Religious affiliation in u.S. Falls below 50 (first time ever)

[smac97]

Here:

Quote

Americans' membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.

 

U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937 and remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21^st century.

As many Americans celebrate Easter and Passover this week, Gallup updates a 2019 analysis that examined the decline in church membership over the past 20 years.

Six decades at or abot 70%, followed by the two most recent decades dropping more than 20%.  That seems significant.

Quote

The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference. Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years.

As would be expected, Americans without a religious preference are highly unlikely to belong to a church, synagogue or mosque, although a small proportion -- 4% in the 2018-2020 data -- say they do. That figure is down from 10% between 1998 and 2000.

That last figure is interesting.

Quote

Given the nearly perfect alignment between not having a religious preference and not belonging to a church, the 13-percentage-point increase in no religious affiliation since 1998-2000 appears to account for more than half of the 20-point decline in church membership over the same time.

Most of the rest of the drop can be attributed to a decline in formal church membership among Americans who do have a religious preference. Between 1998 and 2000, an average of 73% of religious Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque. Over the past three years, the average has fallen to 60%.

Hmm.

Quote

Church membership is strongly correlated with age, as 66% of traditionalists -- U.S. adults born before 1946 -- belong to a church, compared with 58% of baby boomers, 50% of those in Generation X and 36% of millennials. The limited data Gallup has on church membership among the portion of Generation Z that has reached adulthood are so far showing church membership rates similar to those for millennials.

The decline in church membership, then, appears largely tied to population change, with those in older generations who were likely to be church members being replaced in the U.S. adult population with people in younger generations who are less likely to belong. The change has become increasingly apparent in recent decades because millennials and Gen Z are further apart from traditionalists in their church membership rates (about 30 points lower) than baby boomers and Generation X are (eight and 16 points, respectively). Also, each year the younger generations are making up an increasingly larger part of the entire U.S. adult population.

The rate does seem to be accelerating.

Quote

Still, population replacement doesn't fully explain the decline in church membership, as adults in the older generations have shown roughly double-digit decreases from two decades ago. Church membership is down even more, 15 points, in the past decade among millennials.

 

The two major trends driving the drop in church membership -- more adults with no religious preference and falling rates of church membership among people who do have a religion -- are apparent in each of the generations over time.

Since the turn of the century, there has been a near doubling in the percentage of traditionalists (from 4% to 7%), baby boomers (from 7% to 13%) and Gen Xers (11% to 20%) with no religious affiliation.

Currently, 31% of millennials have no religious affiliation, which is up from 22% a decade ago. Similarly, 33% of the portion of Generation Z that has reached adulthood have no religious preference.

Read the whole thing.

Thanks,

-Smac

[CA Steve]

I believe this is a direct effect of the internet, mostly social networking. The culture of the church is being replaced by social networks.

[Tacenda]

I believe that a person can still get spirituality w/o religion. Some religions scare me. They become the voice of God. 

[The Nehor]

The best of religion survives by giving people what they need deep in their soul. The worst of it survives by giving the people what they think they want.

When religion (in general) manages to offer neither should we be surprised when it starts to die?

[Robert F. Smith]

1 hour ago, CA Steve said:

I believe this is a direct effect of the internet, mostly social networking. The culture of the church is being replaced by social networks.

The problem with that is that the pattern began long before the internet, and is even more evident earlier in Europe.  I would like to see an assessment of the rate of change before and after the internet came into existence.  The internet may have speeded up such phenomena.  Secularization has been in process since the Enlightenment.

[Robert F. Smith]

2 hours ago, smac97 said:

........The rate does seem to be accelerating.................

The USA tends to lag behind Europe in secularizing tendencies, but, yes, it does seem to be accelerating -- like a pandemic.

Will we have a corrollary diminution of fealty to Mom, home, and apple pie? 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Robert F. Smith

[CA Steve]

1 hour ago, Robert F. Smith said:

The problem with that is that the pattern began long before the internet, and is even more evident earlier in Europe.  I would like to see an assessment of the rate of change before and after the internet came into existence.  The internet may have speeded up such phenomena.  Secularization has been in process since the Enlightenment.

My response was in regard to U.S. numbers shown above. If you look at the top chart in the first quote SMAC provided, the numbers are fairly consistent between pre 1940 and about 1998 only varying by about 3%. Then it starts a steady down turn right about the time the internet began to be widely used. It may be there were other factors involved, I do not know, but I believe the easy access to information and the emerging online social culture have negatively impacted organized  religious views and attendance here in the U.S.. Europe is a different culture and I am not sure their trends extrapolate here in all things but I have no other information other than what I observe.

To put it bluntly, people are more interested in their phones than the pulpit.

Edited March 29, 2021 by CA Steve
Clarity

[poptart]

53 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

The best of religion survives by giving people what they need deep in their soul. The worst of it survives by giving the people what they think they want.

When religion (in general) manages to offer neither should we be surprised when it starts to die?

