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#1
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05-13-2015, 03:27 AM
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 ♚ Legacy Gold Member ♚ Poster Rank:19 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 59,878
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Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
U.S. has become notably less Christian, major study finds By DAVID LAUTER The U.S. has become significantly less Christian in the last eight years as the share of American adults who espouse no systematic religious belief increased sharply, a major new study found. For what is likely first time in U.S. history – certainly the first since the early days of the country – the actual number of American Christians has declined. Christianity, however, remains by far the nation’s dominant religious tradition, according to the new report by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Rising partisanship among voters is 'nationalizing' local politics The rapid increase in the number of adults without ties to traditional religious institutions has strong implications for other social institutions and for politics. Whether a person attends religious services regularly is among the strongest predictors of how he or she will vote, with traditional religion strongly tied to the Republican Party, at least among white Americans. The decline in traditional religious belief adds to the demographic challenges facing the GOP, which already faces difficulties because of its reliance on white voters in a country that has grown more racially diverse. The interaction between religion and politics may work both ways. Some scholars believe that close ties between traditional religion and conservatism, particularly on issues such as same-sex marriage, have led many younger Americans to cut their ties with organized religion. Almost 1 in 5 American adults were raised in a religious tradition but are now unaffiliated, the study found. By contrast, only 4% have moved in the other direction. Because the U.S. Census does not ask questions about religion, the massive religion surveys by the Pew Research Center have become a chief source of information on the U.S. religious landscape. No edge for Rand Paul among young Americans, poll finds No edge for Rand Paul among young Americans, poll finds The current survey questioned 35,071 U.S. adults last summer. Its huge size allows detailed analysis of even fairly small religious groups. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus six-tenths of a percentage point. The U.S. still remains far more religious than most other economically advanced countries. But the significant increase in the share of Americans who do not follow a traditional religious belief mirrors trends in Europe and elsewhere. Just short of 1 in 4 Americans now describe themselves as being agnostic, atheist or simply “nothing in particular,” up from roughly 1 in 6 in 2007, according to the new study. The ranks of the “nones,” as the study labels them, have grown in large part from people abandoning the religion in which they were raised. By contrast, Christian ranks have eroded. Roughly 173 million adult Americans identify as Christian, just under 71% of the U.S. population. That’s down from 178 million, or 78% of the U.S., in 2007. The total U.S. adult population grew by about 8% during that eight-year period. Protestants, who once dominated the U.S. population, no longer form a majority, the study found. About 47% of the U.S. population identifies with some Protestant denomination, down from just over half in 2007. The decline has been uneven, with mainline denominations, such as Methodists and Presbyterians, shrinking more quickly than evangelical churches. Slightly fewer than 1 in 6 adult Americans identify with the mainline Protestant churches. Evangelicals, by contrast, make up about one-quarter of the adult U.S. population. They now form a majority among those who identify as Christian. Another 7% of American adults identify with historically black Protestant churches, a share that has remained relatively stable. Catholics, about 1 in 5 Americans, have also seen some decline in numbers since 2007, the study found, although some other studies have found a more recent uptick. Almost 13% of American adults are former Catholics – the largest single group of people who have left a faith in which they were raised. Among non-Christian faiths, Judaism remains the largest in the U.S., although only about 2% of the U.S. population identifies as Jewish. The number is up very slightly from what the survey found in 2007. Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism each have less than 1% of the U.S. population, although the Muslim and Hindu population have both grown rapidly, reflecting immigration from Asia. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...512-story.html  · |
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#2
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05-13-2015, 03:45 AM
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 *DR's nice guy* Poster Rank:78 Male Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 19,438 Mentioned: 89 Post(s) Quoted: 7144 Post(s)
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
This is inevitable. As more people become educated, less will cling to fairy tales.
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#4
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05-13-2015, 10:28 AM
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 $lave Poster Rank:27 Regular White Guy Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 51,228
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
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#5
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05-13-2015, 12:00 PM
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 My Rank: MAJOR Poster Rank:96 Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 16,772 Mentioned: 261 Post(s) Quoted: 8276 Post(s)
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
It's the beginning of the American downfall. People are ignorant if they think throwing out our identity, and changing the culture will make us better moving forward. Being a Christian nation, not lead by religion, but a nation that embraced religion, carried us to where we are. Made us who we are, and shaped our system. We wouldn't have won ww2 without the faith this nation had in who we were. Today religion divides us, race divides us, politics divides us, money divides us. We are a broken culture, that has no glue that holds us together. |
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#6
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05-13-2015, 01:11 PM
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 My Rank: STAFF SERGEANT Poster Rank:783 goy Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 1,007 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 162 Post(s)
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
read a history book
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#7
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05-13-2015, 01:30 PM
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 puelling pueman Poster Rank:171 m Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 8,912 Mentioned: 21 Post(s) Quoted: 2948 Post(s)
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
of course, the fact that you are all human isn't enough...  religion is for fools  |
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#8
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05-13-2015, 02:09 PM
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| puelling pueman Poster Rank:171 m Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 8,912 Mentioned: 21 Post(s) Quoted: 2948 Post(s)
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
of course, the fact that you are all human isn't enough... double posting is for fools |
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#9
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05-13-2015, 02:52 PM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:100 Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 16,280 Mentioned: 62 Post(s) Quoted: 8638 Post(s)
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
Then tell the Republican party to stop trying to make public policy based on religious doctrine. You are being led by religion, and have been for years. A Christian nation, but not one led by religion? How the fuck can a whole nation identify as Christian without being led by religion? The reason it's a divisive issue is because some people think that things like race, religion or politics should only be decided by white males. |
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#10
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05-13-2015, 06:26 PM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:6 What we've got here is failure to communicate. Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 103,591
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Re: Study: U.S. Becoming Less Christian
Thankfully I was raised the common sense way so religion to me is the biggest man made con ever invented.  I am an atheist and I'm grateful I wasn't brain washed like some thick arseholes.  |
