I guess it depends on exactly what you define as counter culture. If it’d just identifying as having some kind of religious affiliation with no actual participation or beliefs, then it’s not counter culture but is getting close. If it’s actually participating and actively attending religious services, it is absolutely counter-culture.
I think that a reasonable definition of counterculture is moving against the dominant culture, rather than just doing something uncommon. And if this is it, it absolutely can't be defined as counterculture.
Look at a country as religious as the US - even if it's seemingly getting barely less religious than before, the dominant culture is absolutely run by religion. A political candidate, let alone a presidential candidate who's openly non-religious would almost always be seen as an abhorrent non-starter. Public servants swear on Bibles and school children recite a mantra to prove their belief in a "nation under God". Basically the entire ideological landscape is run by religion, from the issues that people talk about to the stances they take on them. You don't even have to be religious to be influenced by all this. It doesn't really matter if a believer is committed enough to go to a church, all of them are contributing at least a little bit.
And then, just as my own unrelated opinion... the thing we associate with counterculture was always a radical disregard for arbitrary standards, an ability to pinpoint and reject the things in the world that are unjustly enforced by society. In that way, doing anything religious can never be counterculture - how can you envision a rebel with a capacity to question everything wholeheartedly believing a system of preconceived dogma?
This misses the bigger point of my argument. The whole reason why abortion is seen as this religious issue is the system of religious thought that's ingrained in American society. It was created as a wedge issue for religious voters, and this system grew so much that nowadays it's seen as this intrinsically religion-dividing issue, as if it's just natural for it to be this way. The reason why you (and possibly the mayor) see opening a clinic as this big act of secularism is because the underlying religion is deeply integrated into their community.
And the second half of my argument still stands. Someday, religion may become a minority ideology. But it will never be a rebellious counterculture.
No the overwhelming majority of the city loves aborting children. Being pro-life is not a majority opinion whatsoever. Maybe you live in the rural south, I live in a Democrat-lead blue city.
