We are losing our religion.
That, with apologies to R.E.M., is the startling conclusion of a new study, the American Religious Identification Survey, conducted by researchers at Trinity College of Hartford, Conn. The poll of over 54,000 American adults found a sharp erosion in the number of people claiming religious affiliation.
A few highlights: The number of people who call themselves Christian is 76 percent, down 10 percentage points since 1990.
Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious ceremony.
Better than one in four Americans do not expect a religious funeral.
It is important to reiterate that we are talking about overall percentages. In raw numbers, there are actually about 22 million more Christians now than in 1990. Still, the trend is clear, particularly as illustrated in one telling statistic: In 1990, 8.2 percent (about 14 million) of us said ''none'' when asked to specify their religion. Last year, 15 percent (34 million) did.
Some have suggested our loss of faith is due to increased diversity, mobility and immigration. I'm sure there's something to that, but I tend to think the most important cause is simpler: Religion has become an ugly thing.
Keep reading.
some random thoughts
ReplyDeleteGod did not invent religion; people did. THey came up with all sorts of theories, interpretations, rules & regulations that have nothing to do with God. Each religion claims to have the correct answer and we know that that is not possible. This has caused great grief throughout human history and more people have been killed for having the 'wrong' religion than can be imagined.
God can only one thing: love. If he's the punishing God from the Old Testament that doesn't make sense to me. If God created the world and all people, why would he hate some and love others?
The only way to live is to evolve in love. Once the world becomes conscious of love, fear will end and division will stop. People's biggest fear is to disappear. The only way to stop the fear is to all become united and one. To be able to do that, we have to learn not to identify with our minds or bodies, but with our soul.
jv
God has no name; cannot be described in human words; he is not human. Yet, it is said that we were created in his image, which has been misinterpreted. God has no face, yet is everywhere at all times in everything and everyone.
A better name for God would have been ONE.
Religion is supposed to re-connect people to the source of all; the never-ending well of oneness, love and endless creation.