The latest Pew survey finds that while one in five American adults are either atheist, agnostic or religiously unaffiliated (up from 15% in just five years), 68% of this group say they believe in some kind of a god and/or claim to be "spiritual" (whatever that means), and many of them pray daily (to what?).
For background, read Christians Becoming Extinct in 9 Western Nations and also read Obamanation: Secularized Like Europe, Spiritualized Like Oprah
During an election season, the media tout the political significance: Christians OK with Romney, Non-religious Prefer Obama
-- From "Pew: Religiously unaffiliated on rise" by UPI 10/9/12
The religiously unaffiliated includes more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey released Tuesday indicated.
. . . Two-thirds of them say they believe in God and more than half said they often feel a deep connection with nature and the earth. A third said they were "spiritual" but not "religious" and about a fifth said they pray daily.
In addition, most religiously unaffiliated Americans said they think religious institutions benefit society by strengthening community bonds and aiding the poor.
. . . The survey found a third of adults less than 30 years of age have no religious affiliation compared with one-in-10 65 years and older.
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From "Study: One-Third Of Adults Under 30 Have No Religious Affiliation" by Ben Fearnow, CBS News 10/9/12
This large and growing group of Americans is less religious than the public at large on many conventional measures, including frequency of attendance at religious services and the degree of importance they attach to religion in their lives.
The growth in the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans – sometimes called the rise of the “nones” – is largely driven by generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones.
In addition, this report contains capsule summaries of some leading theories put forward by scholars in an attempt to explain the root causes of the rise of the “nones.” These theories run the gamut from a backlash against the entanglement of religion and politics to a global relationship between economic development and secularization
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From "US Loses Protestant Majority, Sees Rise of No Religious Affiliation" by The Associated Press, posted at Fox News Latino 10/9/12
The percentage of Protestant adults in the U.S. has reached a low of 48 percent, the first time that Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has reported with certainty that the number has fallen below 50 percent. The drop has long been anticipated and comes at a time when no Protestants are on the U.S. Supreme Court and the Republicans have their first presidential ticket with no Protestant nominees.
Among the reasons for the change are the growth in nondenominational Christians who can no longer be categorized as Protestant, and a spike in the number of American adults who say they have no religion.
Scholars have long debated whether people who say they no longer belong to a religious group should be considered secular. . . . Pew found overall that most of the unaffiliated aren't actively seeking another religious home, indicating that their ties with organized religion are permanently broken.
Growth among those with no religion has been a major preoccupation of American faith leaders who worry that the United States, a highly religious country, would go the way of Western Europe, where church attendance has plummeted. Pope Benedict XVI has partly dedicated his pontificate to combating secularism in the West. This week in Rome, he is convening a three-week synod, or assembly, of bishops from around the world aimed at bringing back Roman Catholics who have left the church.
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Also read Pope Calls Secularized, Anti-Christian Europe to God
