That's how Rome fell

Mindless religiosity leading to a denial of reality brought about the fall of the Roman Empire (at least according to some historians).
The US leads the world in both scientific research and in a popular denial of science on both sides of the political spectrum.
The Liberals' War on Science:
...81 percent of Democrats but only 49 percent of Republicans believe that Earth is getting warmer...
...progressive liberals tend to be antinuclear because of the waste-disposal problem, anti–fossil fuels because of global warming, antihydroelectric because dams disrupt river ecosystems, and anti–wind power because of avian fatalities. The underlying current is “everything natural is good” and “everything unnatural is bad.”