There is another study showing the decline of religious beliefs in the United States — and a considerable generational gap. The study published in the American Journal of Sociology shows 68% Americans aged 65 and over said they had no doubt God existed but only 45% of young adults, aged 18-30, agreed with that position. Likewise, 41% of people 70 and older said they attend church services at least once a month, compared to 18% of people 60 and below.
We have previously discussed the rise of agnostics and atheists around the world. While the United States has remained one of the most religious countries, the trend has been clearly moving toward a less religious and more secular society.
The study also found 94 percent of Americans born before 1935 claim a religious affiliation. For the generation born after 1975, that number drops over twenty percent to 71 percent.
Indeed, as we discussed earlier the fastest growing religious group in the United States is “no religion.”
Given the long history of faith-based politics in the United States, the obvious and continuing trend away of religion is likely to have a pronounced impact in some areas. However, the rise of agnostic and atheist citizens does not necessarily translate to more liberals as opposed to conservatives in areas like the economy or foreign affairs.
What do you think?
Oh, and another thing. Have you noticed how the people who poo-poo the idea of God and Christianity, have this weird notion that Americans need to martyr themselves like the Christian saints on the altar of “open borders.”
Gee, to them religion sucks, yet we are supposed to adopt all the trappings of Christian charity and freely and lovingly give up our jobs to illegal aliens! We should welcome them here by the bucketloads! We should give them our jobs, and turn the other cheek when they murder us or sell drugs! We should warmly put them on welfare and each of us work a few hours per week for free to provide for them!
We may be losing Christianity, but it is being substituted for by some God-awful liberal drivel spewed by the New Clergy of the Left.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
There once was a historian named Arnold Toynbee who believed that the death of a society was a spritual thing. From wiki:
According to an Editor’s Note in an edition of Toynbee’s A Study of History, Toynbee believed that societies always die from suicide or murder rather than from natural causes, and nearly always from suicide.[28] He sees the growth and decline of civilizations as a spiritual process, writing that “Man achieves civilization, not as a result of superior biological endowment or geographical environment, but as a response to a challenge in a situation of special difficulty which rouses him to make a hitherto unprecedented effort.” [29][30]
That is not quite the same thing as saying that societies die when we lose our religion, but I think losing our religion is that first step down the road, because we also lose touch with who we are as a people. Losing our religion is what demoralizes us. We no longer know what is right and what is wrong.
Ask yourself what our soldiers and our civilians will be fighting for if we ever have another huge land war. In World War II, part of what motivated us was the idea that we were the forces of good, arrayed against the forces of evil. We were also fighting for Mom and apple pie. Because we knew what “good” was and what “evil” was. It wasn’t a slippery concept.
Do we still know that as a society? Or, have we degenerated to the point where every freakish behavior is considered on a par with what was once thought to be good behavior. We don’t know what good and evil is anymore, Frankly, depending on the enemy, I don’t think we are going to be motivated that much to defend abortion and gay behavior and freaks who want to pretend they are another sex than what is between their legs, and illegal aliens and joblessness. And if our enemy is a good and decent people, I think we’re toast.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Everyone who prefers to minimize public expression of religion, please proceed with hypocrisy meter test.
How does your preference square with your support of the “Jewish State of Israel?” For years now and continuing to this moment, Israel’s Knnesset considers banning everyone from Israel who denies to publicly swear, and sign agreement that Israel is and shall permanently remain a “Jewish” religious State.
If the elimination of religion is good for the homeland, how and why is good to give financial and military support for self-proclaimed purely “religious” State (Israel lacks “nation” status because it lacks a Constitution)?
Further, if you prefer to minimize public expression of religion: how do you respond to the fact that the fastest growing branch of Judaism is the most rabid and caustic forms of Ultra Orthodoxy such as Chabad Lubavitch, the preferred branch of dual-Israeli citizen Michael Chertoff. (There is a good mound of evidence that Chertoff charged and convicted the late OH Congressman James Trafficant on perjured testimony, the real motivation being Trafficant’s public condemnation of US financial and military aid for Israel, one of the richest nations on earth, and a nation of sum total zero national interest to the USA…the same interest as Palestine. Save your debate-stopping anti-Semitism charge. I prefer the late James Sobran’s definition of anti-Semitism: not one who hates Jews, but rather one hated by certain Jews.)
My 80+ year mother is in the Pascal’s wager crowd. She is agnostic to the degree she is not atheist in case she could be wrong.
Davidm, then let’s teach Taoism in public schools. No? What about Shintoism? Maybe one of the other polytheistic religions. Hey, give the kid a choice!
