"The Rise of Non-Religious Americans is Occurring All Over the Country"

[Skwim]

.

"For more than a decade now, the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) has conducted frequent surveys to determine political attitudes and demographic shifts for Americans. There’s always a huge sample size and the data is fantastic. Naturally, Professor Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University sifted through it to see how religious beliefs have changed over time.

He explained three of those changes in a post, and they’re fascinating for those of us who want to see a nation that’s less dependent on organized religion.

First, he looked at changes in religious affiliation over the past decade. We know the popularity of organized religion has declined over time, but the numbers for most denominations has been relatively stable over the years. There were drops and gains for various groups but it’s not like any group is perpetually heading downhill.

The “No Religion” line, however, seems to go up and up and up…

That’s interesting! That’s also not all that new. Several surveys have shown “Nones” on the rise, if not the largest single “religious” group in the country.

Then Burge looked at what’s happening state by state since the CCES data lets him break it down like that. When it comes to which religious groups have seen the greatest rise within each state between 2008 and 2018, he found that the “Nones” are running the board.

We had the largest growth everywhere except South Dakota, Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. (the last two aren’t on the map).

I blame the one atheist who left each state and changed all the percentages. (Cue rimshot.)

Impressive!

BUT WAIT! There’s more. If you look for the actual numbers for each state in 2008 and 2018, what you find, nearly across the board, is a huge leap forward for non-religious people. Often in places you wouldn’t expect.

Meaning, in just about every state, the rise of the Nones was massive.

[The Nones] grew 22.9% in Hawaii, 19.5% in Wisconsin, 18.6% in West Virginia, and 17.4% in Rhode Island. Not exactly progressive strongholds in the United States. However, overall growth was widespread. In fact, the nones enjoyed double digit gains in 24 states. The only state in which the nones declined was South Dakota (-0.3%). The slowest growth states were Arkansas (4%), Kansas (4.5%), and Florida (5.3%).
​

That’s ridiculous growth in places like Hawaii and Wisconsin and West Virginia. We’re talking a major cultural shift over the past decade.

I knew the non-religious had grown in numbers, but to see it happening just about everywhere — and at such high rates — is a testament to how far religion has fallen. And given how many self-inflicted wounds we’re seeing with organized religion these days, with the Catholic Church’s sex scandals, and evangelical megachurch sex scandals, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s sex scandals, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ sex scandals, it’s not like we’ve seen the end of the rise for non-religiosity.

Far from hitting a plateau, the growth will continue for a long time to come."
source​

So, what does this portend for the USA? Is it a trend that will eventually seriously hurt the Christian religion in America? Will it blow over? Will it eventually stop and change directions?

Where do you see Christianity 25 years down the road.

 

[Enoch07]

These numbers go up and down over time, it's natural. At no point will religous people be non-existent and an no point will non-religious people be non-existent. The numbers will always swing one way, pinnacle, then reverse every couple generations. All par for the course imho.

 

[Father Heathen]

These numbers go up and down over time, it's natural. At no point will religous people be non-existent and an no point will non-religious people be non-existent. The numbers will always swing one way, pinnacle, then reverse every couple generations. All par for the course imho.

So you expect an eventual return of the power and influence that religion once had within society?

 

[Twilight Hue]

.

"For more than a decade now, the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) has conducted frequent surveys to determine political attitudes and demographic shifts for Americans. There’s always a huge sample size and the data is fantastic. Naturally, Professor Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University sifted through it to see how religious beliefs have changed over time.

He explained three of those changes in a post, and they’re fascinating for those of us who want to see a nation that’s less dependent on organized religion.

First, he looked at changes in religious affiliation over the past decade. We know the popularity of organized religion has declined over time, but the numbers for most denominations has been relatively stable over the years. There were drops and gains for various groups but it’s not like any group is perpetually heading downhill.

The “No Religion” line, however, seems to go up and up and up…

That’s interesting! That’s also not all that new. Several surveys have shown “Nones” on the rise, if not the largest single “religious” group in the country.

