Current Events > Religion continues to DECLINE in America. Are you surprised?

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

The data shows a wide gap between older Americans (Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation) and Millennials in their levels of religious affiliation and attendance. More than eight-in-ten members of the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) describe themselves as Christians (84%), as do three-quarters of Baby Boomers (76%). In stark contrast, only half of Millennials (49%) describe themselves as Christians; four-in-ten are religious nones, and one-in-ten Millennials identify with non-Christian faiths.

Only about one-in-three Millennials say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month. Roughly two-thirds of Millennials (64%) attend worship services a few times a year or less often, including about four-in-ten who say they seldom or never go. Indeed, there are as many Millennials who say they never attend religious services (22%) as there are who say they go at least once a week (22%).

While the trends are clear the U.S. is steadily becoming less Christian and less religiously observant as the share of adults who are not religious grows self-described Christians report that they attend religious services at about the same rate today as in 2009. Today, 62% of Christians say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month, which is identical to the share who said the same in 2009. In other words, the nations overall rate of religious attendance is declining not because Christians are attending church less often, but rather because there are now fewer Christians as a share of the population.

Are you surprised that more and more people are kicking religion to the curb?

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Nope, just look at all the hate in the world.

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good riddance to that religious shit

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Can (D) and (R) be counted as religions yet?

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Not a surprise. Young people these days hate hypocrites, and seeing what a lot of these "Christian" people do turns them away from religion.

The whole "Let's talk about peace and love... while denying the lbgt community basic human rights!" thing isn't going to work anymore.

Obviously not everyone religious is like that, but unfortunately a lot of the people in charge...

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Not at all. Despite political evidence to the contrary, we are getting smarter overall.

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Wewillrocku posted...

good riddance

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Umbreon posted...

Not a surprise. Young people these days hate hypocrites, and seeing what a lot of these "Christian" people do turns them away from religion.

The whole "Let's talk about peace and love... while denying the lbgt community basic human rights!" thing isn't going to work anymore.

Obviously not everyone religious is like that, but unfortunately a lot of the people in charge...

Yeah.

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Supernatural posted...

Nope, just look at all the hate in the world.

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I hope all religions die off. If people are shitty they should just be shitty. No need to hide behind fiction.

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Supernatural posted...

Nope, just look at all the hate in the world.

You think there is hate in the world because religion is declining?

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Leviathan1 posted...

You think there is hate in the world because religion is declining?

No he is one of the people that believe being religious means you have good morals

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I mean when it comes to people actively practicing their faith, yeah it on a decline. But the number of people who are irreligious are still pretty high, they just don't practice their faith and its honestly a good thing. Just another step until they realize just how stupid religion is.

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Umbreon posted...

Not a surprise. Young people these days hate hypocrites, .

Rich.

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Tax churches for fucks sake already.

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PIITB415 posted...

I hope all religions die off. If people are shitty they should just be shitty. No need to hide behind fiction.

We should all become Buddhist, the pure nonreligious philosophy kind

Zikten posted...

We should all become Buddhist, the pure nonreligious philosophy kind

Don't they hate gay people?

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Irony posted...

Don't they hate gay people?

Buddha never said so. Pure Buddhist philosophy is very different even from what is practiced. If people actually followed Buddhism by heart then there wouldn't be any violence at all in Buddhist majority countries but that is not the case.

Like everything else, Buddhist philosophy got interpreted and translated into many different things.

Religion is unnecessary but not everything about religion is bad. Religion may be declining but at the same time depression, suicide, adultery and divorce is increasing. Marriage is almost a joke now in the West and this will have a very negative effect on the children who grow up without both the biological parents present.

Good, religion is so fucking dumb.

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Irony posted...

Don't they hate gay people?

"On Marriage Equality
Overall, it is difficult to qualify Buddhisms perspective on same-sex marriage, since perspectives vary greatly within the religion."
https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-buddhism

that's code for a rejection of gay marriage. this article is written by some religious crackpot but they still give all the important details.

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Good riddance.

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No one bless.

Supernatural posted...

Nope, just look at all the hate in the world.

Yeah religion is out of control

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Religion can be a powerful force for good.

No. Nietzsche predicted this, and his warning stands truer than ever.

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Keith_Valentine posted...

Religion can be a powerful force for good.

It can, but at least in the west, I don't think that's where we are right now. Right now Christianity seems defined by regression and tribalism.

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Default1234 posted...

Religion is unnecessary but not everything about religion is bad. Religion may be declining but at the same time depression, suicide, adultery and divorce is increasing. Marriage is almost a joke now in the West and this will have a very negative effect on the children who grow up without both the biological parents present.

Divorce rates are actually decreasing. Millenials have bucked that trend.


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everyone is religious to some extent

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Jiek_Fafn posted...

Divorce rates are actually decreasing. Millenials have bucked that trend.

Divorce rates are decreasing but so are the number of people getting married. Millenials aren't exactly bucking the trend.

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Jiek_Fafn posted...

Divorce rates are actually decreasing. Millenials have bucked that trend.

That may be only because lesser people are even getting married. Some men have even given up on relationships altogether and just use escorts.

