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.
These dramatic shifts in just 18 years are detailed in the new American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), to be released today. It finds that, despite growth and immigration that has added nearly 50 million adults to the U.S. population, almost all religious denominations have lost ground since the first ARIS survey in 1990.
“More than ever before, people are just making up their own stories of who they are. They say, ‘I’m everything. I’m nothing. I believe in myself,’ ” says Barry Kosmin, survey co-author.
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.
[…]
Meabh Fitzpatrick, 49, of Rutland, Vt., says she is upfront about becoming an atheist 10 years ago because “it’s important for us to be counted. I’m a taxpayer and a law-abiding citizen and an ethical person, and I don’t think people assume this about atheists.”
And you are surprised how? Honestly i live like a humanist. I teach my ethics outside of theology. I can pull some from the “Soup Du Jour” that is religion. But I refuse to let my guesstimate of some omnipotent being ruling over us because of what some people wrote 2k+ years ago.
there is a saying in Tao, and I know I am going to screw it up, but it goes something like “As soon as you give an earthly name to God, it disappears” meaning if there is something out there, we can’t figure out what it is. And as soon as we get our hands on it we ruin it. King James anyone? So I choose not to worry about it, and live as a humanist.
Father Child Molester will just find another vehicle.
Well good luck to the 15% that claim no religion.
I see in Mexico alone at least 95% of the prople are religious.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Mexico
“The Census Bureau estimates the US population will grow from 281 million in 2000 to 397 mil in 2050 with expected immigration, but only to 328 mil with zero immigration. “If we have zero immigration with today’s low birthrates the American population would eventually begin to shrink.
A new report from the Pew Research Center projects that by 2050, non-Hispanic whites will account for 47% of the population, down from the 2005 figure of 67%. Non-Hispanic whites made up 85% of the population in 1960. It foresees the Hispanic population rising from 14% in 2005 to 29% by 2050. The Asian population is expected to more than triple by 2050. Overall, the population of the United States is due to rise from 296 million in 2005 to 438 million, with 82% of the increase coming from immigrants.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States
RBG
28 Alfred1: “…its amazing any scientist is not a theist”
Alfie, I am a scientist. I’ve got a big piece of goat skin on the wall with Latin writing all over it that attests to my doctorate in medical science. Cut into a human body and look at the way it’s put together. You’d give up on intelligent design very quickly. IMHO – god is an artifact of weak minds that helps them deal with the end of their own lives.
By the way: can you point me to a reference in any version of the bible that says the antichrist will use UFOs as part of his plan? In fact, can you cite even ONE reference in a bible that says the word “antichrist”? No, you can’t and that’s because other thumpers before you have devised this word to help explain what they believe the bible tells them. And there’s the rub. All through history, people have interpreted the bible over and over again. I’ll bet you use the King James Version or even the King James Version REVISED. How can there be ‘versions’ of an “empirical” document? If the subject changes over time, then it is a theory. If you want to claim you believe in the Theory of God, I’ll support you. Nut, just because you and a million other people say it’s true doesn’t mean it is.
Religion is about faith not fact.
Some human tells you the way it is or that some book (written by another human) is telling the way it is (as they then tell what the book means is saying) and then you decide to have faith in what that person tells you or not.
When someone has a spiritual being actually materialize in front of them that somehow proves he/she/it is the one true most powerful spiritual being in existence – give me a call and I will listen to what the spiritual being has to say.
Until then I will use my own personal bull shit meter to determine if I believe what someone is preaching or not – and I can tell you most of what’s out there now pegs high on the bull shit side of my meter.
Alfred1. I just went to my Aunt’s funeral. She spent over 70 years of her life as a nun building and running hospitals, caring for the poorest in our society, sitting up countless nights with dying patients after working a 16 hour day, and spent the last years of her life caring for late stage Alzheimer’s patients. She was the closest person to a saint I have ever known and I miss her daily.
If she were still alive today she would so kick your ass.
#1 Did a good job but forgot to mention the serial killers who never miss a Sunday Service, you know like BTK, and the politicians and businessmen who only attend to drum up votes and business. Our national religion is hypocrisy and we are damned good at it.
I celebrate the Death of Religion and praise the god I don’t believe exists for the second amendment in our constitution that also guarantees freedom from religion.
The sooner we get rid of religion the better our chances for Peace on Earth as most wars are religious wars.
