Number of atheists & agnostics grows

nhboy

nhboy

Ubi bene ibi patria
"In the religious world there are the "nuns" and the "nones," and while the first category is declining, the second is growing.

We all know who nuns are, even though you don't see them much anymore. All surveys show that they are fast disappearing.

But the "nones" are another matter. That is the term sociologists use to describe the people who answer "none" when asked about their religious affiliation. This category includes atheists ("don't believe") and agnostics ("don't know") as well as those who simply "don't affiliate."

A vast new survey of religion in America conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life showed that a whopping 16% of Americans fall into the "none" group. The number is more than twice what it was in the early 1990s.

Where have all the faithful gone?

I put this question to Barry Kosmin, the director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism at Trinity College in Hartford, and he rattled off five sensible reasons: "

Number of atheists & agnostics grows
 
This_person

This_person

Well-Known Member
nhboy said:
"In the religious world there are the "nuns" and the "nones," and while the first category is declining, the second is growing.

We all know who nuns are, even though you don't see them much anymore. All surveys show that they are fast disappearing.

But the "nones" are another matter. That is the term sociologists use to describe the people who answer "none" when asked about their religious affiliation. This category includes atheists ("don't believe") and agnostics ("don't know") as well as those who simply "don't affiliate."

A vast new survey of religion in America conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life showed that a whopping 16% of Americans fall into the "none" group. The number is more than twice what it was in the early 1990s.

Where have all the faithful gone?

I put this question to Barry Kosmin, the director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism at Trinity College in Hartford, and he rattled off five sensible reasons: "

Number of atheists & agnostics grows
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nhboy said:
Nearly Half of Americans Left Their Childhood Faith-More Than 10 Percent Have No Religious Affiliation

"The U.S. religious marketplace is extremely volatile, with nearly half of American adults leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether, a new survey finds.

The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for its sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population.
Related Stories

While much of the study confirms earlier findings -- mainline Protestant churches are in decline, non-denominational churches are gaining and the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing -- it also provides a deeper look behind those trends, and of smaller religious groups."

ABC News: Protestants Losing Status As U.S. Majority
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I think you're previous post explains it. Read the category of "none"s in red, and your previous post, and I think it just means people are leaving organized religion for their own interpretations (constant reminders of the miniscule percentage of crappy clergy makes people feel more are bad than really are, and choose not to associate, I suspect).
 
High EGT

High EGT

Gort! Klaatu barada nikto
That’s just because where living longer so consequently we have a longer period of time in our lives to not be concerned about such trivial ideas of an after life. But I dare say allot of atheist on their death beds may have second thoughts on the whole subject.
:coffee:
 
PsyOps

PsyOps

Pixelated
High EGT said:
That’s just because where living longer so consequently we have a longer period of time in our lives to not be concerned about such trivial ideas of an after life. But I dare say allot of atheist on their death beds may have second thoughts on the whole subject.
:coffee:
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Or perhaps a longer life gives us more time to learn and think about such "trivial" ideas as an afterlife. The Christian faith is not getting smaller you know?
 
High EGT

High EGT

Gort! Klaatu barada nikto
I say lets just go ahead and reject the whole notion of organized religion in our society and embrace the moral philosophies of MTV and BET. I mean that would make everybody so much more comfortable in a do what ever makes you feel good society.
Have I got an AMEN? :yahoo:
 
PsyOps

PsyOps

Pixelated
High EGT said:
I say lets just go ahead and reject the whole notion of organized religion in our society and embrace the moral philosophies of MTV and BET. I mean that would make everybody so much more comfortable in a do what ever makes you feel good society.
Have I got an AMEN? :yahoo:
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Soon to be called the Obama generation.

AMEN!
 
Xaquin44

Xaquin44

New Member
PsyOps said:
Soon to be called the Obama generation.

AMEN!
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pfft, teenagers are all stupid. Also, anyone old enough to be a teen or low 20something will have spent most of their lives in the Bush stay, so really, blaming current views on someone not yet in office falls a bit flat.
 
PsyOps

PsyOps

Pixelated
Xaquin44 said:
pfft, teenagers are all stupid. Also, anyone old enough to be a teen or low 20something will have spent most of their lives in the Bush stay, so really, blaming current views on someone not yet in office falls a bit flat.
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This goes way beyond teenagers and 20-somethings. This is virtually a cult following in my view. I think it's fair to say there is much more influence coming out of the left wing of the media and Hollywood than from Bush. So I don't blame Obama for current views, he is just now the new ordained leader of those progressive views.
 
High EGT

High EGT

Gort! Klaatu barada nikto
Isn’t it great to now live in a society void of any judgments regarding personal behavior or actions. The only concern now is “What would Paris Hilton do? “
 
This_person

This_person

Well-Known Member
High EGT said:
Isn’t it great to now live in a society void of any judgments regarding personal behavior or actions. The only concern now is “What would Paris Hilton do? “
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It's all because of the hypocritical, cosmic zombie/rib woman loving, magical tree-fruit eating Christians!

:lmao:
 
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