Support NeoGAF

[emag]

https://www.prri.org/research/american-religious-landscape-christian-religiously-unaffiliated/

Among the major findings:

1. White Christians now account for fewer than half of the public.
2. White evangelical Protestants are in decline—along with white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.
3. Non-Christian religious groups are growing, but they still represent less than one in ten Americans combined.
4. America's youngest religious groups are all non-Christian.
5. The Catholic Church is experiencing an ethnic transformation.
6. Atheists and agnostics account for a minority of all religiously unaffiliated. Most are secular.
7. There are 20 states in which no religious group comprises a greater share of residents than the religiously unaffiliated.
8. No state is less religiously diverse than Mississippi.
9. The cultural center of the Catholic Church is shifting south.
10. Jews, Hindus, and Unitarian-Universalists stand out as the most educated groups in the American religious landscape.
11. Asian or Pacific-Islander Americans have a significantly different religious profile than other racial or ethnic groups.
12. Nearly half of LGBT Americans are religiously unaffiliated.
13. White Christians have become a minority in the Democratic Party.
14. White evangelical Protestants remain the dominant religious force in the GOP.

Lots of charts and details at the source.

EDIT: Bonus!

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Many evangelicals found their new lord and savior, Donald Trump, just in the past year.

 

[BocoDragon]

"Secular" is an odd thing to identify as. I guess it's an even greater dodge of the big question than "agnostic" is sometimes used. Hell, I might even choose that option, because it's just so inoffensive and non-commital.

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

"Secular" is an odd thing to identify as. I guess it's an even greater dodge of the big question than "agnostic" is sometimes used. Hell, I might even choose that option, because it's just so inoffensive and non-commital.

It may be because of the heavy negative connotations that come with 'atheist' and 'agnostic'. Secular is essentially the same thing, just less charged.

 

[John Rabbit]

It may be because of the heavy negative connotations that come with 'atheist' and 'agnostic'. Secular is essentially the same thing, just less charged.

That or people who don't identify as 'agnostic' or 'atheist' because they don't put any thought into their religious/spiritual beliefs whatsoever.

 

[Kinitari]

That or people who don't identify as 'agnostic' or 'atheist' because they don't put any thought into their religious/spiritual beliefs whatsoever.

I think what makes that confusing is like someone asks me if I like fruit, and my answer is 'Ive never eaten fruit' - it would be fair to say I don't like fruit, because I would have to have eaten it to like it.

But I digress, better people feel comfortable with their labels, we can put it all under non-religious.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

This is evident in every day life to me. I hardly know anyone between the ages of 20-40 who is religious. Walking by a church it's only old people and young children. Globalization and social media has accelerated the decline of religion in the U.S. at a stellar rate.

 

[tbm24]

Growing up Catholic, just seems weird to see them say the church is have an ethnic revolution when the loudest and most devout Catholics I've always known growing up were all minorities. Spanish mass at 11am was packed every Sunday no matter which church I went to. Granted I'm in one of the biggest if not the biggest urban center for Latinos.

 

[emag]

That or people who don't identify as 'agnostic' or 'atheist' because they don't put any thought into their religious/spiritual beliefs whatsoever.

The only further definition of the term "secular" in the research paper is "someone who is not religious". Within the category of unaffiliated there are four identifiers provided: atheist, agnostic, secular ("not religious"), and religious. Presumably "secular" includes non-practicing/lapsed/non-observant people who may be culturally Christian/etc.

A footnote states that of the 58% of non-affiliated Americans who do not identify as religious, 7% identify as "spiritual but not religious"; it's unclear which of the four brackets this group falls into (secular?).

EDIT: Going through the website, I can't find a single recent survey that provides the level of granularity described. The closest is this question from 2014:

Q.15 As I read a list, tell me if each item describes you or not. If you're not familiar with
something, just let me know. The first one is... [INSERT ITEM; RANDOMIZE] [IF
NECESSARY: Do you think of yourself to be [ITEM] or not?]

a. An atheist
7 Yes
91 No
1 Don't Know/Refused (VOL.)
100 Total

b. An agnostic
13 Yes
71 No
17 Don't Know/Refused (VOL.)
100 Total

c. A spiritual person
78 Yes
21 No
1 Don't Know/Refused (VOL.)
100 Total

d. A religious person
63 Yes
36 No
1 Don't Know/Refused (VOL.)
100 Total

 

[Muppet of a Man]

It may be because of the heavy negative connotations that come with 'atheist' and 'agnostic'. Secular is essentially the same thing, just less charged.

I think in a lot of ways the term "ignostic" is much more representative of the peculiarities of those who are considered secular in this context. Ignosticism is the idea that a belief in a diety or not is ultimately immaterial to our lives and the nature of reality as it is.

 

[Valhelm]

38% of young people being religiously unaffiliated is really interesting. This, along with changing racial demographics, are going to change our political landscape entirely.

And 20% of black people being Catholic is surprising. You don't see that represented in our media at all.

