I wrote a while back about the inadequacy of the study by Bruce Hunsberger and Altemeyer of non-believers entitled Atheists. In fact, the subtitle of their book is at best misleading because of the focus on the atheists in only three samples. Their surveys were very well written, but their samples were terrible. But that was another day (more here).
Today, I want to point out an impressive study with a strong methodology, large sample (35,000), and fascinating conclusions. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has just completed a tremendous survey of religion in the United States and has revealed exactly what I suspected (emphasis mine):
More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.
The survey finds that the number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children.
My guess is that religion is NOT supplying the answers that people seek. How can it? It’s mythology. All religions were completely, 100% dreamt up my men… typically primitive men desperate for explanations regarding tragedy and natural phenomena.
As more information becomes available via the Internet, our 250+ channels, modern schooling, book stores, etc., people will have more and more difficulty reconciling truth and reality with ancient texts. Another highlight of the study includes the numbers of “Unaffiliated”.
Hey, there I am! I like the description “Secular Unaffiliated”. How cool is that? The term Atheist always gives me heartburn because it seems to be used almost like a weapon… for shock and awe. It certainly cuts to the chase. Although, almost anything is better than “bright” - oh, please…
I am not sure what “Religious Unaffiliated” means, but in the future, I would rather see a category called Non-Believer or Non-Theist, and I’m happy to join the atheists there. I know there is really no distinction between my non-belief and atheism, but note that only 1.6% were comfortable identifying as the latter.
It’s one of those weird things… when you find that you are an atheist… because it is essentially impossible for you to believe in the claims of religion – you have no choice of succinct label. Once you are at the point of non-belief, you are, in fact, an a-theist. HOWEVER, many people (ahem, present company included) still have trouble identifying with that lot. I have found when it comes right down to picking the words that come out of my mouth when asked (what I am) are “non-believer”. That quickly turns to “You’re an ATHEIST?!” (typically with significantly increased volume on the respondent’s part). To which I must reply, “Yeah, I guess I am.” Then, because I am choosy about the company I keep and allowing the conversation to steer into that area, we usually proceed to have an intelligent conversation.
I know this veered off into “me” territory, but I think this survey is strongly indicative of the unraveling of organized religion, which is exactly what happened to me. And, unlike over the last several millenia, once the genie is out of the bottle this time, no one will be able to put him back.
As an aside, great post from Majikthise.
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