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US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds. [W:210]

Higgins86

Higgins86

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US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds - BBC News

The number of Americans who identify as Christian has fallen nearly eight percentage points in only seven years, according to a new survey.

Pew Research Center found that 71% of Americans identified as Christian in 2014 - down from 78% in 2007.

In the same period, Americans identifying as having no religion grew from 16% to 23%.

Fifty-six million Americans do not observe any religion, the second largest community after Evangelicals.



Does this surprise our American members? What impact do you think this will have on Ameerica socially and politically in the future if this number continues to fall?

Also why do you think these numbers are dropping? Failure of the church or is it a disconnect with young people and organised Religion ?
 
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Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Higgins86 said:
US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds - BBC News

The number of Americans who identify as Christian has fallen nearly eight percentage points in only seven years, according to a new survey.

Pew Research Center found that 71% of Americans identified as Christian in 2014 - down from 78% in 2007.

In the same period, Americans identifying as having no religion grew from 16% to 23%.

Fifty-six million Americans do not observe any religion, the second largest community after Evangelicals.



Does this surprise our American members? What impact do you think this will have on Ameerica socially and politically in the future if this number continues to fall?

Also why do you think these numbers are dropping? Failure of the church or is it a disconnect with young people and organised Religion ?
Click to expand...

The development is much further progressed in European societies and Russia. Some of the consequences can be seen and they are certainly not all good. But it is hard to destile them out precisely.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

joG said:
The development is much further progressed in European societies and Russia.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree especially in my own country, however religion hasn't played a major part in our politics for over 100 years and the church of England has had little infulence in our society. However the US has always been more of a conservative chrisitian country so it will be interetsing to see how this changing landscape effects the country in the long run.
 
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Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

The day Christianity is treated the same as the religions of Norse Gods and Ancient Greeks all the better.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Higgins86 said:
US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds - BBC News

The number of Americans who identify as Christian has fallen nearly eight percentage points in only seven years, according to a new survey.

Pew Research Center found that 71% of Americans identified as Christian in 2014 - down from 78% in 2007.

In the same period, Americans identifying as having no religion grew from 16% to 23%.

Fifty-six million Americans do not observe any religion, the second largest community after Evangelicals.



Does this surprise our American members? What impact do you think this will have on Ameerica socially and politically in the future if this number continues to fall?
Click to expand...


Honestly? *sigh* I am a Christian, but I know why a lot of people no longer identify. It's because you have so many people who are so full of hate about gay people, people of other religions and so forth, and it makes people who truly try to live a good life, look bad. Maybe they are backing away from that particular "title" because they don't want to be guilty by association. I feel like, when I tell someone that I am a Christian, I have to qualify it with certain explanations. "No, I don't hate gay people. No, I don't know why others do. No, not all Christians hate gay people. No, I don't believe in abortion, but guess what? I don't believe in the death penalty, either. Yes, I know, that makes me weird. No, I don't hate Muslims and think they are all ready to blow people up. There are good Muslims and bad, just like there are good Christians and bad." blah blah blah.

I don't care much for titles, but I do know that to be Christian means to be "Christ-like" and I see a lot of people these days who have forgotten that, and those few make the ones who are trying to live a good life, look bad. :shrug:
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Higgins86 said:
Yes I agree especially in my own country, however religion hasn't played a major part in our politics for over 100 years and the chucrch of England has had infulence in our society. However the US has always been more of a conservative chrisitian country so it will be interetsing to see how this changing landscape effects the country in the long run.
Click to expand...

One thing I expect will be an increased pace in the slide towards relativistic ethics and populist law. We already see this picking up speed.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Talk about burying the lede, the real shocker of this poll is that the number of muslims has more than doubled in the past 7 years
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

When people have more information they have more knowledge, which leads to more reason, which leads to dropping old fables and beliefs.

"Nones" are growing and it is scaring the hell out of the fundies.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Higgins86 said:
US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds - BBC News

The number of Americans who identify as Christian has fallen nearly eight percentage points in only seven years, according to a new survey.