“Religion poisons everything” Christopher Hitchen RIP
We are certainly reaping the ‘rewards’ for driving religion out of our culture. Entire generations that think the sun rises and sets on them. Ethical Egoists. No humility. Yeah, that’s supposed to be progressing culture.
Religion is the one thing that the Constitution says is out of the hands of government. Government cannot even tax the Church. The big three. Science, Government and Religion. Upon learning new information on any of the three of them change your mind but always side with the two in the majority.
People are seeing the hypocrisy of organized religion and the duopoly @ about the same time, I do think liberals are more likely to be atheists, going back to the Communist influence. However, there are a good number of conservative atheists, they just aren’t as adamant or organized like the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, WI.
This is good news. Organized religion is pretty much a con game, claiming the moral high ground while fleecing the flock. Promising things it can’t deliver. It’s time people figured this out for themselves.
Religion is not the foundation of morality. Never has been. All the true spiritual teachers had the same message, which is, in one form or another: the kingdom of heaven is within you, seek and ye shall find.
The. End.
All the rest of the nonsense about denying evolution and denying science and refusing to teach sex ed to kids, all of that can get flushed, and the sooner, the better.
Of course the photo explains religion quite well. You have a horny naked guy on Cloud 9 reaching over to Silvia on Cloud 8. They barely touch but they have a future. When the plate passes he pays up. She drops her drawers and fesses up. They do their thing and the preacher does his. The masses grow silent as the preach takes his bounty. Oh where in the West do we have such things. Like preachers and marlins whose kids can sprout wings. Look high and look mighty and sing out a prayer. In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon will be there. Oh, we are feeble, of brains we can trust. But we have faith and faith leads to lust. Chickapoo Nation is up on the Hill and they have a sermon which might give a chill.
Hope springs eternal.
Yet truth lies in the urinal.
Fifty dollars make em pay.
Cause o u t spells OUT.
And out you go.
– Jockomo fin e yeah.
It’s called waking up. Religion has been around for millennia while science, a handful of centuries. Takes time.
Charlatans with conviction (especially those with real power) are not to be trusted.
And to paraphrase, we went from many gods to one god, and we’re moving closer to the truth all the time.
It’s on us to survive, not some figment born of ignorance.
Naturally more older people than younger attend religious activities. It’s because they have nothing else to do, nowhere else to go. That is the only place where they can be with other people and don’t have to use their brains for anything. It is their community center where they meet their friends and everyone knows the secret handshake.
There are normal people and religionists. No other characterizations are needed. Normal people comply with laws, are compassionate, help other people, are generous, and kind. Religionists may or may not have those traits.
There are two major influencers who contributed to our growing moral dilemmas.
Spock (no not Nimoy) and Borg (not the “resistance is futile” collective).
I remember sessions with Spock’s associate who showed the horrendous influence that Spock’s original writings had on parenting and the education of elementary school teachers…the influence which carries forward.
Following the horrors of WWI (a Christian vs Christian 4+ yr slaughter), Christianity’s theological approach to the Scriptures took a drastic turn to a much more situational ethic and the social Gospel. Strict standards of behavior and judgement were gradually supplanted. WWII (European theater) furthered that movement (no the Hitler Swastika is not a version of the Cross…read up on his pagan theology) although Adolph did cite Hebrews for his authority when confronted by the Lutheran Church.
The Biblical basics through the lens of the New Testament have been swept aside or greatly watered down. Jesus actually wasn’t all lovey-dovey. He actually was very strict in some areas (dare I say …judgemental?) and really got pissed off. He even called for people to systematically hold each other accountable and to ostracize the unrepentant….horrors…really?
Spock comes onto the scene and his approach influences Baby Boomers to not indoctrinate their children with a faith structure. The same Boomers whose parents’ ethics are being questioned as the ’60s erupt. Our parents are lynching Blacks and Jews, Chicago unleashes the dogs, The Kennedys and King are assassinated and Johnson falsifies the 2nd Tonkkin Gulf incident……and on.
A Prof. Borg (RIP) of Oregon State taught courses in religion. Personally knowing him, I can unequivocally say that he was a non-Christian Episcopalian (yep, think about that) whose widow is an Episcopal Priest. His take on Christianity was one a lot of others found appealing and to me was a unique exercise in ethics. He would say the Nicean Creed, the sufficient statement of faith in the Anglican tradition, and openly admit that it just was a means for him to be in community (communion) with a community of faith. He was a major cog in the deconstructionist movement that was bought into by those disposed to situational ethics in a supposed Christian theology.
To wit: A Scripture citation’s truth is that which one sees in it, devoid of the author’s intention, original intended audience and historical context. One’s truth is just as valid as another’s.
A predecessor of his, a chair of the department, taught that “Religion is one’s pervasive orientation to life.” I took a year of “Religions of Mankind” from him back in the ’60s.