 

[Haly]

Unitarian Universalism[2][3][4] is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning".[5][6] The Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church does not have a creed. Instead, UUs are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. As such, UU congregations include many agnostics, theists, and atheists among their membership. The roots of UU are in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and Universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions come a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love. Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.[7]

This is the gluten-free organic fusion cuisine of religions.

 

[Lazy vs Crazy]

I'm not sure what the distinction between agnostic and secular is.

 

[Fuchsdh]

Growing up Catholic, just seems weird to see them say the church is have an ethnic revolution when the loudest and most devout Catholics I've always known growing up were all minorities. Spanish mass at 11am was packed every Sunday no matter which church I went to. Granted I'm in one of the biggest if not the biggest urban center for Latinos.

Yeah it's not a new trend, neither is the fact that the priesthood is far more diverse because most priests are from nonwhite groups or outside the country. But it's certainly not going to reverse any time soon.

 

[Farside]

I'm Buddhist, so according to that survey, I'm a 1%er! Part of the elite...

 

[Angelus Errare]

Among the major findings:
White Christians now account for fewer than half of the public.

Good

White evangelical Protestants are in decline—along with white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.

Good

Non-Christian religious groups are growing, but they still represent less than one in ten Americans combined.

Good

America’s youngest religious groups are all non-Christian.

Good

The Catholic Church is experiencing an ethnic transformation.

Good

Atheists and agnostics account for a minority of all religiously unaffiliated. Most are secular.

Not shocking

There are 20 states in which no religious group comprises a greater share of residents than the religiously unaffiliated.

Good

No state is less religiously diverse than Mississippi.
The cultural center of the Catholic Church is shifting south.

Double shock and awe

Jews, Hindus, and Unitarian-Universalists stand out as the most educated groups in the American religious landscape.

This trend has been holding steady for a number of decades

Asian or Pacific-Islander Americans have a significantly different religious profile than other racial or ethnic groups.

Yea this isn't too surprising given the religious makeup of that region of the world. It wouldn't change that much upon entry into America.

Nearly half of LGBT Americans are religiously unaffiliated.

Not too shocking really

White Christians have become a minority in the Democratic Party.

Not shocking given the makeup of the democratic party.

White evangelical Protestants remain the dominant religious force in the GOP.

Not shocking given the makeup of the republican party.

 

[Pancake Mix]

White evangelical Protestants are in decline—along with white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.

In a North American context, this might be at least partially due to intermarriage between the two groups being common.

Either one parent converts or submits where the child comes in, or the child is raised irreligious regardless. So that's another factor.

 

[kiunchbb]

I'm Buddhist, so according to that survey, I'm a 1%er! Part of the elite...

*High-five*

 

[Wilsongt]

White Christians fewer than half of the public... Yet a handful of them are steering public and economic policy in our country for the next decade or so.

 

[fredrancour]

I'm not sure what the distinction between agnostic and secular is.

People who admit to being undecided about god vs. People from religious families with some emotional attachment to the family faith but who desire nonreligious lives and politics, I'd imagine

 

[Air]

This isn't surprising. When you have a religion that's supposed to preach love have followers who are bigoted, people will leave it.

That said, these surveys never really seem to do a good job of representing non-religious theists. While I'm not surprised at the rise of atheists and agnostics you would expect there to be more given one of the major points that many express for deconversion is access to the internet and information. This tells me that while the growth is there, i dont expect it to grow as much as it has in the past. That number is also in line with global numbers iirc.

Apart for that, it's good to see the country continuing to diversify in light of the current political climate.

 

[Chmpocalypse]

Good news! I'm loving the decline of organized religion. Maybe one day we'll get around to rising above all magical thinking; this is a great start.

 

[jb1234]

Not too shocking really

I'm surprised it's not higher, honestly. Most of the gay people I know (including myself) are deeply resentful of organized religion.

 

[HylianTom]

White Christians now account for fewer than half of the public.

This is why the GOP's base is freaking-out and radicalizing. They know that time is running out.

 

[One Eyed Willy]

This is evident in every day life to me. I hardly know anyone between the ages of 20-40 who is religious. Walking by a church it's only old people and young children. Globalization and social media has accelerated the decline of religion in the U.S. at a stellar rate.

On the contrary, many people I know who are "thirty something" with small kids and who have no prior religious background, all attend church regularly now. They also have their kids enrolled in Christian private schools etc..

Overall I think you're right and the numbers don't lie, it is in a decline. But my personal experience has been the opposite, this is in southern California.

 

[John Rabbit]

Good news! I'm loving the decline of organized religion. Maybe one day we'll get around to rising above all magical thinking; this is a great start.

There is power in institutions and community, two things an organized religion can provide. There are many liberal religious sects out there that don't promote or harbor virulent "conservative" values.

On the contrary, many people I know who are "thirty something" with small kids and who have no prior religious background, all attend church regularly now. They also have their kids enrolled in Christian private schools etc..

Overall I think you're right and the numbers don't lie, it is in a decline. But my personal experience has been the opposite, this is in southern California.

I'm 33, married with no kids and I started regularly attending a church service for the first time in my life just this year.

 

[PKrockin]

On the contrary, many people I know who are "thirty something" with small kids and who have no prior religious background, all attend church regularly now. They also have their kids enrolled in Christian private schools etc..