Then Burge looked at what’s happening state by state since the CCES data lets him break it down like that. When it comes to which religious groups have seen the greatest rise within each state between 2008 and 2018, he found that the “Nones” are running the board.

We had the largest growth everywhere except South Dakota, Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. (the last two aren’t on the map).

I blame the one atheist who left each state and changed all the percentages. (Cue rimshot.)

Impressive!

BUT WAIT! There’s more. If you look for the actual numbers for each state in 2008 and 2018, what you find, nearly across the board, is a huge leap forward for non-religious people. Often in places you wouldn’t expect.

Meaning, in just about every state, the rise of the Nones was massive.

[The Nones] grew 22.9% in Hawaii, 19.5% in Wisconsin, 18.6% in West Virginia, and 17.4% in Rhode Island. Not exactly progressive strongholds in the United States. However, overall growth was widespread. In fact, the nones enjoyed double digit gains in 24 states. The only state in which the nones declined was South Dakota (-0.3%). The slowest growth states were Arkansas (4%), Kansas (4.5%), and Florida (5.3%).
​

That’s ridiculous growth in places like Hawaii and Wisconsin and West Virginia. We’re talking a major cultural shift over the past decade.

I knew the non-religious had grown in numbers, but to see it happening just about everywhere — and at such high rates — is a testament to how far religion has fallen. And given how many self-inflicted wounds we’re seeing with organized religion these days, with the Catholic Church’s sex scandals, and evangelical megachurch sex scandals, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s sex scandals, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ sex scandals, it’s not like we’ve seen the end of the rise for non-religiosity.

Far from hitting a plateau, the growth will continue for a long time to come."
source​

So, what does this portend for the USA? Is it a trend that will eventually seriously hurt the Christian religion in America? Will it blow over? Will it eventually stop and change directions?

Where do you see Christianity 25 years down the road.


View attachment 30808

It'll still be a while but I suspect Christianity to go the way of the pantheon of Gods like Zeus Thor Apollo ....

There is no doubt Christianity is well past its heyday and will never return to the 'glory' or pinnacle it once had with people.

As a religion, it did happen to have an impressive run though primarily through the efforts of Constantine.

 

[Sand Dancer]

Reason has to win sometime in the future.

 

[Revoltingest]

It'll still be a while but I suspect Christianity to go the way of the pantheon of Gods like Zeus Thor Apollo ....

There is no doubt Christianity is well past its heyday and will never return to the 'glory' or pinnacle it once had with people.

As a religion, it did happen to have an impressive run though primarily through the efforts of Constantine.

There's that, but I think the prestige of being an atheist is what calls to many.
We're so loved & highly respected.

 

[Enoch07]

So you expect an eventual return of the power and influence that religion once had within society?

Yes, but not because I want it to.

We are entering an age where non-religious people are gaining number at a high.rate as @Skwim has pointed out with his data. It may continue this way for another 10 years or so I suspect. But then it will plateau out, and begin to trend back down, as religious influence will gain numbers and with that, yes more influence and power.

Now I know what your thinking. That this is something I would want as a religious person, but that is not true. I do no wish to live under a theocracy. Even as a Christian I cannot live up to the standards of purity that a theocracy would no doubt put in place.

 

[Father Heathen]

Yes, but not because I want it to.

We are entering an age where non-religious people are gaining number at a high.rate as @Skwim has pointed out with his data. It may continue this way for another 10 years or so I suspect. But then it will plateau out, and begin to trend back down, as religious influence will gain numbers and with that, yes more influence and power.

Now I know what your thinking. That this is something I would want as a religious person, but that is not true. I do no wish to live under a theocracy. Even as a Christian I cannot live up to the standards of purity that a theocracy would no doubt put in place.

You understand why religion - specifically mainstream christianity - has been waning, right?

 

[Enoch07]

You understand why religion - specifically mainstream christianity - has been waning, right?

