Atheism Rises, Religiosity Declines In America

[Crow]

The firearms issue has been beaten to death. What better way to stoke debate than to bring up religion?

(RNS) Religiosity is on the decline in the U.S. and atheism is on the rise, according to a new worldwide poll.

The poll, called "The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism," found that the number of Americans who say they are "religious" dropped from 73 percent in 2005 (the last time the poll was conducted) to 60 percent.

At the same time, the number of Americans who say they are atheists rose, from 1 percent to 5 percent.

The poll was conducted by WIN-Gallup International and is based on interviews with 50,000 people from 57 countries and five continents. Participants were asked, "Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?"

Continued at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1777031.html

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... and as a bonus, here are the Top 10 Least Religious Cities in the US:

1. Portland Metropolitan Area (Oregon)
2. Tampa Metropolitan Area (Florida)
3. Seattle Metropolitan Area (Washington)
4. Las Vegas Metropolitan Area (Nevada)
5. Sacramento Metropolitan Area (California)
6. Denver Metropolitan Area (Colorado)
7. Phoenix Metropolitan Area (Arizona)
8. Columbus Metropolitan Area (Ohio)
9. San Francisco Metropolitan Area (California)
10. Miami Metropolitan Area (Florida)

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Okay, have at it!

[lxskllr]

That may be the case, but I think the religious are getting more zealous. The rise of nondenominational Christianity has normalized the harder core southern Baptists. I don't know where it's leading, but it'll be good for everyone when it all dies out.

[Crow]

That may be the case, but I think the religious are getting more zealous. The rise of nondenominational Christianity has normalized the harder core southern Baptists. I don't know where it's leading, but it'll be good for everyone when it all dies out.

They're getting more zealous, and it's dividing their "flock".

I expect to see the numbers plummet as long as the religious institutions maintain the status quo.

[sgreger1]

Really? Is san fran that low on the list? Kind of makes sense though, lots of Catholics around here.

[precious007]

Same thing happens in Europe, more and more people are questioning "Religion".

It's quite obvious, when every other priest (even the ones that are from villages) drive expensive luxury cars and live in enormous homes. It becomes so obvious that religions are nothing but just another cult and business.

Studies show that in Romania at the moment, 3 churches are built every single day. (a total of 28,800 churches exist in Romania at the moment for a population of a little over 20 million). All churches are built from private money (donations mainly)....

Just like lx said, I really hope that all this doctrine will stop some day.

[sgreger1]

Same thing happens in Europe, more and more people are questioning "Religion".

It's quite obvious, when every other priest (even the ones that are from villages) drive expensive luxury cars and live in enormous homes. It becomes so obvious that religions are nothing but just another cult and business.

Studies show that in Romania at the moment, 3 churches are built every single day. (a total of 28,800 churches exist in Romania at the moment for a population of a little over 20 million). All churches are built from private money (donations mainly)....

Just like lx said, I really hope that all this doctrine will stop some day.

Wow that is a lot of churches!

[precious007]

Wow that is a lot of churches!

Yes it's sad.

And there's only 450 hospitals, Imagine if all the money spent on building churches would have been used to build homes for the homeless, hospitals, schools and other necessary facilities. (assuming that the average church costs $15 - 20 million to build from scratch).

But who gives a damn, religions have been fooling people for centuries now, it's really hard to stop all this mysticism and doctrines. People are afraid to even think about dropping religion and becoming spiritual, to learn what God is really all about ... and that is the Universe.

Fear is the main reason people continue to go to churches and pray - they don't even know who they're praying at.

[truthwolf1]

Church also cost's money and people do not have a lot of money these days.

[Nuusku]

People are starting to think with their own brains

[CoderGuy]

I think it's great. I am not religious at all, but I believe people have the right to believe what they want and practice what they want. I have met a lot of really genuine Christians, and a lot of non-genuine atheists. As a result, my feelings toward the groups have skewed into being more open minded and not labeling.

That said, I do think the factions are becoming more fractured with this election. If the right wins, I think we will see huge push toward government mandated puritanism to try and "regain" some their perceived "losses" with this administration.

[Crow]

That said, I do think the factions are becoming more fractured with this election. If the right wins, I think we will see huge push toward government mandated puritanism to try and "regain" some their perceived "losses" with this administration.

The fracturing is happening on the right, Tea Party being a good example.

However, both parties are definitely polarised (Republicans more so than Democrats). I suppose that's destined to happen when you have a two-party system.