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trends_in_religious_affiliation [2017/09/08 18:13]
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 +==========Trends in Religious Affiliation==========
  
 +The majority of Americans identify as religious.  This is holds particularly for those who are Christian. However, social scientists disagree about the practical significance of changing trends in religious affiliation. On the one hand, Pew Research Center reports that Americans are becoming less religious and that the percentage of Christians is rapidly declining.((Pew Research Center, "America's Changing Religious Landscape" (May 12, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/05/RLS-08-26-full-report.pdf]]. 
 +Pew Research Center, "U.S. Becoming Less Religious" (November 3, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/11/201.11.03_RLS_II_full_report.pdf]].  
 +Pew Research Center, “Religious Landscape Study”, available at [[http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/]]. 
 +The Pew Research Center bases their research on the Pew Research survey.)) On the other hand, Dr. Rodney Stark of Baylor University reports that Americans are more religious than ever and that Christians are increasing.((Stark, Rodney, //The Triumph of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever//, ISI Books, 2015.
 +Dr. Stark primarily bases his research on the World Gallup Polls, 2006-2014.))
 +
 +=====1. Religious Trends in the United States=====
 +
 +In their 2015 publication, “America’s Changing Religious Landscape”, Pew Researchers reported that, between 2007 and 2014, the proportion of Christians decreased by 7.8 percent (from 78.4 percent to 70.6 percent), Non-Christians increased by 1.2 percent (from 4.7 percent to 5.9 percent) and the Unaffiliated increased by 6.7 percent (16.1 percent to 22.8 percent).((Pew Research Center, "America's Changing Religious Landscape" (May 12, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/05/RLS-08-26-full-report.pdf.]])) The decline in Christians and rise in “Religious Nones” led Pew to conclude that Americans are becoming less religious—particularly less Christian.((Pew Research Center, "America's Changing Religious Landscape" (May 12, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/05/RLS-08-26-full-report.pdf]].)) However, Dr. Rodney Stark posits that the rise in “Unaffiliated” does not indicate a retreat from religion or even Christianity; rather, the “Unaffiliated” captures the rising number of Americans who do not identify with a nominal religion denomination.((Stark, Rodney, //The Triumph of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever//, ISI Books, 2015.)) These “Unaffiliated”, according to Dr. Stark, are Christians who have left the denominations in which they were raised—especially the mainline Protestant denominations—to join nondenominational conservative churches.((Stark, Rodney, //The Triumph of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever//, ISI Books, 2015, pgs. 194-196.)) 
 +
 +{{ :religious_affiliation_pew_and_stark.png?direct&600 |Religious Affiliation}}
 +
 +=====2. Religiosity of the Affiliated=====
 +
 +Both Pew’s and Dr. Stark’s research indicate that religiously affiliated Americans are just as religious as their predecessors, and in some ways even more so. According to Pew Research, between 2007 and 2014 the percent of religiously affiliated U.S. adults who say their religion is very important to them, who read Scripture weekly, who participate in weekly prayer/ study groups, and who share their faith with others on a weekly basis have all increased.((Pew Research Center, "U.S. Becoming Less Religious" (November 3, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/11/201.11.03_RLS_II_full_report.pdf]].)) Relying on the General Social Survey, Baylor Religion Survey, and World Values Survey, Dr. Stark points out that weekly Church attendance has remained fairly consistent since 1974 (see chart below).((Stark, Rodney, //The Triumph of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever//, ISI Books, 2015, pg. 189.))
 +
 +{{ :weekly_church_attendance.png?direct&400 |Church Attendance}}
 +
 +=====3. Religiosity of the Unaffiliated=====
 +
 +The religiously unaffiliated are the quickest growing religious identity in America.((Pew Research Center, "America's Changing Religious Landscape" (May 12, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/05/RLS-08-26-full-report.pdf]].)) The majority of those identifying as “religiously unaffiliated” are “nothing in particular”, and only a smaller minority are atheist/ agnostic.((Pew Research Center, "Nones" on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation (October 2012), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf]].)) Dr. Rodney Stark asserts that the Unaffiliated are still deeply spiritual and primarily identify with smaller non-denominational churches.((Stark, Rodney, //The Triumph of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever//, ISI Books, 2015.)) To an extent, Pew’s research supports this conclusion: among Protestants, those identifying as Evangelical have increased, those identifying as Mainline have decreased, and over a quarter refused to identify with any particular denomination.((Pew Research Center, "America's Changing Religious Landscape" (May 12, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/05/RLS-08-26-full-report.pdf]].)) Even among the unaffiliated, 68 percent believe in “God or a universal spirit.”((Pew Research Center, "U.S. Becoming Less Religious" (November 3, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/11/201.11.03_RLS_II_full_report.pdf]].)) Among those as identifying as “nothing in particular”, 27 percent pray daily or more, 24 percent pray weekly/ monthly, and 48 percent pray seldom/ never.((Pew Research Center, "Nones" on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation (October 2012), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf]].))
 +
 +However, although the “Nones” believe in the spiritual realm, Pew research indicates that they generally do not practice religion. Only 26 percent of those identifying as “nothing in particular” attend a worship service monthly or yearly; the majority seldom or never attend.((Pew Research Center, "U.S. Becoming Less Religious" (November 3, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/11/201.11.03_RLS_II_full_report.pdf]].)) The portion of “Nones” who express absolute or fair certainty in their belief in God has also declined in recent years.((Pew Research Center, "U.S. Becoming Less Religious" (November 3, 2015), available at [[http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/11/201.11.03_RLS_II_full_report.pdf]].)) Therefore, although Pew researchers agree with Dr. Stark that denominational labeling among Christians accounts for some of the supposed decline in religious affiliation, they assert that it does not explain the full story.
 +
 +=====4. Religious Affiliation by Region=====
 +
 +====4.1 Northeast====
 +
 +{{ :northeast.png?direct&700 |Northeast}}
 +
 +====4.2 South====
 +
 +{{ :south.png?direct700 |South}}
 +
 +====4.3 Midwest====
 +
 +{{ :midwest.png?direct&700 |Midwest}}
 +
 +====4.4 West====
 +
 +{{ :west.png?direct&700 |West}}