Religious “nones” are not only growing as a share of the U.S. population, but they are becoming more secular over time by a variety of measures, a fact that also is helping to make the U.S. public overall somewhat less religious, according to surveys done as part of our Religious Landscape Study.
The “nones,” a category that includes people who self-identify as atheists or agnostics, as well as those who say their religion is “nothing in particular,” now make up 23% of U.S. adults, up from 16% in 2007. But there is more to the story. To begin with, this group is not uniformly nonreligious. Most of them say they believe in God, and about a third say religion is at least somewhat important in their lives.
At the same time, between the Pew Research Center’s two Religious Landscape Studies – conducted in 2007 and 2014 – we also see consistent evidence that the “nones” are becoming less religious. For example, the share of religious “nones” who say they believe in God, while still a majority, has fallen from 70% to 61% over that seven-year period. Only 27% of “nones” are absolutely certain about God’s existence, down from 36% in 2007. And fully a third of religiously unaffiliated Americans (33%) now say they do not believe in God, up 11 percentage points over that time.
To all my religious friends questioning their faith out there let me just say, "Come join us, we open and eager to welcome you to the family."
Life without religion is a wondrous and exhilarating existence.
It's like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute but still knowing that the trip to the end will be worth the moments of uncertainty and possibly terror.
All this does is tell me how loudly the few extremists actually scream and how afraid they are of the inevitability of their being shunted aside as being superfluous, then completely ignored.
ReplyDeleteSorry Gryphen, adding religious people to join us as unchurched and disinterested in the Bible sounds too much like proselytizing to me. Have your faith, just keep it to yourself and out of public office, courts, commerce and doctors offices.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree
DeleteAgreed. Stop the atheist proselytizing.
DeleteAnonymous 4:29 AM: Sorry Gryphen …
DeleteSigh … So often … beginning a sentence with "Sorry" seems to be code for "I'm annoyed."
Have your faith …
You seem confused. Withholding belief in the absence of plausible evidence hardly qualifies as "faith".
… just keep it to yourself
As far as I can tell, he is keeping his non-belief to his own blog. You seem *REALLY* confused.
Anonymous 9:15 AM: Stop the atheist proselytizing.
Olivia wrote at 5:45 AM, "the ones remaining become increasingly manic and unhinged." … as evidenced by this anonymous individual's DEMAND.
Ted, just shut the hell up. You are a big idiot.
DeleteTed, just shut the hell up. You are a big idiot.
DeleteIs that the only response (I wouldn't call it a rebuttal) you can think of? Coming from a gutless coward who won't put his or her name on it, it means nothing except that the writer is really afraid of something.
Olivia was right.
"Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society."
ReplyDelete-- George Washington
As the numbers of people turning away from religion grow, the ones remaining become increasingly manic and unhinged. Maybe it just appears that way because it's the sane ones who are leaving.
ReplyDeleteMost Americans Believe In The Bible. Fewer Care If Their President Does.
ReplyDelete...The poll finds that a quarter of Americans think the Bible is the "actual word of God" and should be taken literally and word-for-word, while another 39 percent say the Bible is the "inspired word of God," even if it isn't meant to be taken literally. Another 26 percent say it's an ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts authored by men.
However, a solid 29 percent of respondents say it doesn't matter to them what a presidential candidate believes about the Bible, with another 11 percent saying they're not sure what effect it would have on their vote.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/americans-religious-beliefs-presidential-candidates_564507e6e4b08cda34881f6f
I grew up attending Methodist Sunday School on occasion. I never attended again from my early teens until I had children and wanted them baptized. The main impetus to baptize them was to please the grandparents. My children have no clue what the bible says. I never consciously made a decision not to attend church until George Bush became president; I just never went anymore. I have been totally turned off by evangelical bigots. I live by the Golden Rule and find spirituality in the garden.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago I went to a local meeting of individuals who considered themselves freethinkers. It was a place for nonbelievers to meet and discuss issues. Unfortunately, they immediately wanted to affiliate with a national organization. Charter, goals, statement of belief, membership.Not for me. Reminded me of everything I never liked about church. Don't like the preaching, even when it's something I believe in.
ReplyDeleteGryphen is the most obnoxious preachy atheist one may ever see.
ReplyDeleteGryphen is the most obnoxious preachy atheist one may ever see.
DeleteAnonymous 6:43 PM, afraid of the dark, and lashing out.