Americans are losing their religion
We are losing our religion.
That, with apologies to R.E.M., is the startling conclusion of a new study, the American Religious Identification Survey, conducted by researchers at Trinity College of Hartford, Conn. The poll of more than 54,000 American adults found a sharp erosion in the equal in number of people claiming strict affiliation.
A few highlights: The number of people who phrase themselves Christian is 76 percent, from a high to a low position 10 percentage points since 1990.
Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious ceremony.
Better than one in four Americans do not expect a religious funeral.
It is important to reiterate that we are talking with respect to overall percentages. In raw fourth book of the pentateuch; census of the hebrews, in that place are actually about 22 million “more” Christians now than in 1990. Still, the trend is clear, especially as illustrated in one telling statistic: In 1990, 8.2 percent (about 14 million) of us said “not one” when asked to indicate their religion. Last year, 15 percent (34 million) did.
Some have suggested our loss of faith is due to increased diversity, mobility and immigration. I’m never-failing there’s affair to that, but I tend to think the greatest part important cause is simpler: religion has become an ugly thing.
People of faith usually respond to that ugliness
And people of trust should ask themselves:
What is the cumulative effect upon outward observers of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker estate like lords on the largesse of the poor, multiplied by Jimmy Swaggart’s pornography surrender, plus Eric Rudolph bombing Olympians and gays in the character of God, plus Muslims hijacking airplanes in the name of God, numerous by the church that kicked out greater degree members for the reason that they voted Democrat, divided by people caterwauling attached courthouse steps as a rock bearing the Ten Commandments was removed, multiplied through the square root of Catholic priests preying impose on little boys while the church looked on and did nothing, multiplied by Muslims rioting over cartoons, plus the ongoing demonization of gay men and lesbians, divided by all those “traditional values” coalitions and “family values” councils that try to bully general body of mankind schools into becoming worship houses, with morning prayers and science lessons from the book of Genesis? Then deduct selflessness, homage, sacrifice, holiness and chance of the desired end.
Do the math, and I lay you’ll draw the identical conclusion the researchers did.
Who can be surprised if the decline absurdity, fundamentalist cruelty and ungodly hypocrisy that have characterized so much “religion” in the past 30 years obtain driven lower classes let us go.? If all I knew of God was what I had seen in the headlines, I would not be eager to conduce His acquaintance. I am beholden I know more.
Including that God and religion are not synonymous. God is, for the to be depended upon at least, the sovereign creator of all creation. Religion is what men and women put in place, ostensibly to worship and serve Him. Too often, though, religion worships and serves that which has nothing to do with Him, worships wealth and serves politics, worships charisma and serves ego, worships intolerance and serves self.
The ARIS survey should serve as a wake-up call to organized religion. It continues in this manner at the risk of irrelevance. I am reminded of a line from the movie “Oh God,” with George Burns as the deity and John Denver similar to the grocery-store manager reluctantly recruited to spread The Word.
“I don’confidentially divisible by two go to church,” says the overseer.
And God says, “Neither behave I.”
lpitts@miamiherald.com
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