"still go to church'.    Sorry, that is at least 100% drivel.   I wonder if the poster is an atheist--and if atheists will ever give up ascribing all the ills of the world to religion. Even not learning songs? The idea sounds like a self-parody of paranoid atheists.

Folkies in general are not very religious.   Those who are are lopsidedly on the liberal side of the spectrum.


The more likely explanation of the spread of the RUS plague in the US is the well known US worship--of efficiency.   Why learn songs when you can get a book and read them straight out of the book?


Also, distances are greater in the US, so for some it's not easy to find a group of folks who like to sing folk-type stuff (whatever that is) within easy driving distance. So on the rare occasion they can come together, it would be nice to sing together--that is, the same words at the same time. You can also have instant community-in-a-box. Just pour it--the idea--out and add RUS--no fuss, no muss.

To be continued