>"If matters of good and evil are not to be resolved by an omniscient God in the future, then Americans will judge and render punishment now. We are a nation of believers. If only Americans could begin believing in politics less fervently, realizing instead that life is elsewhere. But this would come at a cost—because to believe in politics also means believing we can, and probably should, be better"
I think the author is part of a group of largely public intellectuals in the US who have subscribed to the theory of "religion is the opium of the people, but that's a good thing".
Yes, the loss of religion does away with a glue that in some sense kept a sort of false peace intact. Injustices can no longer be explained away with metaphysical explanations, superficial alliances under the banner of faith cannot be maintained. The people who stand to lose from this are the kind of people who write these op-eds. People who benefit from delaying conflict. The people who stand to benefit from the loss of religion are the people who need some justice in this world, not in the next one.