Alfred1, your ignorance of evolution is astounding.
“If the human body were so simple, so easily constructed, a accidental, mindless process can do it, then YOUR make a functioning finger or eye…or any body part…even a single cell, should be child’s play…being your are both intelligent and act deliberately.”
Who said the body was simple? It’s infinitely complex.
“In other words, your argument is inconsistent with reality…if you cannot build it on purpose…how unlikely it is it can happen by accident…so unlikely as to be practically impossible.”
If you are rational, consistent with reality, you must confess accidental processes cannot cannot possibly make even one cell of the human body, let all its infinitely more complex organs, and then get the entire to function in an individual.”
Evolution is not about accidents, or randomness. It is the opposite to that. All your arguments about evolution are flawed because you don’t understand its basic elements. Therefore, your arguments are completely bogus.
Congratulations, American friends! This was really really great news!!!
Well, I guess God wanted the ID group to lose in the trial, because…??? Maybe God saw how they went about trying to get ID taught in the classroom and frowned.
It seems to me that people are missing the point as to what evolution represents. It is not meant to prove that world religions and God are useless and baseless concepts. It is meant to explain the progression of biological systems over time, how biological systems take on different forms in isolation, and why some variants have gone extinct or mutate in the face of changing environmental conditions.
Spiritual views and Scientific views can be compatible when applied properly. Evolution occurs all the time. Even the Church evolved. It became more of a corporation over time, and less of the benevolent sanctuary for the repressed. Take the concept of evolution for what it is, don’t make it out to be a religion-killer.
Another example that comes to mind is our technology. I guess God caused that to come about as well? Spontaneously? The technology we have took many years, centuries even, built up over time to provide with a better understanding of systems, matter, and energy.
This is a fine example of evolution since it didn’t spring up by itself and instead rose from biological systems called humans and thousands of years of learning and understanding to formulate basic laws and algorithms for how to make things happen or better yet, to build machines that imitate specific natural systems.
Seriously, let’s please use our brains and try to understand what evolution is, and yes, technology is a living system… as an extension of mankind.
Wow big long thread to read
#2 Awesome!
#6 Sorry, religion is NOT the source of morality, never has never willl be.
#7 Those fundamentalists who are preaching the end of the world are the real nihilists.
#14 The anti-christ of Revelations was an allegory to Emperor Nero, who persecuted the Christians mercilessly. probably because they were predominately jews. Every age they try to assign someone else the title of “Anti-Christ” and the prophecies of the second coming never happen. Probably because its all bull crap.
BTW Christ was a “liberal”.
#78 Very good argument.
# 87 Carcarius said, “This is a fine example of evolution since it didn’t spring up by itself and instead rose from biological systems called humans and thousands of years of learning and understanding”
Umm, wrong. Technology is the result of Intelligent Design…
Try again.
Carcarius, well put. My aunt would have loved you. 😉
ArianeB, cool point about the history of revelations. It’s fascinating to understand it as underground literature for a sub-culture.
Nimby FTW.
#26, Bobbo,
I see only two possible world wide religions==secular humanism, and mother earth.
WHOA !!! One of the more profound statements I have read in a while. The true sad part is the religious fanatics won’t understand it.
I’m not wearing one at the moment, but if I was I would tip it in your direction.
#89 – Pady-O
We agree to disagree. You don’t seem to be open to the concept of what evolution represents or understand what it means.
Does technology not become obsolete? Why aren’t we still driving Ford Model-T cars? There is a reason why things get better. These things just don’t go “poof!” and materialize like the ID’ers state.
# 92 Carcarius said, “We agree to disagree.”
If you don’t think that a person designing a bridge is using intelligence, then I don’t care what else you have to say as you are mentally deficient.
#93 – Right, Man builds bridges, and over time learned better and better ways of building bridges. Early on it was more about trial and error, and then scientific advances improved our ability to make them.
Intelligent Design, evolved from creationism, is the idea that God creates new lifeforms and life organs out of nothing. It just happens due to God’s desire.
You can insult people all you want, that’s what you do best on these boards, but if you don’t understand the general concepts maybe you should stop posting on this particular topic.
“Christianity brings a stabilizing influence to society. When this moral fabric is removed a vacuum forms allowing all types of depravity to emerge then take over.”
We have a comedian here. Thanks for the biggest laugh in my day so far!