Maybe, I dunno. I'm not apart of the mainstream obviously. Anyone that wants to live under a theocracy is very naive imo.

 

[sooda]

Yes, but not because I want it to.

We are entering an age where non-religious people are gaining number at a high.rate as @Skwim has pointed out with his data. It may continue this way for another 10 years or so I suspect. But then it will plateau out, and begin to trend back down, as religious influence will gain numbers and with that, yes more influence and power.

Now I know what your thinking. That this is something I would want as a religious person, but that is not true. I do no wish to live under a theocracy. Even as a Christian I cannot live up to the standards of purity that a theocracy would no doubt put in place.

And that return to faith may be very different. It make not be about prosperity gospel preachers, or the rapture or fundamentalists and Jehovah's Witnesses or Pentecostals.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

It'll still be a while but I suspect Christianity to go the way of the pantheon of Gods like Zeus Thor Apollo ....

There is no doubt Christianity is well past its heyday and will never return to the 'glory' or pinnacle it once had with people.

As a religion, it did happen to have an impressive run though primarily through the efforts of Constantine.

Thor worship is doing fine and making a comeback in Scandinavia. I suspect worship of the Greek gods would be doing fine, too, if the Orthodox church didn't have such a stranglehold over Greece. There's Greek polytheists there, but probably many aren't open about it due to social prejudice.

 

[blü 2]

[The Nones] grew 22.9% in Hawaii, 19.5% in Wisconsin, 18.6% in West Virginia, and 17.4% in Rhode Island. Not exactly progressive strongholds in the United States. However, overall growth was widespread. In fact, the nones enjoyed double digit gains in 24 states. The only state in which the nones declined was South Dakota (-0.3%). The slowest growth states were Arkansas (4%), Kansas (4.5%), and Florida (5.3%).​

My best guess is that the numbers are growing for a few reasons, First, there's a decades-long decline in the numbers of folk who join community groups of any kind. Second, education has generally improved, an element likely to favor secularization. Third, a generation has now grown up with their own cultural center around cellphones and social media, and they pay less attention these days to traditional authorities (as do increasing numbers of others). Fourth, the world-wide and decades-long scandal of the churches' attitudes to their own pedophiles appalled many many people ─ like throwing accelerant onto a fire. Fifth, a lot of people who never cared much anyway feel freer to come out of the closet.

I don't think religion will go away; like any other industry, it will produce better and worse managers and entrepreneurs, and as the Pentecostals show, some product lines are still popular.

I'd guess that 25 years from now the US will still be comfortably more than two thirds Christian, at least on paper.

 

[Neuropteron]

.

"For more than a decade now, the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) has conducted frequent surveys to determine political attitudes and demographic shifts for Americans. There’s always a huge sample size and the data is fantastic. Naturally, Professor Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University sifted through it to see how religious beliefs have changed over time.

He explained three of those changes in a post, and they’re fascinating for those of us who want to see a nation that’s less dependent on organized religion.

First, he looked at changes in religious affiliation over the past decade. We know the popularity of organized religion has declined over time, but the numbers for most denominations has been relatively stable over the years. There were drops and gains for various groups but it’s not like any group is perpetually heading downhill.

The “No Religion” line, however, seems to go up and up and up…

That’s interesting! That’s also not all that new. Several surveys have shown “Nones” on the rise, if not the largest single “religious” group in the country.

Then Burge looked at what’s happening state by state since the CCES data lets him break it down like that. When it comes to which religious groups have seen the greatest rise within each state between 2008 and 2018, he found that the “Nones” are running the board.

We had the largest growth everywhere except South Dakota, Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. (the last two aren’t on the map).

I blame the one atheist who left each state and changed all the percentages. (Cue rimshot.)

Impressive!

BUT WAIT! There’s more. If you look for the actual numbers for each state in 2008 and 2018, what you find, nearly across the board, is a huge leap forward for non-religious people. Often in places you wouldn’t expect.

Meaning, in just about every state, the rise of the Nones was massive.