Pew Research Center found that 71% of Americans identified as Christian in 2014 - down from 78% in 2007.

In the same period, Americans identifying as having no religion grew from 16% to 23%.

Fifty-six million Americans do not observe any religion, the second largest community after Evangelicals.



Does this surprise our American members? What impact do you think this will have on Ameerica socially and politically in the future if this number continues to fall?

Also why do you think these numbers are dropping? Failure of the church or is it a disconnect with young people and organised Religion ?
Click to expand...

I'm part of that 8%!!!
"WE ARE THE 23%! WE ARE THE 23%!"
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

beefheart said:
When people have more information they have more knowledge, which leads to more reason, which leads to dropping old fables and beliefs.

"Nones" are growing and it is scaring the hell out of the fundies.
Click to expand...

What in the world would they be scared of? :roll:
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

nota bene said:
When people have more information they have more knowledge, which leads to more reason, which leads to dropping old fables and beliefs.

"Nones" are growing and it is scaring the hell out of the fundies.
Click to expand...
What in the world would they be scared of? :roll:
Click to expand...
Death, the nonexistence of an afterlife, and the possibility that there's no one "looking out" for them.

The world "atheist" literally means to an fundamentalist: "Guess what. You're never going to see your deceased loved ones again. Oh, and there's no all-powerful entity protecting your back. Good luck!"

Which terrifies them.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

I remember a song by DC Talk "What if I Stumble"

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable"

That pretty much sums up my attitude. They claim to love thy neighbor, but the actions show different.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

joG said:
The development is much further progressed in European societies and Russia. Some of the consequences can be seen and they are certainly not all good. But it is hard to destile them out precisely.
Click to expand...

Russia is in fact having a strong resurgence of Christianity and religious values. That's why they're so keen on oppressing gays and women.

Superfly said:
I don't care much for titles, but I do know that to be Christian means to be "Christ-like" and I see a lot of people these days who have forgotten that, and those few make the ones who are trying to live a good life, look bad. :shrug:
Click to expand...

So why not just live a good life for its own sake and not bother with the differences over who you think told you to do that? That's what all those non-religious people do. We just do good for good's sake. No need for myths or spirits or judgments or anything like that.

joG said:
One thing I expect will be an increased pace in the slide towards relativistic ethics and populist law. We already see this picking up speed.
Click to expand...

What you call "relativistic", I would call "debated, examined, and subjected to critical thought". Having absolute rules doesn't help at all if they're crappy rules. The example of how Christianity and Islam treat gay people is an obvious example. Being sure that your rules say to treat them poorly isn't points in their favor. Or laws and ethics should be constantly evolving and improving. That's how we're better than barbarians from past eras.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Higgins86 said:
Does this surprise our American members? What impact do you think this will have on America socially and politically in the future if this number continues to fall?
Also why do you think these numbers are dropping? Failure of the church or is it a disconnect with young people and organised Religion ?
Click to expand...
This does not surprise me. Religious ideas will eventually fade, assuming there is no sudden, globally catastrophic event. That's because uncertainty inspires rituals and comfort-seeking. Both of those things are our religions' MO.

Why are these numbers dropping? My personal theory is the internet. Before I would have had to go to some distant hidden corner to dig up a book about ancient Egyptians & the impossibility of the Exodus; or find a poor quality recording of Bertrand Russell's "Why I am not a Christian." Now you can buy that type of material off of the internet or listen to it on Youtube. There's also funny songs like these.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

beefheart said:
When people have more information they have more knowledge, which leads to more reason, which leads to dropping old fables and beliefs.
Click to expand...

So according to your backward logic, the reason muslims doubled is because Islam is the one true religion
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Sounds like people are going underground with their beliefs.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Higgins86 said:
US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds - BBC News

The number of Americans who identify as Christian has fallen nearly eight percentage points in only seven years, according to a new survey.

