Not Barack Obama the man, mind you. Barack Obama the idea. Which, in fairness, is true. The evolutionary “flash point” in question is called religious worship and it happened a long time ago; the cult of The One, of which Smith is evidently a proud member, is just the political example du jour. But whatever: After watching Demi Moore pledge to “serve our president” and Tony Bennett encourage people to support him in whatever he does, no amount of celebrity bootlicking should surprise anyone.

Instead, and since it’s semi-related, let me use this post to open discussion on something that’s been bugging me all day. How to explain this trend from Pew’s new survey on Americans and faith?

Supernatural experiences are also up over time, although not quite this sharply: 17 percent reported having them in 1990 but 29 percent claim to have them now. I’m at a total loss to explain it. Any theories? Click the image to watch.