Overall I think you're right and the numbers don't lie, it is in a decline. But my personal experience has been the opposite, this is in southern California.

Speaking of Christian private schools, I know several people who don't seem to be religious at all but they still send their kids to Christian private schools expressly so that they won't be schoolmates with the kids of Somalian immigrants.

I guess that was kind of a non-sequitur though.

 

[kinggroin]

I see more people of faith, but way way less religious people. If that makes sense.

 

[Sunster]

I see more people of faith, but way way less religious people. If that makes sense.

You are describing me lol. I'm Catholic, but I'm not Catholic

 

[Einchy]

No state is less religiously diverse than Mississippi.

No surprise there, there's a goddamn Church on every corner and they're all Christian.

 

[Diablos]

Many evangelicals found their new lord and savior, Donald Trump, just in the past year.

Still blows my mind. He's like, the least religious President we've had in I don't even know how long. But he hates Obama and brown people, so I guess they forgive him.
Fucked up.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

WTF is Black Protestantism and Hispanic Protestantism

 

[Kthulhu]

I see more people of faith, but way way less religious people. If that makes sense.

It makes no sense written out, but if you ever meet someone who is then it makes perfect sense.

Still blows my mind. He's like, the least religious President we've had in I don't even know how long. But he hates Obama and brown people, so I guess they forgive him.
Fucked up.

It shouldn't. Evangelicals have always been hypocrites.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

WTF is Black Protestantism and Hispanic Protestantism

Non-Catholic Christians of a certain ethnic backgrounds?

 

[Diablos]

It makes no sense written out, but if you ever meet someone who is then it makes perfect sense.



It shouldn't. Evangelicals have always been hypocrites.

They have, but in the past they supported politicians like Dubya at the Presidential level. He was still an asshole, yes, but Trump is on a whole other level.

 

[Barren Mind]

Very interesting statistics there. I'm curious what the breakdown would be for individuals who were formerly Christian.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Non-Catholic Christians of a certain ethnic backgrounds?

How are these and White Protestantism different religions than just Protestantism?

 

[Deleted member 1159]

How are these and White Protestantism different religions than just Protestantism?

Well, quite literally, they're black and hispanic. As for how that flavors the religious identity, I'm not sure I'm the best person to explain that in a post in this thread, but suffice it to say that it does.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

I wish atheists/agnostics weren't lumped in with the "spiritual but not religious" types in an "unaffiliated" category. Those are two very different things.

 

[Geist-]

Can someone explain Unitarian Universalism to me? I've heard of it, but I didn't realize it was becoming such a big thing and now my interest is piqued.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Well, quite literally, they're black and hispanic. As for how that flavors the religious identity, I'm not sure I'm the best person to explain that in a post in this thread, but suffice it to say that it does.

It flavours how they're likely to vote.

 

[TSM]

I think in a lot of ways the term "ignostic" is much more representative of the peculiarities of those who are considered secular in this context. Ignosticism is the idea that a belief in a diety or not is ultimately immaterial to our lives and the nature of reality as it is.

These days I'm an apathiest. I can give a crap whether there is a god or are gods as it has no bearing on my life whatsoever. Frankly being an athiest is a complete waste of time and energy, and trying to argue with religious people only lends their position creduality. Religion only matters to me in so far as it's believers impact my life. Hopefully religious folks cultural impact on others fades away into nothingness. People should feel free to be religious, but my tolerance ends where their desire to force their morality and beliefs on others begins.

 

[HStallion]

Can someone explain Unitarian Universalism to me? I've heard of it, but I didn't realize it was becoming such a big thing and now my interest is piqued.

Its basically a Church that doesn't judge you and lets you delve into your spirituality how you please. They accept atheists and agnostics without trying to convince them otherwise for example I'm not even sure calling it a Church is accurate.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

well, since the thread was kicked, there's no harm in responding to this:

"Secular" is an odd thing to identify as. I guess it's an even greater dodge of the big question than "agnostic" is sometimes used. Hell, I might even choose that option, because it's just so inoffensive and non-commital.

First of all, "secular" is just the survey answer to "no religious or spiritual beliefs", not a self-identification since most people would probably use 'atheist' colloquially and not 'secular'. Also note that this stance mostly relates to a practical life stance, not whatever personal feelings a person might have that escape a survey.

Second, secularity means the avoidance of ALL spiritual concepts, not just a god or other entities. It is not a dodge of any kind, it is the basis of the division between state and church, and even a practical disposition when doing science. Agnosticism is the dodge since it's basically the equivalent of "I don't want no trouble, so I dunno man".

Third, atheism is just not believing in one god, not all of them, or even avoiding more staccato spiritual systems. Example: New Age, digital animism, cults, etc.

I actually do identify as secular because 'atheist' is only scratching one option of a near unlimited set of options instead of tossing all of them.

 

[emag]

Also from PRRI, Republicans believe Whites are the most discriminated against racial group and Christians the most discriminated against religious group.
https://www.prri.org/spotlight/republicans-white-black-reverse-discrimination/

Added to OP for future readers.