#54, Thomas,
Using books written by a superstitious people about a deity as anecdotal evidence of a supreme being is circular logic. It is the equivalent of saying that if enough people blog about false statement that it must be true. The *volume* of books or the variety of locations in which the books were written makes no difference. There are plenty of books on fairies, ghosts, and goblins. That does not mean they exist.
Such wise words.
Even though we disagree philosophically, it is the comments like this that allow me to appreciate your intelligence. With comments like this, you should have been born a liberal. 😉
#59, Cow-Paddy, Ignorant Shit Talking Sociopath, Retired Mall Rent-A-Cop, Pretend Constitutional Scholar, Fake California Labor Law Expert, Pseudo Military Historian, Phony Climate Scientist, Leading Troll Extraordinare, Asstrologist, and President of the “I Hate America Club”
Judging groups by deeds and not words would seem to me, the only realistic way to do go. Unless, you hold someones words as proof of their intentions OVER their actions…
So you have lived up to your moniker.
#66, Alphie,
all liberals are heartless and cruel, you would protect murderers, see to it they are released to kill again…just as recently happened in the news.
What??? I thought “god” would protect and save you? And if you dies early, it was part of “god’s” plan? By your comment, it appears you are screwing with “god’s” master plan. It’s Hell for you buddy.
78 Nimby.
Being a scientific man complete with goat skin and all, I take it you agree with your fellow scientist Richard Dawkin’s “The God Delusion” possibility that we live in a multiverse with every permutation of your life that can and can not possibly be imagined complete with all the energy and matter that would be required to create such an infinite number of places.
Please, don’t talk to me about faith and religion and plain goofy ideas.
RBG
# 32 Paddy-O said:
# 27 Alfred1 said, “In view of quantum physics…its amazing any scientist is not a theist…particles behave a certain way UNLESS someone is watching?”
“I’ve yet to see that explained using rules of the physical universe. It is indeed interesting.”
Guess you’ve never heard of Schroedinger’s cat. It’s not that the outcome is determined by the observer, it’s that the outcome is indeterminate for any observer until observed. Sounds strange, but that’s how it is.
There is no reason to invoke a deity, or even an observer. Given a large enough sample, the outcome will obey the laws of probability. It’s the singular case that’s strange.
#100 – BubbaRay
LOL, exactly.
There are so many possible recipients of the BubbaRayDipDork Award™ on this thread, I can’t award it.
Bobbo*, Mr. Fusion, RGB, QB are exempt. Carcarius also gets a pass, as do others too numerous to mention.
*Except for that flight 1549 deal, but I didn’t award it, did I?
# 100 BubbaRay said, “Guess you’ve never heard of Schroedinger’s cat.”
I guess you’ve never worked with Three-Particle W state secure communication…
I disdain communication or argument with anyone who believes in intelligent design. Stick that Three Particle W state secure system where it belongs.
Let me know when you’ve written 5 actuarial exams or have a PhD in math.
Once again, zero links or documentation.
# 104 BubbaRay said, “Stick that Three Particle W state secure system where it belongs.”
I’m sorry I communicated above your education level. Your response is typical of someone with a low IQ and reading comprehension level.
@ #6
You don’t need Christians nor religion to be a good person. The reason this nation, the world, is in such a shitter is this notion that you have to be Christian to be a good person. And that’s just bullshit. Why do you think so many wars are religious based?
This isn’t about who’s better, but about what’s right. You don’t need to be religious to be a good honest person, to know right and wrong. Even God him self would tell you this, but people like you just ignore obvious stuff like that.
I’m STICK and tired of so-called religious people assuming they know EXACTLY what God’s word is, when they read it from a book (translated upteen times, with loads of missing chapters) he didn’t write. And then taking such a conceded attitude towards other people who don’t follow your religious bullshit.
Religion is intended to keep uneducated people filled with nonsense so they stop asking stupid questions, like, “Why is the sky blue?”. It’s other purpose is to qualm the fear of death by promising an afterlife, unless you behave wrongly. “Sin” is just a way to control people from doing evil, or you go to hell.
Otherwise thousands of years there would be anarchy. But the world has evolved past the need of religion, since aren’t so quip to go apeshit if religion would fall off the planet.
Actually as long as religion exists, we are more suspectable to anarchy if something comes along to prove religion is bullshit (like alien life were to be made a fact)