Religion in this country really doesn't do much except make money and help privileged people gain/hold power.  You can google pew research and see articles on how Christians in this country tend to blame the poor for their problems instead of focusing on community help for the poor.   So many millenials grew up seeing religious powers totally disregard traditional morals all for the sake of power while spewing things like "I'm not perfect, just forgiven, church is perfect i'm a saved sinner etc."

One thing the internet has really helped with is making it a lot harder to cover stuff up.  The USA has this habit of having collective amnesia every few decades or so.  One of my personal favs was how the Lutheran Church removed German/German hymns from the church during WWI yet let Norwegian stay despite the king of Norway siding with the Kaiser.  (correct me if I'm wrong...)Can't find the article now, believe it was the current head of the Missouri Synod who wanted to build new churches in what's left of the USA's German American communities so long as they were well off enough.  How convenient, they back stab a people then assume people will just brush it aside once enough time passes.  For the most part, it's true sadly.  I knew a Jesuit who had an interesting take on religious politics, in his case child molestation.  He said it's been a problem here for a while and yes, clergy had known about it.  Here's the thing, the parents knew.  They tolerated it so long as their kids got good grades and made it into a good Uni.  So long as that's happened, someone else being abused wasn't their problem.  

Thing is, the likes of us who were stepped on now are growing quite quickly and now outvote them in many places.  I'm not as bad but yeah, a lot of my friends (Esp POC) despise the Christian religion in this country for promoting this kind of double standard as well as the privilege they've abused for some time.  As things are now, I doubt the USA will recover to what it was and people will not only continue to slowly outnumber and outvote Christian Churches, public animosity towards them for the stuff they've pulled will continue to grow I think.  Karma is a thing....

Also, we did kinda call them out in a way no one really talks about.  We were supposed to see a rapture of some kind?  So far I don't see Jesus riding down killing all the minorities, poor people and other folks evangelical WASPs here seem to despise.  Not sure if you guys had anything similar, at least the White Horse prophesy fixes things in the here and now and protects gun rights.  

 

Kenneth Copeland And Jesse Duplantis Defending Their Private Luxury Jets - YouTube

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by poptart

[Analytics]

Steven Pinker says, "Why is the world losing its religion? There are several reasons. The Communist governments of the 20th century outlawed or discouraged religion, and when they liberalized, their citizenries were slow to reacquire the taste. Some of the alienation is part of a decline in trust in all institutions from its high-water mark in the 1960s. Some of it is carried by the global current toward emancipative values (chapter 15) such as women’s rights, reproductive freedom, and tolerance of homosexuality. Also, as people’s lives become more secure thanks to affluence, medical care, and social insurance, they no longer pray to God to save them from ruin: countries with stronger safety nets are less religious, holding other factors constant. But the most obvious reason may be reason itself: when people become more intellectually curious and scientifically literate, they stop believing in miracles. The most common reason that Americans give for leaving religion is “a lack of belief in the teachings of religion.” We have already seen that better-educated countries have lower rates of belief, and across the world, atheism rides the Flynn effect: as countries get smarter, they turn away from God."

Enlightenment Now, page 431.

The good news is that people are replacing religion with humanism, which has an unbeaten track record for improving life.

[Damien the Leper]

As long as theonomies and theocracies stay out of our Democratic Constitutional Republic then there shouldn't be a problem. 

[poptart]

3 minutes ago, Analytics said:

Steven Pinker says, "Why is the world losing its religion? There are several reasons. The Communist governments of the 20th century outlawed or discouraged religion, and when they liberalized, their citizenries were slow to reacquire the taste. Some of the alienation is part of a decline in trust in all institutions from its high-water mark in the 1960s. Some of it is carried by the global current toward emancipative values (chapter 15) such as women’s rights, reproductive freedom, and tolerance of homosexuality. Also, as people’s lives become more secure thanks to affluence, medical care, and social insurance, they no longer pray to God to save them from ruin: countries with stronger safety nets are less religious, holding other factors constant. But the most obvious reason may be reason itself: when people become more intellectually curious and scientifically literate, they stop believing in miracles. The most common reason that Americans give for leaving religion is “a lack of belief in the teachings of religion.” We have already seen that better-educated countries have lower rates of belief, and across the world, atheism rides the Flynn effect: as countries get smarter, they turn away from God."

Enlightenment Now, page 431.

The good news is that people are replacing religion with humanism, which has an unbeaten track record for improving life.

As someone who works in medical, I have my own thoughts about medical care.  

End of Life | Aging Matters | NPT Reports - YouTube

BTW, Christianity is supposedly doing quite well in Asia, I don't know why people here don't take note.  Difference I see is your stereotypical Korean church does a ton more community involvement as well as helping their own more.  Known more than a few korean families (single parents as well) who were welcomed with open arms.  Lot of the friends I've had can't say the same thing, when their parents split it was like no one knew them.  

 

[2BizE]

I think one thing these data show is churches and church leaders are becoming increasingly irrelevant.

