CBS Washington: Study: One-Third of Adults Under 30 Have No Religious Affiliation

[#98QBKiller]

I actually thought this number would've been a little higher.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/...s-affiliation/

Study: One-Third of Adults Under 30 Have No Religious Affiliation

WASHINGTON (CBS WASHINGTON) – One-fifth of American adults have no religious affiliation, and this number is increasing rapidly.

The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a fast pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.

In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15 percent to just under 20 percent of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6 percent of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14 percent).

This large and growing group of Americans is less religious than the public at large on many conventional measures, including frequency of attendance at religious services and the degree of importance they attach to religion in their lives.

But the survey may be affected by a differing view of the words “religion” and “spiritual.”


A new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted jointly with the PBS television program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, finds that many of the country’s 46 million unaffiliated adults are religious or spiritual in some way.

Two-thirds of them say they believe in God (68 percent). More than half say they often feel a deep connection with nature and the earth (58 percent), while more than a third classify themselves as “spiritual” but not “religious” (37 percent), and one-in-five (21 percent) say they pray every day.

With few exceptions, though, the unaffiliated say they are not looking for a religion that would be right for them. Overwhelmingly, they think that religious organizations are too concerned with money and power, too focused on rules and too involved in politics.

The lower the age group, the less likely people are to be affiliated.

The growth in the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans – sometimes called the rise of the “nones” – is largely driven by generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones.

A third of adults under 30 have no religious affiliation (32 percent), compared with just one-in-ten who are 65 and older (9 percent). And young adults today are much more likely to be unaffiliated than previous generations were at a similar stage in their lives.

In addition, this report contains capsule summaries of some leading theories put forward by scholars in an attempt to explain the root causes of the rise of the “nones.” These theories run the gamut from a backlash against the entanglement of religion and politics to a global relationship between economic development and secularization.

[mjah]

Gallup just called me the other day, conducting a similar poll. It ranged all over the place but had some pointed religious questions. My response put me firmly in the 30% (or whichever number Gallup ends up with).

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

I find that really sad to read. And even more disheartening for future generations.

But I'd never push my beliefs on anyone, so although I don't quite understand how faith doesn't underpin most everything in life; peoples prerogative is their own.

Hail.

[mjah]

I consider it encouraging, personally. Of course plenty of reasonable people believe in plenty of different things, so someday we'll see that 30% grow to a larger value and then likely grow no further. I would not be surprised at all if it exceeded 50% by the time all is said and done, but it will never reach 100%.

[Destino]

Not at all surprising considering the state of religion in the US. Everyday more of it is devoured by politics and failed leadership. Combined with the bad news media the image of belief has been successfully destroyed. It will only get worse as the politicians within religions use the growing hostility towards religion, from growing anti-religious groups, as justification to move further towards the useful political fringes.

There was a time when the first image that entered my mind was a missionary holding the hand of a dying person the world had abandoned. A person selflessly determined to stay with a stranger so that they would not need to meet death alone. I saw God in that simple act. I'd be lying if I said that was the first image that came to mind anymore.

[Jumbo]

This would appear to be a trend going by general perception as I'm exposed to it. Survey questions like this are tricky. Slight changing of wording can get seemingly conflicting answers from the same respondents. Nevertheless, I keep hearing how the younger demographics are less likely to commit strongly to a specific denomination than older groups. Yet there has been a fair amount of reports over the last couple decades I remember that seem to suggest they're (specific denomination) getting bigger (as in the large-numbered "super-church" movement, for example). Juts speaking generally, effectively designing the questions to really obtain the data you're seeking, let alone deciding what data is most pertinent to seek, is always fun with this kind of stuff in particular. Plus, on complex matters of real meaning to folks that have major emotional components and are also subject to more individually personalized definitions of terms used, you can also get a different answer from the same person even with the same question (obviously depending on the exact question) if you ask them a month apart.

[Kosher Ham]

That number is lower than I expected.