Sooooo. Everybody has a religion, even an athiest. Now the real question is very basic …where does one look for ethical definition?
Then move from that to the successive questions which will provide the foundation as to what kind of faith one has and how that is worked out?
Starting from the top just isn’t worth much. One can be a regular Christian church attender and be a Borg..feels good to be in the community. Another may well not walk across a threshold for years and be a devote believer in the fullness of Christ. It all depends on the question.
What we do know is that our Federal Executive Branch and the leadership of the Episcopal Church (an example) are loath to judge the ISIS slaughter as a religious war. Don’t want to offend but will shut off dissent (odd as that is offensive…but my truth is better than your truth and mine was first)
Just a couple of examples of reasons why so many have disassociated themselves from religious jello.
The primary source for our secularization has come from forced public education. It has furthered the erroneous viewpoint that separation of church and State means freedom FROM religion rather than freedom OF religion. It has portrayed secular and atheistic philosophies, such as materialism, as superior to theistic ones. Pubic education’s censorship of theism conveys an antagonism toward religion, portraying it as an archaic system from history having been supplanted by the modern positivist philosophy of science. Government’s imprimatur is on secularism and science. Government conveys a clear disapproval of religion by criminalizing prayer in schools and banning any government involvement with religious education. It is not surprising then that the minds of our young children are nurtured to have an animosity toward religious institutions. I myself am a product of this and cannot shake my own animosity toward religious institutions despite knowing its origin comes from prejudice created by the government educational system.
Prior to Constantine’s alleged “conversion,” Christianity was outlawed and any form of pagan religion was encouraged, Post Constantine’s alleged conversion, the two religious places switched: only Christianity was legal, and all other religions were outlawed. The Pope jumped in the same sack as the Emperor.
Plato’s Law required everyone to practice religion only in public. Plato outlawed “conventicle,” which is the private religious practice. Plato viewed public religion as a method to keep the public unified toward common goals (such as conquering a perceived enemy). Conversely, private religion would tend toward disunity. It was even required to tell on any neighbor who practiced conventicle. If the accused refused to repent, the penalty was death (even for persons who failed to fink on their neighbor).
I have wondered if it might be best to turn Plato’s Law on its head: outlaw all public display of religion, allowing only conventicle.
As expected. Yet another prophecy being fulfilled before your eyes.
2Th 2:1-3 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, *except there come a falling away first*, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Prof. JT,
Once again, I (or we the people of your blog) would like the actual study!!!! Why would anyone comment on this review of someone’s research instead of presenting the research for us to review it ourselves?!?!?!
However, I will leave you with an interesting video by a scientist:
http://www.inquisitr.com/1769833/god-is-real-mit-scientist-touts-conclusive-scientific-evidence-of-the-discovery-of-god-video/
For some reason YouTube is preventing me from watching the video (even though I have already watched it many times)?
At its heart, Religion is nothing but law. If religion is being phased out, it will not be long until our concepts of rights and laws are phased out.
Civilization is an artificial construct. In a strange kind of a way, the concept of civilization is a higher power. It is something that people believe in beyond themselves and their 3 score and 10 years of existence. People are told to believe in this higher power, and work not for their immediate pleasure and gratification, but for the “future” and for their descendants, and for the good of “the country.”
I posit that “The Battle for the Planet of Apes” is a religious film. Ape Shall Never Kill Ape is the thing carved in stone, and that is no different than Moses’ ten commandments. You may get rid of God and Christianity and Islam, but there will still be “religion.” It will just be composed of laws that come from men, and just like with Caesar the Ape, some ape will say, “Why should I do what Caesar says? He picks fleas out of his fur one bug at a time just like me!”
The concept of God removes the laws from that treatment. I doubt the man made kind will work very well without severe punishment for their violation.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Civilisation is a means of progress.
A tribe stands much more chance of survival than an individual.
Animals gather into herds not to be civil but to survive but you cannot have a herd without civility rules.
In his book ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature ‘ Steven Pinkern argues are more peacable than ever before in history. Not because human nature has changed but because peace pays.
Religion is organized spirituality. We’re moving away from organized religion, but not necessarily from spirituality. Atheism is a big reaction from organized religion, the pendulum swinging far to the other side. Not quite the correct balance, I’d suggest. Ultimately I’d think religion is going to be supplanted by philosophy – a specific way of viewing the world and the humanity of it. Instead of reading religious texts, we’ll find our morality and reason for living in philosophical doctrines.
This shouldn’t change political ideas around economy and foreign affairs, too drastically. Lots of reasons for solipsists and probabilistic-universe…ists to disagree, or agree, with free-trade pacts, foreign intervention, etc.