The Decline of Religion Is the GOP's Real Demographic Crisis

[IronLionZion]

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/rise-irreligion-gops-real-demographic-crisis

In the past several years, many trees have been felled and pixels electrocuted in the service of discussion about the impact of Hispanics on the American electorate. No one knows for sure which way they’ll vote in the future but everyone is interested in discussing it. Curiously, though, an even larger political shift is taking place yet receiving almost no attention whatsoever from political reporters — the emergence of post-Christian America.

Judging solely from the rhetoric and actions of the candidates who sought the Republican Party’s presidential nomination this year, you would be hard-pressed to tell much difference between 2016 and 1996, the year that the Christian Coalition was ruling the roost in GOP politics. Sure there was a lot more talk about the Middle East than before, but when it comes to public displays of religiosity, many of the would-be presidents have spent the majority of their candidacies effectively auditioning for slots on the Trinity Broadcast Network.

Even Donald Trump, the thrice-married casino magnate turned television host, went about reincarnating himself as a devout Christian, despite his evident lack of familiarity with the doctrines and practices of the faith.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, both of whom won Iowa in past years, dropped out after failing dismally in the Hawkeye State’s caucuses. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal quit months before even a single vote had been cast. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, despite being significantly better financed and supported by more conservative leaders than previous Christian nationalist candidates, was barely able to win any primary states at all; his main strength was in caucus states where popular appeal wasn’t as important.

I'll admit I've gotten much less religious in the last few years. I'm still spiritual, but don't bother going to church much or observing minor holidays.

People are less interested in judging sinners. Love Trumps Hate.

[orwell]

1. The Abortion Issue...

...is what binds many evangelicals to the Con Party.

If you follow the teachings of Jesus you would vote Democratic...

[vlyons]

2. the teachings of Jesus

feed the poor, heal the sick, practice peace and tolerance, love thy neighbor. The Republican party is a vast criminal enterprise.

[OnDoutside]

23. What does that say about Evangelicals ?

[vlyons]

29. not all Evangelicals are creeps

but many are, especially the ones who judge others. A true Christian opens his red letter Bible, does what Jesus says, and stops acting like they are better than everyone else. I'm a Buddhist. I know that all religions have teachings on compassion, tolerance, forgiveness and mercy. love, generosity, ethics, humility, etc. But it's up to us to practice these teachings.

[OnDoutside]

31. Just as not all Catholic priests are paedos, that's true. However, there's a big voting block out

there, voting together.

The ultimate issue is that the Republicans have set themselves up as the moral guardians for the right, and it's killing them.

[Chasstev365]

3. Even in the 2000's when the GOP held all 3 branches

They didn't do a THING about abortion and they never will.

Has it dawned on some on the religious right that they have been used on issues like abortion that the real economic powers in the Republican Party have never intended to do anything about?

[IronLionZion]

4. They did plenty of damage at the state level

passing unreasonable regulations deliberately to put abortion clinics out of business.

Also the GOP was happily breaking as many commandments as possible:

killing
adultery
stealing
bear false witness of Saddam's WMDs
coveting neighbor's oil

[Chasstev365]

6. Good Points!

[strategery blunder]

22. I think it did dawn on them, and I think that's part of why Trump did so well.

The talibornagains finally figured out the party was only paying lip service to their beliefs, and I bet many of them weighed whether to vote for the man promising to blow up the party, even if that man was a sinner.

Sadly, Trump is so dangerous that watching the wreck ain't funny anymore.

[lindysalsagal]

5. Pew Polls: America’s Changing Religious Landscape: Christians Decline Sharply

...as Share of Population; Unaffiliated and Other Faiths Continue to Grow

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/

"The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages. The same trends are seen among whites, blacks and Latinos; among both college graduates and adults with only a high school education; and among women as well as men. (Explore the data with our interactive database tool.)

To be sure, the United States remains home to more Christians than any other country in the world, and a large majority of Americans – roughly seven-in-ten – continue to identify with some branch of the Christian faith.1 But the major new survey of more than 35,000 Americans by the Pew Research Center finds that the percentage of adults (ages 18 and older) who describe themselves as Christians has dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years, from 78.4% in an equally massive Pew Research survey in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014. Over the same period, the percentage of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated – describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – has jumped more than six points, from 16.1% to 22.8%. And the share of Americans who identify with non-Christian faiths also has inched up, rising 1.2 percentage points, from 4.7% in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014. Growth has been especially great among Muslims and Hindus, albeit from a very low base."

[Missn-Hitch]

14. Great read. You are cheering me up this evening. Thank you.

In particular, the very last sentence. Muslims and Hindus....still promising results. Cheers!

[lindysalsagal]

25. The decline is a percentage point a year, and not slowing down

So in 10 years it'll be 60, 20 years it'll be 50.

America is already 23% non-religious, and in some states the percentage of people with a definite belief in gawd is only 46%

They're in freefall and think they can legislate the good old days back into existance.

[Missn-Hitch]

34. They are a mess indeed. They learned NOTHING from the last election and I am thankful for that.

Since 2000, I have always wondered what would happen if the sane portion of the gop would sever ties with the wing nuts. Would the loss be compensated by gains in Independents and the more conservative wing of the Democrats? Oh well, I hope they hold on to the wing nuts very tight for another 16 years. From the OP, I loved the reference to the addition of Judeo to Christian values. Cheers!

[Hortensis]

38. Wouldn't count on it, Lindysalgal. Religion is very necessary

to many people. Being areligious, I love this trend to less around me; but don't believe this decline will just continue. It will slow down and stabilize at a new normal, and that's fine. Religion should be available for those who want it, just not powerful enough to cause trouble for others.



