The % of Americans who claim no religion has nearly doubled in 18 years.

[rocketpig]

akuma587 said:
I don't really think there was ever any kind of real collectivity in the world. Different cultures have waged war against each other and themselves for thousands of years, and have hated each other for thousands of years.

In all honesty we probably better understand each other now than we ever have. I think it is also overemphasized that the individual was at some point in history more in tune with the rest of his society. The conflict between society and the individual is the natural result of any kind of society. And if anything, earlier societies unwillingness to respect the individual (well, besides the individuals who actually had power) probably made things much more disjointed then than now.

All the indigent farmers (the majority of society for a long time) throughout history were no more connected to the rest of the world than anyone today. Most of them just wanted to be left alone and not be terrorized by thieves or the government.

Untrue. Our world has created a situation where no one is dependent on another single person. Even those indigent farmers still needed nomadic traders to bring them wood, metal, and supplies that they could not furnish themselves. Within a sparse trading world, a community was still formed.