World

More Americans say they have no religion

by zeet | March 9, 2009 at 04:28 am

455 views | 63 Recommendations | 16 comments

Study finds percentage of Christians in the nation has declined.

A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.

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duo

at 05:35 on March 9th, 2009

Thanks for the article. I have a different view. I think the difference is that with Godlessness being more acceptable now, those willing to admit to being Godless are coming out of the religious closet.

Mary

Cliffski

at 07:19 on March 9th, 2009

This seems quite likely to me.

zeet

at 09:14 on March 9th, 2009

That is an interesting angle - I support that notion.

djermano

at 06:19 on March 9th, 2009

I think more people see how corrupt the Churches are, but not abandoning the teachings of Jesus. A society based upon the right to bear arms is a society beseiged to choose between the Constitution or the New Testament. There is no man who can serve two masters. You are either with God or with the State. I chose God.....and Nonviolence.

Rev. Jermano

zeet

at 09:15 on March 9th, 2009

Rev,

I choose the Constitution of the United States of America.

azzayindia

at 07:44 on March 9th, 2009

same is the case with hindu babas some of them not all

evanmathews (not verified)

at 08:59 on March 9th, 2009

Yep, I believe people are still spiritual, but are finding religion and those that perpetrate it as hypocrites. Too often have I seen the "religious " do precisely what they rail against others as sin. Pompous piety turns my stomach.

zeet

at 09:16 on March 9th, 2009

Mine, too.

Rachel Nixon

at 09:03 on March 9th, 2009

Zeet - thanks for posting, however please be sure to add original content to your piece. The image, which I have removed, was an AP image from the original MSNBC post, and your intro came from that story as well. It can really help to build the debate and add to the story if you include your own perspective on it. Thanks.

zeet

at 09:21 on March 9th, 2009

Sorry about the photo - I had no other option (I saw there is a "crowd tool" is it possible to get access to that?)

If I include my own intro, it would change to be an opinion and not news?

Rachel Nixon

at 09:33 on March 9th, 2009

Hi zeet. Here's more info about how you use the Crowd Power tool. You can use it to source photos (religion related in this case) from the NowPublic library or from Flickr, or videos from YouTube.

It is possible to write a fact-based intro that does not bring in opinion. Please see here for guidelines about when to use the opinion flag.

Thanks.

zeet

at 09:36 on March 9th, 2009

Thank you Rachel - I'll address it asap!

Barry Artiste

at 09:42 on March 9th, 2009

I am sure there are still many christians, just not Practising Christians, many may feel Godless, but do you blame them, when Evangelists, much like Politicians have been involved in scandals like Tammy Fae and whats his name, Benny Hinn, Ernest Angley, Swaggart and too many other Evangelists too numberous to mention who preach one thing and do the opposite, Jaysus needs your money, is their mantra for those who wish to go to heaven, yet anyone who has read the bible knows that Money is the least of it, Belief, Faith and love of fellow man is Jesus's motto, not Big Hair Wearing, White shoes and belt Evangelists who use that money to live in opulence, while their followers for the most part live in squalor.

zeet

at 09:45 on March 9th, 2009

Loosing faith because you lost your faith in the preachers.

"Do as I say not as I do" has destroyed many a good leader - and indeed whole countries, too.

Clay Huang (not verified)

at 07:50 on March 10th, 2009

Sigh. What a messed up world it this.

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djermano

at 03:48 on March 11th, 2009

Zeet..you are clearly wrong...the Constitution is a God Damn Piece of paper...don't you listen to GW Bush? Seems to me you like all that stuff with guns and bloodshed the Constitution advocates.....and allows madmen like Bush to have control of us for 8 F'''ing years. Not I thanks......you know where you can take that Constitution don't you..

Rev. Jermano