Btw, here's one that shows Catholicism, a very old and successfully enduring religion...enduring away amid all the change.

[whatthehey]

39. a) not since - see Pew data above b) driven by many RCC immigrants

http://cara.georgetown.edu/staff/webpages/Hispanic%20Catholic%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/14/a-closer-look-at-catholic-america/

57% of Hispanics report as RCC. 71% retention rate as adults. Both much higher than non-Hispanic. 27% of Catholics born outside the US plus an additional 15% with at least one immigrant parent. It's a declining religion whose median age is 49, propped up from a steeper decline by immigration.

[Hortensis]

40. Good point, What. Catholicism has been stable globally,

so I just grabbed that graph for the U.S. without considering. So here in the U.S. membership is also dropping and being replenished by Catholic immigrants.

Not what I was thinking of, but of course any reason its membership stays steady for the next couple decades accidentally supports the idea that it's not going away. Even if we slow immigration dramatically, it'll be the children and grandchildren of these immigrants in whom changes will be seen.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

7. People that hear voices in their head should'nt be running the country,

Last edited Mon Aug 22, 2016, 10:53 PM - Edit history (1)

like dubya.

George Bush: 'God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa

[meow2u3]

8. The theocratic right brought this upon themselves

Their fanaticism is so out of control that they alienated their own children, causing young people to repudiate religion. The religious right have no one to blame but themselves because they refuse to tone down the hate.

[Missn-Hitch]

15. Hear, hear!!

[UTUSN]

9. Religion: Our first invention & our ultimate destrucition. n/t

[lindysalsagal]

11. We created gawd, but we never can seem to destroy him.

[sarcasmo]

10. The end of the religious right. Happy Days.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Two Corinthians walked into a casino

[Missn-Hitch]

16. ....to meet Two Thessalonians. Cheers!

[lindysalsagal]

26. "How many is a brazillian?"

[Missn-Hitch]

13. Thank you for posting this. This topic is the source of my anxiety.

Abortion, Gay Rights, Climate Change! It is WAY beyond time to move on. A major time-out is needed for the gop (pronounced gop) party.

[JI7]

17. so pretty much anyone who isn't straight white christian since blacks and hispanics tend to be

religious yet they lose those groups also.

[IronLionZion]

27. Christian conservative groups have tried to win support from black and latino voters

but Trump has set back that effort for many years!

The nonsense that W Bush was peddling just isn't that popular anymore.

[Quantess]

18. Maybe they should reach out to Muslim Extremists.

Or even moderate Muslims. The hot new demographic of religious whackadoos.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

19. Religion is too phony, pretend praying is ignorant.

[vlyons]

30. Politicians, who pray in public are one of my pet peeves.

Jesus taught that people should pray in private. I'm a Buddhist and believe that prayer is not about changing the laws of physics to accomplish miracles, or going back in time to make different decisions and change outcomes. But prayer is about changing the thoughts in my own mind, rejecting negative emotions, overcoming my own aggression, and reshaping my point of view. It's a very private activity. It's a shame that Rubio drags his kids into a public display of self-righteousness. I guess he wants to show people what a good Catholic family man he is. He would better convince me if he practiced what his own Pope Francis teaches about caring for the poor and disenfranchised.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. Millennials in particular- accept LGBT citizens as equals, aren't hung up about sex & nudity

think pot should be legal and.... aren't big on church.

OH NOEZ!

[former9thward]

21. Ridiculous.

If what the OP said was even halfway true he GOP wouldn't control the majority of governorships, and the vast majority of state legislatures. They wouldn't control Congress.

[IronLionZion]

24. Then why did they nominate Trump?

instead of an openly religious candidate like Cruz or Huckabee?

[former9thward]

33. The evangelicals have always been a section of the GOP

but not the main power players. The GOP has never nominated a candidate that was from that group. They are like unions with the Democratic party. Unions have had their ups and downs over the years with their influence but they have never controlled the Democratic Party.

[LanternWaste]

37. A sequence of events is not the same as a result of events.

Your premise is based on a fallacy, post hoc ergo prompter hoc. A sequence of events is not the same as a result of events, else the roosters' crow causes the sun to arise...

[aikoaiko]

28. Amen.

And a Hallelujah.

[pampango]

32. Good news but the right-wing 'populists' are thriving in Europe where people are less religious

than in the US. And Trump is hardly a paragon of a religious right politician, yet he has proven himself to be very popular on the right - particularly the non-religious right.

[Missn-Hitch]

35. Geesh. Thanks for bringing me down. LOL. Good point though.

[rockfordfile]

36. 700 religious idiots supported Trump in Orlando.

[GOLGO 13]

41. This news warms my heart.

They will fall from grace & I will gleefully rejoice.

[Xolodno]

42. I blame the evangelicals....

Churches used to get involved only at the local community level. That is, help build/sponsor orphanages, hospitals, parks, community events with a secular tone, etc. And they were friendly, with church picnics with another denomination and play a friendly baseball games against each other.


Then "evangelism" happened (reality its hyper-proselytize). It wasn't about the local community and instead turned its head into politics. Being friendly with other denominations was a weakness, the point was to deride the other faith, convert and put butts into their churches seats and collect their donations. All to fund their political agenda and get government to advance religious fundamentalism. Add to that, build these mega church retreats, auditoriums, etc. that even cities cannot provide. Where as in the past, the church would rent large facilities, parks, etc. for the day they needed it.

Problem is, fundamentalism has a high attrition rate and isn't set up to maintaining the church group for the long term. Its the exact opposite. Don't go to church for awhile prior to evangelicals, someone would come on over to check up on you to see if everything was all right, needed help (and if so, church would pull together to do so). Now, if you don't show for awhile, they literally tell you "go to hell".