[The Nones] grew 22.9% in Hawaii, 19.5% in Wisconsin, 18.6% in West Virginia, and 17.4% in Rhode Island. Not exactly progressive strongholds in the United States. However, overall growth was widespread. In fact, the nones enjoyed double digit gains in 24 states. The only state in which the nones declined was South Dakota (-0.3%). The slowest growth states were Arkansas (4%), Kansas (4.5%), and Florida (5.3%).
​

That’s ridiculous growth in places like Hawaii and Wisconsin and West Virginia. We’re talking a major cultural shift over the past decade.

I knew the non-religious had grown in numbers, but to see it happening just about everywhere — and at such high rates — is a testament to how far religion has fallen. And given how many self-inflicted wounds we’re seeing with organized religion these days, with the Catholic Church’s sex scandals, and evangelical megachurch sex scandals, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s sex scandals, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ sex scandals, it’s not like we’ve seen the end of the rise for non-religiosity.

Far from hitting a plateau, the growth will continue for a long time to come."
source​

So, what does this portend for the USA? Is it a trend that will eventually seriously hurt the Christian religion in America? Will it blow over? Will it eventually stop and change directions?

Where do you see Christianity 25 years down the road.


View attachment 30808

According to the book of Revelation Religion that has its root in Babylon is to experience complete destruction in the last days, just before launching Harmageddon.
Not everyone is in agreement as to the symbolic meaning of Revelation, but current trends seems to strongly favor those that understand religion to be the object of God's displeasure and promise of imminent destruction.
Rev 14:8;16,19 Chap 17,18 and 19:3.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

My best guess is that the numbers are growing for a few reasons, First, there's a decades-long decline in the numbers of folk who join community groups of any kind. Second, education has generally improved, an element likely to favor secularization. Third, a generation has now grown up with their own cultural center around cellphones and social media, and they pay less attention these days to traditional authorities (as do increasing numbers of others). Fourth, the world-wide and decades-long scandal of the churches' attitudes to their own pedophiles appalled many many people ─ like throwing accelerant onto a fire. Fifth, a lot of people who never cared much anyway feel freer to come out of the closet.

I don't think religion will go away; like any other industry, it will produce better and worse managers and entrepreneurs, and as the Pentecostals show, some product lines are still popular.

I'd guess that 25 years from now the US will still be comfortably more than two thirds Christian, at least on paper.

It's because of telephones and cars.

Seriously, hear me out...

Once upon a time, the church was the center of community life. You worked all day, then one day a week, everyone gets dressed up and goes to the local church, likely on foot or by short horse ride. Sure, there are the "hard core" true believers who would go to church anyway, but for a lot of people, while they had faith, church was far more important as a social event and networking opportunity. During times of trouble or disaster it provided a rallying point, kids would meet and play there, people would talk business and make deals there, young adults would meet and fall in love, or at least, pair off. The church was the center of local life, not so much because of its religious significance (which I don't mean to understate, don't get me wrong), but it was a place where everyone would get together to be a community, not just because of what church is, but because it was the only available option for most people.

Once we had telephones and cars, people weren't nearly as beholden to being part of the local community. That's not bad, necessarily, but it is a paradigm shift. Now you can be more selective about who your friends are, rather than just taking the local crowd as a job lot. You want to talk to someone? Call them on the phone, you don't have to wait for Sunday. Have a friend you'd like to see lives two towns over? Go for a drive. The internet and affordable air travel have only accelerated these trends. When you're getting your social and communal needs met elsewhere, getting to church doesn't have nearly the same importance. So people... drift away. At first it's not a rejection of faith as such, but over the generations, that kind of becomes part of it. Great grandpa went to church three times a week, Grandpa went once a week, Dad went when he remembered and didn't have something else on, you go to the High Holidays if the family's in town, and your kids don't go at all. At no point did anyone explicitly renounce their faith, but church gradually transformed from an event people looked forward to, to something of a chore that didn't meet people's needs the way it used to. Again, it's not bad that times change, just different.