[Fair Dinkum]

This trend does not bode well for the long term health of religion's in America.  I suspect that this trend will only grow in the years ahead and as the greatest and baby boomer generations die off.

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, Analytics said:

Steven Pinker says, "Why is the world losing its religion? There are several reasons. The Communist governments of the 20th century outlawed or discouraged religion, and when they liberalized, their citizenries were slow to reacquire the taste. Some of the alienation is part of a decline in trust in all institutions from its high-water mark in the 1960s. Some of it is carried by the global current toward emancipative values (chapter 15) such as women’s rights, reproductive freedom, and tolerance of homosexuality. Also, as people’s lives become more secure thanks to affluence, medical care, and social insurance, they no longer pray to God to save them from ruin: countries with stronger safety nets are less religious, holding other factors constant. But the most obvious reason may be reason itself: when people become more intellectually curious and scientifically literate, they stop believing in miracles. The most common reason that Americans give for leaving religion is “a lack of belief in the teachings of religion.” We have already seen that better-educated countries have lower rates of belief, and across the world, atheism rides the Flynn effect: as countries get smarter, they turn away from God."

Enlightenment Now, page 431.

The good news is that people are replacing religion with humanism, which has an unbeaten track record for improving life.

I would consider myself to be a humanist, and one who definitely believes in a God or creator. 

[JustAnAustralian]

1 hour ago, Fair Dinkum said:

I suspect that this trend will only grow in the years ahead and as the greatest and baby boomer generations die off.

Unfortunately for America (and everywhere else), they will be replaced by the tik-tok and snapchat generation.

[Robert F. Smith]

4 hours ago, CA Steve said:

................................

To put it bluntly, people are more interested in their phones than the pulpit.

Yes, Hugh Nibley once told me that one gets too old to wrench his mind around to changes in modern technology.  He was never able to adjust to computers.  BYU gave him one at work and even installed one at his home in Provo, but he finally told them to come and get them.  He simply did not get it.

As for me, I have trouble just getting LDS hymns on my phone quickly enough to sing along with the congregation, without even considering the social media.

[Robert F. Smith]

2 hours ago, JustAnAustralian said:

 

Quote

3 hours ago, Fair Dinkum said:

I suspect that this trend will only grow in the years ahead and as the greatest and baby boomer generations die off.

Unfortunately for America (and everywhere else), they will be replaced by the tik-tok and snapchat generation.

The problem for that woke group is that they don't reproduce themselves, leaving the traditionalists (those still in the pews) as the only survivors.  Living for the moment doesn't have any permanence.

[The Nehor]

5 hours ago, Fair Dinkum said:

This trend does not bode well for the long term health of religion's in America.  I suspect that this trend will only grow in the years ahead and as the greatest and baby boomer generations die off.

The Greatest Generation is collectively dead. Yeah, there are a few left but they are in their mid to late 90s or older.

[The Nehor]

4 hours ago, JustAnAustralian said:

Unfortunately for America (and everywhere else), they will be replaced by the tik-tok and snapchat generation.

Rather have them than the Boomers to be honest.

[california boy]

Christianity gives me constant reasons for me to not want any association with them.  This is just another reason in today's headlines.

Arkansas governor signs law allowing doctors to refuse treatment to LGBTQ people

Tell me where Christ is in this idea of refusing medical treatment because of Christian beliefs?

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

The problem for that woke group is that they don't reproduce themselves, leaving the traditionalists (those still in the pews) as the only survivors.  Living for the moment doesn't have any permanence.

Except they do. There is a fertility gap but the idea that traditionalists are going to outbreed everyone else over such a marginal gap is silly. Plus to be honest they were always outbreeding them but the demographics are still turning against them. What went wrong?

[The Nehor]

3 minutes ago, california boy said:

Christianity gives me constant reasons for me to not want any association with them.  This is just another reason in today's headlines.

Arkansas governor signs law allowing doctors to refuse treatment to LGBTQ people

Tell me where Christ is in this idea of refusing medical treatment because of Christian beliefs?

Does it apply to emergency services? I know a Jewish emergency doctor who has treated plenty of people during this pandemic with Nazi and White supremacist tattoos all over them. Would letting them die be legal under this religious objection law?

[Tacenda]

17 minutes ago, california boy said:

Christianity gives me constant reasons for me to not want any association with them.  This is just another reason in today's headlines.

Arkansas governor signs law allowing doctors to refuse treatment to LGBTQ people

Tell me where Christ is in this idea of refusing medical treatment because of Christian beliefs?

Yep, I feel like LDS might want to refrain from calling themselves Christian since so called Christians are totally the opposite. 

[poptart]

10 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

Yep, I feel like LDS might want to refrain from calling themselves Christian since so called Christians are totally the opposite. 

Been saying that for a while now....

[The Nehor]

9 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Will we have a corrollary diminution of fealty to Mom, home, and apple pie? 

You can have my apple pie when you pry it from my obese diabetic hands.