In spite of Christian opposition, secularism prospers in America

[HarryKeogh]

The American Religious Identification Survey 2001 conducted under the auspices of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) a follow-up study of a similar 1990 census. The poll utilized a sample of over 50,000 randomly selected respondents. It is described as “the most comprehensive portrait of religious identification in the U.S. today.� Very briefly, it revealed, for instance, that Roman Catholics as a percentage of the population decreased nearly 2%. Protestant’s proportion dropped sharply from 60% to 52%, a 13% decrease.

One of the most significant findings was the change in that segment of the adult population "identifying with no religion." In 1990, 14.3 million or roughly 8% identified with this category. The 2001 ARIS count shows that the non-believer population grew to 29.4 million, roughly 14.1% of the American population, a 76% increase.

here's the story (http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=6670)

and thanks to this thread (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=207516) at Rapture Ready for bringing it to my attention.

for added entertainment you could read the replies to this story at the above RR link.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Isn't 14.1% enough to start a religion?

~~ Paul

[Kopji]

Yeah this is the 14% I joke about being part of once in a while. There are about 14% who don't believe in supernatural stuff, 14% who were always against GWB, 14% who know anything about geography or history, 14% who know Canberra is the Capital of Australia. (Maybe that's stretching the truth a little - far less on Canberra).

No way to tell if they are all the same 14% though. Fun to pretend.

Rapture Ready is depressing at any link speed.

[TragicMonkey]

Originally posted by Kopji
14% who know Canberra is the Capital of Australia.

Stop trying to fool people. We all know that Canberra is a breakfast cereal.

The capital of Australia is Sydney, just as the capital of Canada is Toronto. It makes sense because most Americans* can only name one city in each of those two countries.


*And the remainder wish, for the sake of ease, that the capital of Australia was Australia City, and the capital of Canada was Canada City. That would be much simpler.

[pmurray]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
The capital of Australia is Sydney, just as the capital of Canada is Toronto.
I thought the capital of Canada was Ontario.

[TragicMonkey]

Originally posted by pmurray
I thought the capital of Canada was Ontario.

Ridiculous. Listen to the word: "On tar eee oh". Clearly, it's Spanish. Ontario is a prefecture of Spain. Whose capital is La Ciudad de Espana. Founded in 1066 by the Romans, Spain is a fertile valley between the Tigris and The Other One rivers. Many pyramids rise above the lush valley, and they are surrounded by "stele", which is a type of tree, covered in "cuneiform", which is a type of bat. The principal exports of Spain are bullfighters and Ernest Hemingway.

Read more world history and geography in The Monkey Book Of Completely True Facts.

[Upchurch]

Originally posted by HarryKeogh
and thanks to this thread (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=207516) at Rapture Ready for bringing it to my attention.From that post (or perhaps the article?):
"The obvious question is why people of such extraordinary intellect value the secular view over religion."It seems to me that the obvious question has an obvious answer, but that doesn't fit with Christian dogma so it can't be right.

[arthwollipot]

Thanks. That article has given me a little more ammunition for my debate on another board with someone who has been posting link after link documenting the decline of segularism in general, and atheism in particular.

http://darwintalk.com/message-board-forum/viewtopic.php?t=376

[phildonnia]

I wouldn't equate "identifying with no religion" and "non-believer" as the article blithely does. Harold Camping (http://www.christiancourier.com/penpoints/campingsRevelation.htm) comes to mind as an example of a serious believer, who identifies with no religion.

I also think "secularism" is not the same as "no religion". The so-called "founding fathers" were devout believers and hard-core secularists at the same time.

I don't believe these are nitpicks: the drop in church membership is not necessarily indicative of an abandonment of belief, nor an increase in secularism. But I'll keep praying for that. :D

[RandFan]

Originally posted by Upchurch
From that post (or perhaps the article?):
"The obvious question is why people of such extraordinary intellect value the secular view over religion."

It seems to me that the obvious question has an obvious answer, but that doesn't fit with Christian dogma so it can't be right. :D Well said, sometimes the answer is staring you right in the face.

Why do people of such extraordinary intellect value skepticism over the belief in or of fairies, elves, leprechauns, ESP, dowsing, Feng Shui, a flat earth, geocentrism, homeopothy, crystal power, pyramid schemes, voodoo, witchcraft, satanism, psychic surgery, palm reading, tea leaves, Loch Ness, Big Foot, UFO's, Unicorns, Mermaids, Greek Gods... whew... gremlins, dragons, griffins, chimeras, chitlu.... oh wait, this is a long list, one of those just must be real, Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, L. Ron Hubbard, Marshall Applewhite... you know this list could go on for days...

[KelvinG]

Originally posted by phildonnia
I wouldn't equate "identifying with no religion" and "non-believer" as the article blithely does. Harold Camping (http://www.christiancourier.com/penpoints/campingsRevelation.htm) comes to mind as an example of a serious believer, who identifies with no religion.

I also think "secularism" is not the same as "no religion". The so-called "founding fathers" were devout believers and hard-core secularists at the same time.

I don't believe these are nitpicks: the drop in church membership is not necessarily indicative of an abandonment of belief, nor an increase in secularism. But I'll keep praying for that. :D

I think it's becoming more common to describe oneself as non-religious, but still have some system of faith or belief in a higher power. I know a number of people who describe themselves this way. They aren't really able to articulate exactly what they believe but often say things like "I think there is something greater than us" or "There is a higher order in the universe."

It's a very non-commital sort of faith, which I think is part of the appeal. You don't have to go to church on Sunday, you don't have to follow a regimented system of prayer, you don't have to donate to the church, etc, etc.
All you have to do is believe in your own personal way. And for many, I think this equates to being "non-religious." It's a close as you can come to being "secular" without being an atheist or agnostic.