The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages. The same trends are seen among whites, blacks and Latinos; among both college graduates and adults with only a high school education; and among women as well as men.
To be sure, the United States remains home to more Christians than any other country in the world, and a large majority of Americans – roughly seven-in-ten – continue to identify with some branch of the Christian faith.1 But the major new survey of more than 35,000 Americans by the Pew Research Center finds that the percentage of adults (ages 18 and older) who describe themselves as Christians has dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years, from 78.4% in an equally massive Pew Research survey in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014. Over the same period, the percentage of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated – describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – has jumped more than six points, from 16.1% to 22.8%. And the share of Americans who identify with non-Christian faiths also has inched up, rising 1.2 percentage points, from 4.7% in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014. Growth has been especially great among Muslims and Hindus, albeit from a very low base.
It is such a great time to be alive.
I have been waiting for this change since I was a child, and to see it happening right before my eyes is perhaps the most gratifying thing I have ever witnessed.
In my own personal opinion we simply cannot advance as a society until we throw off the shackles of superstition, and the fear that it uses to control our citizens.
It's a great trend, for which we should be grateful.
ReplyDeleteIt still leaves a huge majority in leadership positions, Congress, state legistatures, and town councils who are evangelical Christians who believe the bible, not the Constitution is the foundation of the USA.
These people, some very well meaning, are as superstitious as peasants from the Middle ages, and their mythology informs every decision in their lives.
The real problem is their relentless effort to force everyone else to live by their standards, by passing laws based on religious views.
I believe it will take at least another 2-300 years before there's critical mass enough to overcome the theocrats in the USA.
With well over a billion Muslims world wide, I seriously doubt that religion will ever be reduced to a minority role in the nations it now holds sway over.
The death throes are going to be ugly though and happen over the next 2-3 generations. Check out this eejit as a start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3VbKEJYdv8&feature=youtu.be Scaring the crap out of kids so they can "catch em" while they're young.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that the number of non-believers is higher than the polls suggest. Many are unwilling to fess up to that given the discrimination that exists in many areas & can lead to loss of jobs, shunning, hate & prothlysizing to get them back in the fold. It's easier to stay silent or claim to be Christian on polls.
ReplyDeleteIt gives me hope for the future, but it won't be easy to root out all the ChristoFacsists in all local, state & federal governments, the military & schools across the nation. It took them a long time to get in & it'll take more than apathy for them to be kicked out. We all have to stand up & speak out.
Yes! California!!
ReplyDeletehttp://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7270488
The "Pew" research shows that fewer folks are sitting in their pews, Well, it's about time. I follow along with my kids when they speak to people, we raised them as humanists, and a term that I used years ago keeps coming up. "Jesus Freaks". I rarely get into the topic of religion, because I'm sick and tired of people trying to convert others to their pitiful way of life. but when and if it does, my kids LOVE to argue with them and they never compromise nor give in. It's hard for them to open themselves up to this bullshit, but I'm proud they and their friends have the guts to go at it point by point. Our daughter is engaged to a great young man who happens to be a Presbyterian and we have no problems whatsoever with him nor his family. Our other daughter, on the other hand, is engaged to a Roman Catholic, and it's unfortunate for his parents because they can't stand her guts, drew a line and said "If you marry her we'll no longer consider you our son" As sad and pathetic as that sounds, it shows how grounded in their faith they are. Never give your kids an ultimatum, the parents rarely get their way.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I read a news story like this, I go and Google "Church buildings for sale." And there are a LOT of real estate web sites selling unneeded or excess church buildings! Even in sub-belt states where the population is growing. OK, some are being sold by churches that boosted tehir ranks and want to move to a bigger edifice. On the other hand, some are being sold by churches hit and hit big by sexual abuse judgements. Warms my heart.....
ReplyDeleteTom, in FL
Today an Angus Reid poll (national polling co. in Canada) found that 26% of Canadians are not religious, AND a further 40% are ambilvalent about religion. Interesting, isn't it, that the citizens of a country whose economic and social policies show that we actually care about our fellow man are less inclined to believe in the sky fairy than the corporate, every-man-for-himself U.S.
ReplyDeleteAnyone read the expert analysis from Pew researchers on the future of religion around the globe? From Dr. Jack Goldstone:
ReplyDelete"Now, overall, I think sociologists jumped the gun in the 19th and early 20th century when we said the growth of modernization will bring with it secularization and a decline in religious belief. That really has not been what we’ve seen. Yes, in certain countries, particularly where the laïcité is pursued vigorously. If you have a government that says religious enthusiasm is dangerous and we’re trying to drive it out of the school system and drive it out of the public’s fear, you get more unaffiliated groups but that’s the exception. In Africa, in America, freedom has led people to be free in choosing their religion and committing to it. In Russia, after the decline of communism, we saw a surge of affiliation with the Orthodox Church. One of the nice things about the report is that honestly, well, if China should loosen its attitude toward enforcing Communism, might there be interruption of religious faith in China as well? I think there probably will be.
I think what we’re seeing in this report is that the idea that religion would fade as the world became more modern is just one of those beliefs that doesn’t correspond anymore to reality. People want religion. They need religion and they will follow religion with the choice of which religion varying with their background in different parts of the world."