Here's a synopsis of what Wilcox's article is about:
While many social conservatives have focused attention on Obama’s
liberal social commitments, few have considered what effects an
expanded welfare state will have on religious belief—or how these
religious effects will in turn impact civic virtue, personal
responsibility, altruism, or solidarity. If the European experience
with the welfare state and religion is any indication, the Obama
revolution could well lead the United States down the secular path
already trod by Europe.
Also, consider this excerpt:
A
recent study of 33 countries around the world
by Anthony Gill and Erik Lundsgaarde, political scientists at the
University of Washington, indicates that there is an inverse
relationship between state welfare spending and religiosity.
Specifically, they found that countries with larger welfare states had
markedly lower levels of religious attendance, had higher rates of
citizens indicating no religious affiliation whatsoever, and their
people took less comfort in religion in general. In their words,
“Countries with higher levels of per capita welfare have a proclivity
for less religious participation and tend to have higher percentages of
non-religious individuals.”