[Vision2020] USAToday: People with 'no religion' gaining on major denominations

Tue Sep 22 09:24:50 PDT 2009

Astonishingly enough, this born-again Christian finds herself agreeing with Art Deco, a self-professed atheist, that Wilson has had a terrible effect on how people view Christianity.  I suspect, though, that we differ on how important that is; while Wayne notes the information below with tongue firmly planted in cheek, I'm pretty much heartbroken.  I can't speak for him, of course, but as for me -- well, I see how Wilson proclaims, in word and deed, a Gospel that bears little resemblance to Christ's message, and I think it's a lamentable truth that too many people on the Palouse shrink back not just from Wilson, but from the Christ he represents.

It won't show up in statistical tables, but if even one person turns his or her back on Jesus Christ and his message because of the bad behavior of Doug Wilson, that's a tragedy, one that merits notice but evidently isn't enough to shake the complacency and willful ignorance of Moscow's evangelicals.

Keely
www.keely-prevailingwinds.com

From: deco at moscow.com
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:56:02 -0700
Subject: [Vision2020] USAToday: People with 'no religion' gaining on major	denominations

Thank you Cultmaster Douglas Wilson for contributing 
motivation for the trend below.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-09-22-no-religion_N.htm

    People with 'no religion' 
      gaining on major denominations 

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

Americans who don't identify with any religion are now 
15% of the USA, but trends in a new study shows they could one day surpass the 
nation's largest denominations — including Catholics, now 24% of the 
nation.
American Nones: Profile of the No Religion 
Population, to be released today by Trinity College, finds this faith-free 
group already includes nearly 19% of U.S. men and 12% of women. Of these, 35% 
say they were Catholic at age 12.

FAITH & REASON: What's your religious path: Any, many, one or none?
"Will a day come when the Nones are on top? We can't 
predict for sure," says lead researcher Barry Kosmin.
But if Nones, now 22% of all adults ages 18 to 29, continue 
to gain among young adults, to draw more people "switching out" from 
denominations and to replace more religious older people, researchers forecast 
one in five Americans will be Nones in 20 years.

"Trends clearly favor this," Kosmin says. But he also 
notes, "There could be a Great Awakening (massive Protestant revival) or 
immigration may bring in more Catholic believers."
Kosmin and Ariela Keysar of Trinity College, Hartford, 
Conn., directed three editions of the American Religious 
Identification Survey over 18 years. The 2008 
ARIS (pdf), based on a sampling of 54,000 U.S. adults, also burrowed in for 
a closer look at 1,106 Nones, who answered extra questions about their beliefs 
and behaviors and views on God.

ARIS: Most religious groups have lost ground in USA
'NONES': Now 15% of population
The report finds:
•Not all Nones are alike. Half (51%) still believe in God 
or a higher power.
•Nones also are the only major U. S. faith group that's 
majority male. Even when girls grow up with unbelieving parents, they're more 
likely to find a faith as adults than their brothers.
"Women are also less skeptical than men and less drawn to 
irreligious and anti-religious views. They are more likely to reject a secular 
upbringing," Kosmin says.
"There is a lot of 'churning' going on but Nones gain much 
more from switching (people leaving religion) than from natural growth (children 
emulating unbelieving parents)," he says.
•The percentage of atheist Nones — who say there's no such 
thing as God — hasn't budged in years.
"It's not as though dozens of people at the Methodist 
Church read (atheist Richard) Dawkins and suddenly decided God doesn't exist," 
says Kosmin.
"There are so many misconceptions about who the Nones are. 
They're not New Age searchers or spiritual or even hardened atheists," says 
Kosmin.
"They're a stew of agnostics, deists and rationalists. They 
sound more like Thomas Jefferson and Tom 
Paine. Their very interesting enlightenment approach is like the Founding 
Fathers' kind: Skeptical about organized religion and clerics while still 
holding to an idea of God."
One quirky fact: 33% of Nones claim Irish ancestry, 
although the U.S. Census says only 10% of the USA does.
"We have no idea why," he says. "Maybe you could ask (Fox 
newscaster) Bill O'Reilly.
In some way, researchers found Nones are very much like the 
overall, largely religious, U.S. population. There's no statistical difference 
on education, or income or marital status. They are just as likely to be 
divorced as anybody else.
"Nones are not a fringe group anymore and are now part of 
Middle America. They're present in every socio-demographic group, Keysar 
concludes in their report. 		 	   		  
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