Pew Research Center found that 71% of Americans identified as Christian in 2014 - down from 78% in 2007.

In the same period, Americans identifying as having no religion grew from 16% to 23%.

Fifty-six million Americans do not observe any religion, the second largest community after Evangelicals.



Does this surprise our American members? What impact do you think this will have on Ameerica socially and politically in the future if this number continues to fall?

Also why do you think these numbers are dropping? Failure of the church or is it a disconnect with young people and organised Religion ?
Click to expand...

Good news and it correlates with my observations. The response of many conservative/fundamentalist sects and political leaders to societal changes such as gay marriage has been ugly and their bigotry has turned many people away from religion. The child molestation scandals and coverups in the Catholic Church have also repelled many people. In addition, the increased number of well educated people and more people living in cities are also factors.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Crovax said:
So according to your backward logic, the reason muslims doubled is because Islam is the one true religion
Click to expand...
From 0.4 to 0.9% of the US' population, which was driven by immigration from Islamic majority nations.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

brothern said:
From 0.4 to 0.9% of the US' population, which was driven by immigration from Islamic majority nations.
Click to expand...

immigration only accounts for about half the growth, also note that Judaism grew in size as well, so the logic of information leading to athiesm doesn't hold any water.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

nota bene said:
What in the world would they be scared of? :roll:
Click to expand...

Reason, logic, free thought
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Crovax said:
So according to your backward logic, the reason muslims doubled is because Islam is the one true religion
Click to expand...

They are still a flyspeck. Nones are growing, non belief is where the world is going.
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

I think with increased stigma against Christianity many people are choosing to not identify as such anymore. Although I believe in the Bible and in Christ, I no longer go around saying I'm a "Christian" since the label given to it by right-wing evangelicals and secular media is that Christians are gun loving gay hating flag worshipers from Jesusland with America as God's chosen nation. I just believe that Christ died to atone for sin and we are to live by his principals as outlined in the Bible, which is to love others. It's silly that if you mention it the first questions that pop into someone's mind are usually wanting to know if you ascribe to negative stereotypes like "do you hate gays?" Really, it's about as appropriate as asking an African-American if they've been in jail or asking a Hispanic person if they're an illegal from Mexico. But nonetheless it happens frequently

In my generation I have noticed social bullying, shaming and discrimination by those who dislike Christians and it's becoming a greater trend with anti-Christian hate on the rise largely due to social issues and "evangelical" secularists pushing their beliefs and shaming the "fairy tail believers" who have faith.
 
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Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

Hard Truth said:
Good news and it correlates with my observations. The response of many conservative/fundamentalist sects and political leaders to societal changes such as gay marriage has been ugly and their bigotry has turned many people away from religion. The child molestation scandals and coverups in the Catholic Church have also repelled many people. In addition, the increased number of well educated people and more people living in cities are also factors.
Click to expand...

Actually its conformation bias. Christians are against gay marriage and that causes them to lose members and Muslims are killing gays and they gain members, not buying it
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

brothern said:
Death, the nonexistence of an afterlife, and the possibility that there's no one "looking out" for them.

The world "atheist" literally means to an fundamentalist: "Guess what. You're never going to see your deceased loved ones again. Oh, and there's no all-powerful entity protecting your back. Good luck!"

Which terrifies them.
Click to expand...

Doesn't terrify me at all. Having faith in something means that you believe in it, whether you can see it or not. I am a woman of faith. I believe that there is something waiting for me on the other side. If I am wrong, then I will never know. But if you are wrong, you will certainly know. :lol:
 
Re: US Christians numbers 'decline sharply', poll finds.

mmorado said:
I remember a song by DC Talk "What if I Stumble"

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable"

That pretty much sums up my attitude. They claim to love thy neighbor, but the actions show different.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was saying. Not all Christians are like that, any more than all Muslims are trying to blow people up. But the people who do act poorly, unfortunately, make the entire group look bad.
 
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