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Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds

scourge99

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Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds - USATODAY.com

Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds

When it comes to religion, the USA is now land of the freelancers.

The percentage. of people who call themselves in some way Christian has dropped more than 11% in a generation. The faithful have scattered out of their traditional bases: The Bible Belt is less Baptist. The Rust Belt is less Catholic. And everywhere, more people are exploring spiritual frontiers — or falling off the faith map completely.

...

Among the key findings in the 2008 survey:

• So many Americans claim no religion at all (15%, up from 8% in 1990), that this category now outranks every other major U.S. religious group except Catholics and Baptists. In a nation that has long been mostly Christian, "the challenge to Christianity … does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion," the report concludes.

• Catholic strongholds in New England and the Midwest have faded as immigrants, retirees and young job-seekers have moved to the Sun Belt. While bishops from the Midwest to Massachusetts close down or consolidate historic parishes, those in the South are scrambling to serve increasing numbers of worshipers.

• Baptists, 15.8% of those surveyed, are down from 19.3% in 1990. Mainline Protestant denominations, once socially dominant, have seen sharp declines: The percentage of Methodists, for example, dropped from 8% to 5%.

• The percentage of those who choose a generic label, calling themselves simply Christian, Protestant, non-denominational, evangelical or "born again," was 14.2%, about the same as in 1990.

• Jewish numbers showed a steady decline, from 1.8% in 1990 to 1.2% today. The percentage of Muslims, while still slim, has doubled, from 0.3% to 0.6%. Analysts within both groups suggest those numbers understate the groups' populations.

`Oh dear,' says God, `I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly disappears in a puff of logic.

:lol:
 
Lol, maybe in the future it'll mirror Europe.
 
Lol, maybe in the future scourge99 will realize that constantly bashing religion makes him look bitter and insecure.
 
Any theories on why the numbers are less?
 
Any theories on why the numbers are less?

You'll find that the more educated a nation is the less religious it becomes. The USA is an anomoly though. Maybe it is the poor state of your public schools and only a fraction of the population gets to go to your great standard of Universities.

But it is great to see non-religious people are growing in the US. Gives me hope for the future.
 
You'll find that the more educated a nation is the less religious it becomes. The USA is an anomoly though. Maybe it is the poor state of your public schools and only a fraction of the population gets to go to your great standard of Universities.

But it is great to see non-religious people are growing in the US. Gives me hope for the future.

I would be interested to see the demographics on religion among educated people only... such as those with an undergraduate degree or higher. I'm not calling on you for evidence because I believe you and know this to be true. Just saying.
 
I would be interested to see the demographics on religion among educated people only... such as those with an undergraduate degree or higher. I'm not calling on you for evidence because I believe you and know this to be true. Just saying.

There is stats, I can't remember where on the net that shows that the more educated you are the less likely you are to be religious or at least hold weak religious views. There of course always exceptions.
 
Lol, maybe in the future scourge99 will realize that constantly bashing religion makes him look bitter and insecure.

Attacking me will not invalidate the integrity of the statistics presented. Your frustration and defensiveness concerning the matter is perhaps understandable but entirely misdirected.
 
Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds - USATODAY.com



`Oh dear,' says God, `I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly disappears in a puff of logic.

:lol:
This doesn't prove that there are less Christians, only that less of them go to church.

Revelations 3:14: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17: Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
 
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My kingdom is not of this world.

so gtfo with your statistics
 
This doesn't prove that there are less Christians, only that less of them go to church.

A practicing Christian is someone that generally attends church at least semi-regularly.

Otherwise, one could argue that the vast majority of western Europeans are Christian because they identify themselves as so despite the low church attendance there.

Its been a trend for some time here in the America that the number of people that are "Religious" is declining while the number of people that are "Spiritual" is increasing.
 
This doesn't prove that there are less Christians, only that less of them go to church.

Where do you get that?

I missed the part in the article where it says "people are going to church less" rather then "less people are calling themselves [enter religion]".
 
Attacking me will not invalidate the integrity of the statistics presented. Your frustration and defensiveness concerning the matter is perhaps understandable but entirely misdirected.

I am no more frustrated and defensive than I am surprised. ;)
 
Lol, maybe in the future it'll mirror Europe.

What? Overrun by muslims? Hope not.

I can't even imagine the American Feminazi tolerating a burka, though the scenery would be much improved if we could get them to cover up.
 
I can't even imagine the American Feminazi tolerating a burka, though the scenery would be much improved if we could get them to cover up.

:roll:

Can we not have one thread where people do not go back into Islam or are people just incapable? :doh
 
Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds - USATODAY.com

`Oh dear,' says God, `I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly disappears in a puff of logic.

:lol:

I'm a pretty religious guy that has stopped going to church because I'm frustrated with the direction churches these days are taking. for example, the music is terrible. this pop-praise music makes my soul feel like it's dying. another example: world missions. I don't understand why churches send a family to some other country when it primarily enriches the lives of that family. meanwhile the neighborhood around the church is falling apart. they should just send money to a pre-existing agency that helps impoverished nations.

I realize this is just anecdotal, but I do know dozens of people like me. many of them are older and more traditional. they've stopped going to church as their churches have become less traditional. I like pipe organs and 100-year-old hymns. but good luck finding an active church with young families where these traditions are still fully intact. finding a balance with new and old is difficult. as a result people are leaving their churches, or not going.

young people nowadays have access to information, like no previous generation ever has. their generation is unlike previous generations, whom accepted tradition until they broke free from it, or continued.

I could see how a teen or a twenty-something could have spirituality be a large part of their own personal experience, as they read books about zen, tibetan buddhism, sufism, etc. but they could still answer "no religion" in response to this survey.

`Oh dear,' says scourge, `I hadn't thought of that,' and his premise promptly disappears in a puff of logic.
 
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GarzaUK posted(There is stats, I can't remember where on the net that shows that the more educated you are the less likely you are to be religious or at least hold weak religious views. There of course always exceptions.)

Quote(There is stats,) This perhaps should have read 'There ARE stats', is denotes singular, whereas are denotes plural.

With regards to religion IMO the various organized faiths have only themselves to blame for the reduction of adherents.
Perhaps the poll question should have been 'Do you believe in God?'.
Organized religion is a joke, it appears to exist for the purpose of extracting money from the faithful as well as providing means with which faith organizers can indulge in sexual practice with either the adherents or their children.
 
Where do you get that?

I missed the part in the article where it says "people are going to church less" rather then "less people are calling themselves [enter religion]".
That's the way the article read to me.
 
That's the way the article read to me.

The study addressed self-identification, not church attendance

The percentage. of people who call themselves in some way Christian has dropped more than 11% in a generation

[...]

So many Americans claim no religion at all (15%, up from 8% in 1990), that this category now outranks every other major U.S. religious group except Catholics and Baptists.
 
What was my premise, oh wise one? :thinking:

LOL, you don't even know that you had one?!

that the result of this poll has something to do with existence of God. that your version of God can be puffed away by logic.
 
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Just because they don't identify with a religion does not mean they don't identify with the text.
 
You'll find that the more educated a nation is the less religious it becomes. The USA is an anomoly though. Maybe it is the poor state of your public schools and only a fraction of the population gets to go to your great standard of Universities.

But it is great to see non-religious people are growing in the US. Gives me hope for the future.

How does a decline of religious belief and morality benefit a society?

Are you one of the few who believe it takes a village to raise a child?
 
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