u2019t believe in hell, you should take some time to ponder its political utility and ask yourself how you intend to make up for its absence in your own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Hell can be good for democracy because it helps us delay judgment until some unspecified point in the future, allowing us to "chill." \n\nMy essay in @commentmag with @matthewkaemingk adapted from our new book CAN RELIGION SAVE DEMOCRACY? 🧵\n\nhttps:\/\/t.co\/6cqdSCgRvE<\/p>— Shadi Hamid (@shadihamid) October 13, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\n