Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

Share of Americans with no religious affiliation is rising significantly

Washington Times: The number of Americans who identify as Christian has fallen by 13 million over the last 10 years while those who are not affiliated with any religion grew by 30 million, according to polling data from the Pew Research Center. The survey’s results, released Thursday, show that 65% of American adults (about 167 million) describe themselves as Christian, down from 77% a decade ago. Meanwhile, 26% (about 67 million) describe themselves as religious “nones” (atheists, agnostics and nonaffiliated), up from 17% in 2009. (MORE)

NY Post: Both Protestant and Roman Catholic ranks are losing population share, according to Pew. It said 43 percent of US adults identify as Protestants, down from 51 percent in 2009, while 20 percent are Catholic, down from 23 percent in 2009. Pew says all categories of the religiously unaffiliated population ... Self-described atheists now account for 4 percent of US adults, up from 2 percent in 2009; agnostics account for 5 percent, up from 3 percent a decade ago; and 17 percent of Americans now describe their religion as “nothing in particular,” up from 12 percent in 2009.

The report comes at a challenging time for many major denominations in the US. The two largest — the Catholic church and the Southern Baptist Convention — are beset by clergy sex-abuse scandals. The United Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant denomination, faces a possible split over differences on the inclusion of LGBTQ people. The Pew report found a steady decline in the rates of attendance at religious services. (MORE)

---

Religious hate-crime offences in the UK on the rise, says report
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2...ays-report

EXCERPT: Religious hate-crime has increased more than twice as fast as other forms since 2015, a report by the Commission for Countering Extremism says. The report, Challenging Hateful Extremism, published last week, also argues that “countering hateful extremism requires the greatest attention and focus if we are to be successful in reducing the extremist threat”.

Hate-crime figures reported to police have more than doubled since 2013, further figures published by the Home Office this week show. There were 103,379 hate crimes recorded in England and Wales in 2018-19, of which 8556 were religion-motivated: a three-per-cent rise on last year. Just under half, 47 per cent, of religious hate-crime offences targeted Muslims: this represents 3530 separate offences. Hate crimes against Jewish people have doubled: 18 per cent of religious hate-crime offences targeted Jewish people in 1326 offences, compared with 672 in the previous year.

Citizens UK suggested that the Home Office figures were just the tip of the iceberg, as most hate crimes were not reported to the police. [...] The report also blames “Far Right agitators” for stirring up hatred against minorities, particularly Muslims. It says: “Far Right agitators’ videos on social media can receive over half a million views. Up to four thousand people attend rallies headlined by Far Right leaders.” (MORE - details)

Considering I identify with "nothing in particular" with regard to religion and that is the largest category of "nones", this doesn't really tell us much about religion/theism in general.

Are they saying if you don’t want to be involved in a religious hate crime or see its crime rate drop then stop being religious?

For those who say atheism is a religion then any similar hate crimes against an atheist should be included in those totals, are they? If I was to parade down Main Street Baghdad carrying a placard offending Islam and I’m attacked, is it a religious hate crime?

For those who don’t commit the hate crime but secretly approve, are they religious hate criminals also?

I feel these articles mean absolutely nothing, somewhat like my attitude towards religion anyways. Are they meant to keep the religious hate crime news at the forefront? Although I sheepishly admit I like stories re the erosion of religion. Meanwhile the masses are duped, like that’s not possible....lol

(Oct 18, 2019 04:10 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: [ -> ]Are they saying if you don’t want to be involved in a religious hate crime or see its crime rate drop then stop being religious?

From the report by the Commission: "Extremism is not confined to a single race, religion or ideology. Concerns were raised about the growing threat of the Far Right, Far Commission for Countering Extremism Left, Islamist and other forms of religious fundamentalisms; and animal rights extremism."

IOW, even acts of the Left (non-theist Marxism offshoots, antifa, etc), animal rights, and presumably Green or environmental terrorism are subsumed under "extremism". But to focus on noxious tribalism of either political stripe:

Toxic nationalism doesn't entail religion. The Chinese government is atheist -- it is persecuting Uyghur muslims, and it did the same to Tibetan Buddhists. If it had a significant population of Jews who were rebellious it would do the same to them.

But religion often is an indispensable supplement to generic fascism (its second definition) in the West and Middle East (depending on the local population's mindset).

Nazi intellectuals used Christianity as part of their toolkit for manipulating the party's grunt members and German masses. But even then it was Positive Christianity which they promoted, not the traditional kind. Hitler considered the latter to be detrimental folklore (though avoided such statements in public), and privately entertained or endorsed some form of Teutonic paganism. But purely as an aspect of cultural historical identity and ritualism (he didn't literally believe it or any religion).

Quote:For those who say atheism is a religion then any similar hate crimes against an atheist should be included in those totals, are they?

The explicit flavor of atheism might be construed as having a para-religious or "religious-like" orientation; although it should probably be a broader, doctrinal or prescriptive category that both would be classified under.

Positive atheism is a school of thought or ideological view about gods, supernatural, whatever... From the standpoint that there is a belief (confidence or certainty about _X_ not being extant) projected upon metaphysical territory. Militant atheism is such as well since it is political activism.

Negative atheism subsumes agnosticism, apatheism (don't care about either theism or atheism, uninterested), and naive lack of belief ("didn't even know about gods and issues in that domain") and stance-less atheism (not producing motivation about anything -- including hostility toward theism, gods, etc or campaigning slash lecturing against such -- indifference in that respect).

Quote:The number of Americans who identify as Christian has fallen by 13 million over the last 10 years while those who are not affiliated with any religion grew by 30 million, according to polling data from the Pew Research Center.

I take that as an encouraging sign that religion is on its last wobbly leg. Perhaps our society is finally waking up out of the enslaving nightmare of sinfulness and hell and a bloodstained cross. Perhaps everybody is learning that the only real source of soulfulness and authenticity is THIS world and THIS life, with all of its gratifying joys and fulfilling purposes. Only then can we rise above the divisiveness of faith and rest in the common bond of one vision for mankind on his lone and encompassing planet.

The chruch of the future will be online. Who knows how that will pan out. Sell! Sell! Sell!

"We guarantee you eternal life, but you have to die first to get it."

(Oct 23, 2019 07:27 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]"We guarantee you eternal life, but you have to die first to get it."

And give us your money. 

I found a really weird letter the other day in a hoarder’s old house.  It was dated 1983. The person was talking about a bad dream that they had. The dream was about communists taking over the United States. It went into really wierd and scary details. At first, I thought it was from the crazy hoarder but it was from a Christian pastor asking for donations. 

Prime examples of quelling cognitive dissonance.