BobanMarjanovic posted...

everyone is religious to some extent

what does that mean

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I'm not surprised.

The best reason to be an atheist is simply because of scientific understanding or a personal lack of connection with any faith. You don't "feel" that something is there and you know how the world works according to vast research and scientific verification. Nobody should be allowed to fault that.

The worst reason to leave faith is to succumb to ridicule. All the cool kids hate religion, so ditch your divinities. And in-between you have varying reasons such as the suffering which goes on in this world, the hypocrisy and intolerance shown by religious people, and identity politics. ("The red hats believe in God and capitalism, we believe in science and socialism.")

The only counterargument I can offer is conviction and that's something personal. You can't say, "Yeah, what this book and that book say about our past doesn't line up, a lot of people who preach the good word show contempt and disgust toward others for what they were born, and I know religion is really unpopular right now... but I've got this friend named God and I tell you He's there, I can feel it."

You might keep some of the people who have steadily and consistently believed in God (or some form of religion) over the years, but you're not likely to see an increase in membership in lieu of everything else.

Religion is so outdated. It's based on nothing. How it stayed around so long is beyond me.

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I think your average young Christian is okay with homosexuality. It's mostly older generations who think it's a choice. But religion would still be in decline if 80% to 90% of Christians from all generations embraced it. You still have the scientific factor, identity politics, media trends, and other factors working against it.

I think it would be a more gradual decline though if it were simply a matter of scientific reasoning over the emotional factors and identity politics.

vigorm0rtis posted...

It can, but at least in the west, I don't think that's where we are right now. Right now Christianity seems defined by regression and tribalism.

So you think western Christianity is regressive and tribalistic? As opposed to most other religions in the world?

I disagree strongly with that.

Sayoria posted...

Religion is so outdated. It's based on nothing. How it stayed around so long is beyond me.

By evolving to fill different needs, mostly. The last broad function of the church was as a community hub. Now that we have the internet... nobody really cares anymore. You see churches stepping in to bail people out of catastrophic debt here and there, but I don't think that's a sustainable function.

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Religion is dumb, and its a good thing its going away.

Too bad its not vanishing faster.

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Keith_Valentine posted...

So you think western Christianity is regressive and tribalistic? As opposed to most other religions in the world?

I disagree strongly with that.

I'm not well informed enough about the state of other religions to speak on the matter. And I don't think Christianity is regressive and tribalistic, I think Christians are. Not all, but a lot of them, enough to give the whole show a bad look.

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Religion used to be a quick way to unify a community. Now, there are easy, non-religious ways to achieve that, so younger generations don't see much value in it beyond pleasing the older generations.

Supernatural posted...

Nope, just look at all the hate in the world.

Boy if you don't think religion has also been responsible for hate throughout the ages...

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Solar_Crimson posted...

Boy if you don't think religion has also been responsible for hate throughout the ages...

This is what I'm talking about.

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Jiek_Fafn posted...

Divorce rates are actually decreasing. Millenials have bucked that trend.

In fact, the real reason for it has barely anything to do with Millenials being less religious and more socio-economic issues... in fact most of the stuff Default1234 listed has more to do with socio-economic reasons than religion to begin with.

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Dragonblade01 posted...

Religion used to be a quick way to unify a community. Now, there are easy, non-religious ways to achieve that, so younger generations don't see much value in it beyond pleasing the older generations.

The gap left behind in communities by shouldering aside religion has not been filled at all. I think for many people, they keenly feel the loss of their spirituality and its a bad thing. Even if they dont realize thats what is missing in their hearts and minds.

Keith_Valentine posted...

The gap left behind in communities by shouldering aside religion has not been filled at all.

Accurate. Communities are barely communities at this point.

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Prestoff posted...

In fact, the real reason for it has barely anything to do with Millenials being less religious and more socio-economic issues... in fact most of the stuff Default1234 listed has more to do with socio-economic reasons than religion to begin with.

Some of it can be blamed on feminism as well. People, particularly youngsters copy the behaviour they see around them and with the whole culture shift in the West that began in the 60s, dating culture, cohabitation, fornication became the norm and marriage became less special.

if you think for many people you're not thinking for yourself

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Keith_Valentine posted...

The gap left behind in communities by shouldering aside religion has not been filled at all. I think for many people, they keenly feel the loss of their spirituality and its a bad thing. Even if they dont realize thats what is missing in their hearts and minds.

That only applies to those who have "lost" religion. Younger generations are, more and more, not losing religion because the didn't really gain it in the first place beyond as benign components of culture and tradition.

Default1234 posted...

Some of it can be blamed on feminism as well. People, particularly youngsters copy the behaviour they see around them and with the whole culture shift in the West that began in the 60s, dating culture, cohabitation, fornication became the norm and marriage became less special.

"Fornication" was always rampant, the sexual revolution was being upon and nonshitty about it.

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Dragonblade01 posted...

Religion used to be a quick way to unify a community. Now, there are easy, non-religious ways to achieve that, so younger generations don't see much value in it beyond pleasing the older generations.

Console wars are replacing religion!