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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFascinating graph about religion and a diverse America.
From the Public Religion Research Institute
Posted at Twitter
Retweeted from Brasilmagic who is a favorite there.
longship
(40,416 posts)Should probably post this in the Religion group.
It might get locked here.
I am sure it will gain interest there.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Kind of important in many ways.
I make no comment.
longship
(40,416 posts)And if this gets locked, we'd certainly welcome it there.
And I agree. It is important.
Vashta Nerada
(3,922 posts)pipoman
(16,038 posts)Been less religious/decisive and get more so as they get older.
starroute
(12,977 posts)The standard line has always been that when people have children they decide it's important to raise them in a faith, so they take up going to religious services again. But the graph shows even people in the peak child-raising years having a much higher level of unaffiliated than those older than they are.
There are also any number of stories out there suggesting that American's religious practices are becoming more diverse -- from people engaged in roll-your-own spirituality to various hybridizations of conventional faiths with Eastern or Earth-based religions.
Something really is going on, and it's not all going to reset to status quo ante bellum.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)in someone being leaving religion. This young generation is much less religious than their parents and grandparents were at the same age. Also, the rightwing fundy nuttery has turned a lot of them off religion.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)eridani
(51,907 posts)Also youngest groups have white protestants as a whole decreasing, but evangelical and mainline became equalized.
The drop in affiliation seems to be a mainly white phenomenon. White catholic + white protestant + evangelical = 69% of 65+, but 25% among millenials--decrease a factor of three. Unaffiliated = increase by a factor of three.
eShirl
(18,503 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(101,361 posts)But the accuracy isn't enough to say more than "roughly stayed the same". The 18-29 age group would be about one fifth of the total - so about 900 people. 3% of that would be about 27 people who answered 'Jewish'. That's too close to the margin of error to assert it's increasing.
Other surveys show that the proportion of people identifying themselves as Jewish, but not by religion, is increasing: http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/
eShirl
(18,503 posts)was looking at the bar directly below green, which isn't there in the oldest age group
eridani
(51,907 posts)Exposethefrauds
(531 posts)of the religious in America are Muslim ready to take over the Government and install Sharia Law.
Hell Islam does not even get its own color bar!
Perhaps when the majority of Americans minds are no longer clouded and confused by fairytales we as a nation will move forward and evolve into a move civilized society.
Interesting how the nations that are the best places to live in the world are also Socialist and the majority of the population are not religious.
The crappy places to live in the world are Theocracies controlled by Oligarchs, exactly what the GOP has been pimping for the last 30 years.
Religion and Freedom do not mix.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)a christian nation!
How do they have such a loud voice and why do all the politicians appease the religious nuts so much. I cringe whenever I hear the obligatory god bless America. And all this religion in school nonsense. Separate church and state please.
I'm very glad to see the trend going that way. Perhaps one day the media will actually give proportional representation to the various viewpoints. Oh, what am I thinking... of course they won't.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)and that 99 percent believe in the Xtian god.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)WhaTHellsgoingonhere
(5,252 posts)This is not time series data. This is a snapshot.
All it's saying is that people become more religious as the accumulate stuff, not least of which being children and grandchildren.
eShirl
(18,503 posts)WhaTHellsgoingonhere
(5,252 posts)pipoman
(16,038 posts)VVVV
PeaceNikki
(27,985 posts)WhaTHellsgoingonhere
(5,252 posts)In my face.
Thanks
starroute
(12,977 posts)It's from 2008 and was written specifically about New Zealand, where the census includes a question about religious affiliation. And it shows that the 30-somethings and 40-somethings of 2006 were actually less religious than their 20-something and 30-something selves had been ten years earlier.
https://openparachute.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/religious-belief-and-age/
We can get an idea of trends over time by comparing New Zealand census for 1996, 2001 and 2006.
The numbers in all age group declaring no religion have been increasing over this time period. These numbers peaked in the 20-29 age group for each census.
However, one could argue that the no religion group is not declining with as they age. For example, while 34.5% of the 20-29 year group were not religious in 1996, 10 years later they were in the 30-39 year group of which 42.5% were non-religious. Similarly the no religion proportion of the 30-39 year group in 1996 (26.2%) had increased to 32.0% of the 40-49 year group in 2006.
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pipoman
(16,038 posts)A bit by not having the same from 30 years ago. I believe the young have long been less religious, and become more religious as they get older. This may show a trend, but it is far from conclusive without historical context, imo..
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)and they do show a real decline in religion, not a get-more-religious-with age progression.
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)is that, even here in the second decade of the 21st Century, 68% of people 18-29 identify as believing in a deity despite having been lied to about every other mythical figure we grow up with as children. One of those is currently making an imaginary tour through a collective global cultural mythos featuring a bunny that brings everybody chocolate eggs and marshmallow peeps, culminating on the anniversary of the alleged reincarnation of a man crucified 3 days before some 1981 years ago.