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A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.
Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said.
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults last year, down from 43 percent in 1990. At the same time, however, Catholics grew to about one-third of the adult population in California and Texas, and one-quarter of Floridians, largely due to Latino immigration, according to the research.
Nationally, Catholics remain the largest religious group, with 57 million people saying they belong to the church. The tradition gained 11 million followers since 1990, but its share of the population fell by about a percentage point to 25 percent.
Christians who aren't Catholic also are a declining segment of the country.
In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population.
The report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through November of last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points. The findings are part of a series of studies on American religion by the program that will later look more closely at reasons behind the trends.
The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.
About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal God at the core of monotheistic faiths. And, since 1990, a slightly greater share of respondents _ 1.2 percent _ said they were part of new religious movements, including Scientology, Wicca and Santeria.
The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either don't belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious group.
Respondents who called themselves "non-denominational Christian" grew from 0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year. Congregations that most often use the term are megachurches considered "seeker sensitive." They use rock style music and less structured prayer to attract people who don't usually attend church. Researchers also found a small increase in those who prefer being called evangelical or born-again, rather than claim membership in a denomination.
Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34 percent of all American adults and 45 percent of all Christians and Catholics, the study found. Researchers found that 18 percent of Catholics consider themselves born-again or evangelical, and nearly 39 percent of mainline Protestants prefer those labels. Many mainline Protestant groups are riven by conflict over how they should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships, salvation and other issues.
The percentage of Pentecostals remained mostly steady since 1990 at 3.5 percent, a surprising finding considering the dramatic spread of the tradition worldwide. Pentecostals are known for a spirited form of Christianity that includes speaking in tongues and a belief in modern-day miracles.
Mormon numbers also held steady over the period at 1.4 percent of the population, while the number of Jews who described themselves as religiously observant continued to drop, from 1.8 percent in 1990 to 1.2 percent, or 2.7 million people, last year. Researchers plan a broader survey on people who consider themselves culturally Jewish but aren't religious.
The study found that the percentage of Americans who identified themselves as Muslim grew to 0.6 percent of the population, while growth in Eastern religions such as Buddhism slightly slowed.
True. But i guess they are highlighting the rise in the non-religious percentage, 8.2% in 1990, then to 14.2% in 2001, and now up to 15% in '09. Almost doubles in 20 years . . . . almost
Post by SouthGA_Festival Machine on Mar 9, 2009 22:19:51 GMT -5
I have no religion and wasn't included in the surveys, so the percentage just went up.
EDIT: And there's an ad at the top of this page for "The God Who Wasn't There" DVD. I'm taking that as a sign from god that I'm right to not believe in him. ;D
Why the bad rap on religion? The fundamentals, the overlying principles and the lessons taught by religion are fantastic. They supply a moral code and hope for people of all walks of life. We become bigots by criticizing religion because of the radicals who take their practice too far while overlooking those who follow religious codes for good. The major religious icons (Jesus, Moses, Siddhartha, etc.) led lives which we should all learn from. Plus, all of the tiny, yet incredible, miracles in life seem to point to the existence of some type of higher being.
Sure some people follow religious texts and rules waaaaay too much, but what's wrong with being a bit religious and spiritual?
Post by Fishing Maniac on Mar 9, 2009 23:07:43 GMT -5
This is great. I was just on a tour of a church today that is looking to expand their multimedia/video systems that they use for worship. We had a meeting with its pastor and several of my colleagues discussing why their church was growing rapidly while so many others are failing. I'm going to forward this article to my coworkers. A lot of this information is relevant.
Why the bad rap on religion? The fundamentals, the overlying principles and the lessons taught by religion are fantastic. They supply a moral code and hope for people of all walks of life. We become bigots by criticizing religion because of the radicals who take their practice too far while overlooking those who follow religious codes for good. The major religious icons (Jesus, Moses, Siddhartha, etc.) led lives which we should all learn from. Plus, all of the tiny, yet incredible, miracles in life seem to point to the existence of some type of higher being.
