One in five Americans have no religious affiliation, survey finds

[Carbon 5]

One in five Americans have no religious affiliation, survey finds - NY Daily News

More Americans than ever say they don’t identify with an organized religion — a trend that is growing among all segments of the population, a poll released Tuesday found.

One in five American adults, or 19.6% of the population, are now religiously unaffiliated, a Pew Center/PBS survey finds. Atheists and agnostics now make up about 6% of the U.S. population.

The number of unaffiliated is now at its highest point ever and has increased 5% in the past five years,the poll found.

Future political implications?

 

[Desk trauma]

Future political implications?

Candidates would be limited to running on platitudes about mom and apple pie rather then god, mom and apple pie.

 

[jayem]

The story is not a rise in unbelief, it's a rise in the unchurched. More people are falling away from traditional organized religion. Seems to me that folks who don't buy into religious doctrines will more likely be skeptical of political ones, too. Meaning more independent voters, not wedded to the orthodoxies of either major party. And if both parties have to moderate their positions to attract these voters, that's a very good thing.

 

[Museveni]

Well The Nazis did say that its a good thing for leaders that so few people think for themselves so for the future implications of this?

Leaders/politicians are screwed? Or at the very least are gonna have to work harder. This would be the case even if as the previous poster stated that they are simply leaving the "leadership" of the church behind while still staying christian.

 

[Desk trauma]

I found another interesting article on the subject here that details how the demographic shift may effect the political landscape.

One can only hope.

 

[Supreme]

Is it still possible to be a Christian yet unaffiliated to any church? Absolutely. I suspect that Christians without church affiliation make up the majority of the group, and with scandals in various churches over the years, I can hardly blame them.

 

[Desk trauma]

I suspect that Christians without church affiliation make up the majority of the group, and with scandals in various churches over the years, I can hardly blame them.

I would say that the majority of the group is made up of generic theists, as much as american atheist groups may want to claim them as their own, with sympathies towards Christianity as if you find a generic theist in the US that's their background the vast majority of the time.

I would contend that most of them do not hold to any of the teachings of Jesus or the church very strongly outside of the universal be nice, don't murder each other generalities.

 

[Billnew]

I believe this means Christians are failing and need to get busy.
I also believe the people that no longer consider themselves Christians haven't ventured so far from their beliefs.
So for now, the political wind won't shift. But when their kids grow up, they will have a shift, because they won't have the core beliefs instilled in them as much as their parents.

 

[Desk trauma]

So for now, the political wind won't shift. But when their kids grow up, they will have a shift, because they won't have the core beliefs instilled in them as much as their parents.

It's not even a matter of waiting for the next generation. The group with the largest percentage of non-religous members is young adults who are just coming into their own with a full third having no religious affiliation.

 

[Genersis]

Is it still possible to be a Christian yet unaffiliated to any church? Absolutely. I suspect that Christians without church affiliation make up the majority of the group, and with scandals in various churches over the years, I can hardly blame them.

Well judging by how the OP says 6% are non-religious(Agnostics/atheists), the rest of the 19.6% is likely made up of people unaffiliated with any specific branch of a religion.

 

[variant]

Candidates would be limited to running on platitudes about mom and apple pie rather then god, mom and apple pie.

Perhaps some reasoned discussion of policy priorities?

 

[variant]

The story is not a rise in unbelief, it's a rise in the unchurched. More people are falling away from traditional organized religion. Seems to me that folks who don't buy into religious doctrines will more likely be skeptical of political ones, too. Meaning more independent voters, not wedded to the orthodoxies of either major party. And if both parties have to moderate their positions to attract these voters, that's a very good thing.

The rise of unbelief and organized religion is probably linked to the politicization of religion in the first place IMO.

If the political parties can't count on the religious vote anymore religion will become less politicized and thus the problem fade.

 

[Publius]

Is it still possible to be a Christian yet unaffiliated to any church?

How do you reconcile that with 1 John, which tells us that one of the signs one is born again is a love for the Church and a desire to fellowship with the Body of Christ? Absolutely.

 

[Desk trauma]

Perhaps some reasoned discussion of policy priorities?

Sure and maybe zero point energy with a little world peace on the side.

Cynical? Me? That takes too much conviction.

 

[Maynard Keenan]

Well judging by how the OP says 6% are non-religious(Agnostics/atheists), the rest of the 19.6% is likely made up of people unaffiliated with any specific branch of a religion.

You have a big group of the nonreligious (over a third, less than a half - don't remember the exact numbers) who are "spiritual but not religious." A lot of these and some of the "Believe in God" portion of the nonreligious are going to be, essentially deists, with some others being like several friends of mine who "don't know what they believe in, not the christian god, but something bigger than us." They're not people swayed by religious arguments or appeals to "traditional morality."

 

[variant]

Sure and maybe zero point energy with a little world peace on the side.

Cynical? Me? That takes too much conviction.

If the lack of religious affiliation means a rise in skepticism and cynicism then it probably means that politicians won't be successfully by kissing babies.

 

[cow451]

I found another interesting article on the subject here that details how the demographic shift may effect the political landscape.

One can only hope.

The GOP is the party of Old White guys. Were it not for the Great recession that began in 2007, the GOP as we know it would be taking a standing eight count.

 

[AvilaSurfer]

The GOP is the party of Old White guys. Were it not for the Great recession that began in 2007, the GOP as we know it would be taking a standing eight count.

Demographics prove your first statement wrong. Your second statement makes no sense. The GOP has constantly been blamed for the recession, so how does this make any sense?

 

[cow451]

Demographics prove your first statement wrong. Your second statement makes no sense. The GOP has constantly been blamed for the recession, so how does this make any sense?

Demographicsare in Democrat's favor:
None of this is to say that Republicans ignored the rising tide of younger and browner voters that swamped them at the polls in 2008. Instead they set about keeping as many of them from the polls as possible. The bulk of the campaign has taken the form of throwing up an endless series of tedious bureaucratic impediments to voting in many states—ending same-day voter registration, imposing onerous requirements upon voter-registration drives, and upon voters themselves. “Voting liberal, that’s what kids do,” overshared William O’Brien, the New Hampshire House speaker, who had supported a bill to prohibit college students from voting from their school addresses. What can these desperate, rearguard tactics accomplish? They can make the electorate a bit older, whiter, and less poor. They can, perhaps, buy the Republicans some time.

The recession began in 2007. That's simply a statement of fact. The continued bad economy works for the GOP for now.A good economy would've resulted in an Obama landslide next month.

 

[AvilaSurfer]

A good economy would have elected McCain.