My guess is that many people have grown up with some type of religious influence...some hold on to it in only in name, others dismiss it completely, others still fully embrace it. I have met, over the years here in what may be considered the bible belt...less and less religious people. And many if not most of them are somewhat hypocritical if we are taking religion at its word for any religion.

I believe most of them feel it is better to be without the religion than dishonor it or even disgrace it at times.

We can start with this religion...The tenth commandment alone is probably the most broken one. Then go on to the 4th...why would anyone work on the sabbath ?

We can go on to other religions as well...

[Koolblue13]

I'm not surprised by those numbers. I posted something from the Christian Post the other day that said 51% of people believed in "God" around the world.

America is actually higher than most educated countries in percentage of people who still believe in God.

[jnhay]

I think that if you're not all-in with the religion you practice, it just doesn't make much sense. For example, I found that in the Catholic Church there's a lot of picking and choosing. Basically a lot of sermons that go "I know the book says this, but it really means this." There were numerous occasions where I found myself thinking about how convenient it is that we can interpret the Bible anyway we want and not take anything literally. Because anything that seems off or a contradiction to another passage can just be dismissed by not taking it literally or talking about needing faith.

It also shouldn't be about being good for an hour a week when you're attending mass, but that's essentially what it is for most people. You say a couple Our Fathers and Hail Marys and then forget about it by the time you get home.

[AsburySkinsFan]

The American Christian by in large has stopped evangelizing. There are a few pockets that do, but over all we've given up.

[skinsmarydu]

It also shouldn't be about being good for an hour a week when you're attending mass, but that's essentially what it is for most people. You say a couple Our Fathers and Hail Marys and then forget about it by the time you get home.

Or putting your money in the collection place, then going out to lunch and abusing your server. I work in an area surrounded by churches, and gave up working Sundays years ago. The hypocrits made it intolerable.

[Bacon]

Or putting your money in the collection place, then going out to lunch and abusing your server. I work in an area surrounded by churches, and gave up working Sundays years ago. The hypocrits made it intolerable.

The best way to evangelize is to make your religion look appealing by treating people right. That was the whole point of contrasting Jesus with the Pharisees.

Your post is really sad to read, but it's not surprising to me at all. I have no reason to believe that most people who attend church services should associate themselves with Christ. I'm a real jackass myself, so I guess I'm not one to talk either, just making an observation.

[SnyderShrugged]

Not at all surprising considering the state of religion in the US. Everyday more of it is devoured by politics and failed leadership. Combined with the bad news media the image of belief has been successfully destroyed. It will only get worse as the politicians within religions use the growing hostility towards religion, from growing anti-religious groups, as justification to move further towards the useful political fringes.

There was a time when the first image that entered my mind was a missionary holding the hand of a dying person the world had abandoned. A person selflessly determined to stay with a stranger so that they would not need to meet death alone. I saw God in that simple act. I'd be lying if I said that was the first image that came to mind anymore.

Great post Destino, I feel the same.


On the OP, what category do they count folks who are non-denominational Christians not affiliated with a specific church? I wonder it they are counted as part of the 1/3?

[skinsmarydu]

The best way to evangelize is to make your religion look appealing by treating people right. That was the whole point of contrasting Jesus with the Pharisees.

Your post is really sad to read, but it's not surprising to me at all. I have no reason to believe that most people who attend church services should associate themselves with Christ. I'm a real jackass myself, so I guess I'm not one to talk either, just making an observation.

And they don't even know they do it. Some can run the daylights out of you, all while trying to witness to you, then leave you a paltry 10%, while telling you that you shouldn't be working on Sunday! Hilarious! (Don't even get me started on the ladies' hat contest!)

[#98QBKiller]

On the OP, what category do they count folks who are non-denominational Christians not affiliated with a specific church? I wonder it they are counted as part of the 1/3?

I would assume that they are not counted as part of the 1/3, as they are defining themselves as Christians, which is a religious affiliation despite not being affiliated with a specific sector of Christianity.