Sure some people follow religious texts and rules waaaaay too much, but what's wrong with being a bit religious and spiritual?
Well, I guess there isn't too much wrong with not having organized religion. The risk of blind faith and bigotry will lessen. But then again, there's a few reasons why I see religion is necessary. I'll get into a couple of them.
1. Religion teaches ethics and morals. Moral codes are necessary in society. Without a code to govern what's right and wrong, who's to stop an "eye for an eye" or "life for an eye" mentality? Now you can say the government can. However, the basic fundamentals of most governments (if not all) are deeply rooted in local religious beliefs. If you look at what the main crimes and taboos are in the States (theft, murder, adultry, etc.), they're extremely similar to the the 10 Commandments. Now although the constitution calls for the seperation of church and state, the two are undoubtly bound together. The church supplies basic human rights which the government takes as laws, and the government doesn't create too many more laws going against these basic principles. Now if we were to take away religion, ethics and morals would be governed by the government. Personally, I'd rather live in a society whose basic ideals revolve around good-intentioned teachings, than one run by corrupt, power-hungry politicians.
2. There are many philosophers and arguments showing that God exists. There are many events, miracles, etc. (how incredible is it that the universe, the planet and humankind exist? The chances just seem too improbable to be purely coincidence.) that show people that there is probably a God up there. Even great logical and analytical minds such as Einstein believed in God. With the belief in God, there needs to be some kind of spiritual community for believers to voice their ideas, ask and answer questions, etc. This is in turn the formation of a sort of religion.
Now I completely agree that there's no need for big time religion. It is easy to see how Christianity and Islam have become tools for mass control. Also, lots of the dumb little practices (going to church, celebrating holidays, fasting, etc.) are pretty useless. However, there needs to be a spiritual aspect to humanity.
In Congress, everyone of them claims to be "a Christian", with maybe a couple of exceptions. Actually only one, I think (I could be wrong). There is a Muslim.
The most ethical and moral person I know, who has the best set of values I've ever seen, is not religious and does not believe in any deity. He does, however, believe in social responsibility.
I'm out of this thread now, before it gets the way threads get....
Also, lots of the dumb little practices (going to church, celebrating holidays, fasting, etc.) are pretty useless. However, there needs to be a spiritual aspect to humanity
The going to church, celebrating holidays, ect. are only dumb when they are divorced from the spiritual aspect. I have been a member of the Pagan community for a while now, and have found so much joy in celebrating the holidays and congregating with like minded people. The holidays are a way to mark time and remind me to watch the Earth and Her many moods/seasons. That being said, you do not have to be into any religion to be a good person. But even the most diehard atheists/agnostics who have "social responsibility" are generally leaning towards Humanism, a belief system in itself.
Yeah, don't get me wrong. Of course you can be a good, hell great, person without following organized religion. My point is that for some people, religion is necessary and we shouldn't criticize it because of what some radicals do.
I just followed a couple of nice little thoughts I had. Whatever leads people to living out good lives, is totally fine with me. But for some, that thing is religion, so let's give those people a chance.
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Also, lots of the dumb little practices (going to church, celebrating holidays, fasting, etc.) are pretty useless.
See - they may be useless to you - because you don't believe as someone like I do but - they are not useless to me - they help me refocus and regain the energy I need to face the next week of conflict and chaos. For me an organized church service is the calm before the storm.
That being said - I also do not feel the need to be in a church every single Sunday. I like to go to church to re-energize but I don't thin kthat I have to be in church for God to know that I believe in him.
1. Religion teaches ethics and morals. Moral codes are necessary in society. Without a code to govern what's right and wrong, who's to stop an "eye for an eye" or "life for an eye" mentality? Now you can say the government can. However, the basic fundamentals of most governments (if not all) are deeply rooted in local religious beliefs. If you look at what the main crimes and taboos are in the States (theft, murder, adultry, etc.), they're extremely similar to the the 10 Commandments. Now although the constitution calls for the seperation of church and state, the two are undoubtly bound together. The church supplies basic human rights which the government takes as laws, and the government doesn't create too many more laws going against these basic principles. Now if we were to take away religion, ethics and morals would be governed by the government. Personally, I'd rather live in a society whose basic ideals revolve around good-intentioned teachings, than one run by corrupt, power-hungry politicians.
