Independent Thought and Secular Belief

I won’t touch the correlation/causation elephant, but here’s what I’m seeing from this new pew publication that looks at a how secular beliefs in the United States have changed over the last 10 years. First an opinion/observation:

1. Republicans are the least open-minded (they consider it a plus).
2. Democrats are more open, but still are bound to a label.
3. Independents have the fewest barriers to free-thinking.

And here’s how the trend breaks down:

So basically, the trend towards secular beliefs goes right down the same exact lines. The expected result.