Now, the people who attend regularly are the (for want of a better term) "true believers", for whom church is primarily a spiritual necessity, and those insecure and ingrouped types for whom church is a personal identifier. Everyone else kind of just... has better stuff to do. Many of the others are still religious, in their way, but universal literacy means you can largely navigate your own faith journey, and mass transport and information technology mean you don't have to go to a central, local hub to be part of a community. And over time, without "we are Christians! You will be Christian and go to church" being an unconscious background in everyone's lives, a lot of people just... aren't. I'm Christian, but I'm happy to admit that if I hadn't been brought up as one, I probably wouldn't be. And for a lot more people now, we're just not bringing them up with that "we are Christian" expectation.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

”BUT WAIT! There’s more....”

This soundly oddly familiar...
Does it mean, if I act now, they’ll double the offer free, just pay shipping?

idk.

 

[stvdv]

Where do you see Christianity 25 years down the road.

Nowhere

 

[stvdv]

So, what does this portend for the USA? Is it a trend that will eventually seriously hurt the Christian religion in America?
Will it blow over? Will it eventually stop and change directions?

The truth will always win in the end. Christianity has quite a few elements in it, that are far from the truth IMO. So it will not blow over, it has just started.

 

[Skwim]

According to the book of Revelation Religion that has its root in Babylon is to experience complete destruction in the last days, just before launching Harmageddon.
Not everyone is in agreement as to the symbolic meaning of Revelation, but current trends seems to strongly favor those that understand religion to be the object of God's displeasure and promise of imminent destruction.
Rev 14:8;16,19 Chap 17,18 and 19:3.

Matthew 24:3----34
3 And as he [Jesus] sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
.
.
.
.
.
.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.



.​

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Matthew 24:3----34
3 And as he [Jesus] sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
.
.
.
.
.
.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.



.​

Longinus is still alive, so technically...

 

[blü 2]

Once we had telephones and cars, people weren't nearly as beholden to being part of the local community. That's not bad, necessarily, but it is a paradigm shift. Now you can be more selective about who your friends are, rather than just taking the local crowd as a job lot. You want to talk to someone? Call them on the phone, you don't have to wait for Sunday. Have a friend you'd like to see lives two towns over? Go for a drive. The internet and affordable air travel have only accelerated these trends. When you're getting your social and communal needs met elsewhere, getting to church doesn't have nearly the same importance. So people... drift away. At first it's not a rejection of faith as such, but over the generations, that kind of becomes part of it. Great grandpa went to church three times a week, Grandpa went once a week, Dad went when he remembered and didn't have something else on, you go to the High Holidays if the family's in town, and your kids don't go at all. At no point did anyone explicitly renounce their faith, but church gradually transformed from an event people looked forward to, to something of a chore that didn't meet people's needs the way it used to. Again, it's not bad that times change, just different.

I don't disagree with any of that, though I have some reservations about the timing. None-ism (the phenomenon, not the name) has been around in other parts of the West since maybe the 70s. The US is only now catching up. Compare eg Canada with about 25% nones.

Now, the people who attend regularly are the (for want of a better term) "true believers", for whom church is primarily a spiritual necessity, and those insecure and ingrouped types for whom church is a personal identifier. Everyone else kind of just... has better stuff to do. Many of the others are still religious, in their way, but universal literacy means you can largely navigate your own faith journey, and mass transport and information technology mean you don't have to go to a central, local hub to be part of a community. And over time, without "we are Christians! You will be Christian and go to church" being an unconscious background in everyone's lives, a lot of people just... aren't. I'm Christian, but I'm happy to admit that if I hadn't been brought up as one, I probably wouldn't be. And for a lot more people now, we're just not bringing them up with that "we are Christian" expectation.

I was raised Pisco (my mother regarded it as part of good manners) though except for a half-year burst of fervor in early adolescence it never was a fit. But the rise of the nones is as much a generational change as anything else.