2. There are many philosophers and arguments showing that God exists. There are many events, miracles, etc. (how incredible is it that the universe, the planet and humankind exist? The chances just seem too improbable to be purely coincidence.) that show people that there is probably a God up there. Even great logical and analytical minds such as Einstein believed in God. With the belief in God, there needs to be some kind of spiritual community for believers to voice their ideas, ask and answer questions, etc. This is in turn the formation of a sort of religion.
1) You do not need god(s) to develop a system of morality. Man wrote the bible and the 10 commandments (among other religious based laws). Fear of eternal damnation is a poor reason to not do something. Simply thinking of what we can do to improve society and help each other is (imo) a much more rational and sane way to develop these rules.
2) There are just as many that show the opposite. And the burden of proof is on the believer, not the unbeliever. I am not aware of any scientifically documented miracles. Just because you/we/humanity is not certain of how the earth came to be, does not mean that a god created it. Of course, that leads to the next question of what created god - and if the answer is "(s)he's always been there!" then why can't that answer apply to physical matter? Why over complicate things?
I have an aunt. Once, she was on this religious pilgrimage and told me she was in a crowd and they all saw the sun spin in the sky. Now, if the sun had actually spun around in the sky, it would be headline news on every media outlet for weeks. That said, the event was real to her. She asked me if I believed her, and all i could say was that I believe she believes sun spin in the sky that afternoon.
1) You do not need god(s) to develop a system of morality. Man wrote the bible and the 10 commandments (among other religious based laws). Fear of eternal damnation is a poor reason to not do something. Simply thinking of what we can do to improve society and help each other is (imo) a much more rational and sane way to develop these rules.
2) There are just as many that show the opposite. And the burden of proof is on the believer, not the unbeliever. I am not aware of any scientifically documented miracles. Just because you/we/humanity is not certain of how the earth came to be, does not mean that a god created it. Of course, that leads to the next question of what created god - and if the answer is "(s)he's always been there!" then why can't that answer apply to physical matter? Why over complicate things?
^^This was pretty much what I was going to say, and more eloquently I might add.
I don't need the threat of eternal damnation to scare me into acting a certain way. Some people do.
The thing that I don't like about organized religion is that it is run by ordinary people and therefore interpreted by ordinary people. For example: eating meat on Friday used to be a damnable offense. If you had a burger on Friday night, you were going to hell. Nowadays, no big deal. How did that happen? They just decided to change the criteria of eternal damnation?
Last Edit: Mar 10, 2009 9:07:05 GMT -5 by MrKC - Back to Top
theres nothing wrong with having/sharing a religion. I actually feel it is a very important thing for society. some people just need that guidance.
on that note...... add me to the no religion list.
*sigh* I hate debates about religion however I will say while I understand why some people need/want it I believe organized religion is the downfall of society.
I am also on the no religion list even though I was baptized/confirmed catholic
I was an atheist alter boy - how's that for buying the express ticket early hey, I had to go, might as well do something to pass the time.
the scary part of that article was that nearly half the christians in the country are evengelical or pentecostal - pardon my generalization - but they are the really dangerous ones.
I was an atheist alter boy - how's that for buying the express ticket early hey, I had to go, might as well do something to pass the time.
the scary part of that article was that nearly half the christians in the country are evengelical or pentecostal - pardon my generalization - but they are the really dangerous ones.
The thing that I don't like about organized religion is that it is run by ordinary people and therefore interpreted by ordinary people. For example: eating meat on Friday used to be a damnable offense. If you had a burger on Friday night, you were going to hell. Nowadays, no big deal. How did that happen? They just decided to change the criteria of eternal damnation?
The sin was not in eating meat on a Friday, it was in deliberately violating one of the Precepts of the Church.
Deliberately violating a Precept of the Church is a grave sin. That has always been the case.