Wednesday, March 11, 2009
WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE WALKING IN AND SHOOTING UP CHURCHES, I'M NOT SURPRISED
Interesting article from the Associated Press:
"More Americans say they have no religion
Study finds percentage of Christians in the nation has declined
Mon., March. 9, 2009
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman
Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest,
the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say
they have no religion at all.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from
14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American
Religious Identification Survey.
Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious
region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no
religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of
Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's
authors said.
Catholics on the decline in Northeast
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults
last year, down from 43 percent in 1990. At the same time, however,
Catholics grew to about one-third of the adult population in California and
Texas, and one-quarter of Floridians, largely due to Latino immigration,
according to the research.
Nationally, Catholics remain the largest religious group, with 57 million
people saying they belong to the church. The tradition gained 11 million
followers since 1990, but its share of the population fell by about a
percentage point to 25 percent.
Christians who aren't Catholic also are a declining segment of the country.
In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about
77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the
dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and
Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years,
mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of
the population.
The report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford,
Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through
November of last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5
percentage points. The findings are part of a series of studies on American
religion by the program that will later look more closely at reasons behind
the trends.
Organized religion playing less of a role
The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized
religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married
couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of
respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.
About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal
God at the core of monotheistic faiths. And, since 1990, a slightly greater
share of respondents — 1.2 percent — said they were part of new religious
movements, including Scientology, Wicca and Santeria.
The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either
don't belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious
group.
Respondents who called themselves "non-denominational Christian" grew from
0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year. Congregations that most often
use the term are megachurches considered "seeker sensitive." They use rock
style music and less structured prayer to attract people who don't usually
attend church. Researchers also found a small increase in those who prefer
being called evangelical or born-again, rather than claim membership in a
denomination.
Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34 percent of all American
adults and 45 percent of all Christians and Catholics, the study found.
Researchers found that 18 percent of Catholics consider themselves
born-again or evangelical, and nearly 39 percent of mainline Protestants
prefer those labels. Many mainline Protestant groups are riven by conflict
over how they should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships,
salvation and other issues.
Pentecostals stay steady
The percentage of Pentecostals remained mostly steady since 1990 at 3.5
percent, a surprising finding considering the dramatic spread of the
tradition worldwide. Pentecostals are known for a spirited form of
Christianity that includes speaking in tongues and a belief in modern-day
miracles.
Mormon numbers also held steady over the period at 1.4 percent of the
population, while the number of Jews who described themselves as religiously
observant continued to drop, from 1.8 percent in 1990 to 1.2 percent, or 2.7
million people, last year. Researchers plan a broader survey on people who
consider themselves culturally Jewish but aren't religious.
The study found that the percentage of Americans who identified themselves
as Muslim grew to 0.6 percent of the population, while growth in Eastern
religions such as Buddhism slightly slowed."
------
This doesn't surprise me. Gee, you mean maybe we're here all by ourselves? We're supposed to figure this shit out on our own?
WHAT A PHENOMENAL CONCEPT!!!!
------
Monday night, my sons and their bass playing friend Ian hit up the second open mic of their lives with their band, Thunderstump, and literally rocked the joint. Not bad considering it was a country bar and grill called the Buffalo Chip Saloon. Afterwards they met a woman who promised to send them info on open mics that make more sense for a punk group.
------
My gigs this weekend:
Friday: Mama Java's, 36th St. and Indian School, 8 p.m.
Saturday: Poor Reds, New River, 1-3 p.m.
SHOW UP! That's an order!
TT
Interesting article from the Associated Press:
"More Americans say they have no religion
Study finds percentage of Christians in the nation has declined
Mon., March. 9, 2009
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman
Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest,
the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say
they have no religion at all.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from
14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American
Religious Identification Survey.
Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious
region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no
religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of
Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's
authors said.
Catholics on the decline in Northeast
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults
last year, down from 43 percent in 1990. At the same time, however,
Catholics grew to about one-third of the adult population in California and
Texas, and one-quarter of Floridians, largely due to Latino immigration,
according to the research.
Nationally, Catholics remain the largest religious group, with 57 million
people saying they belong to the church. The tradition gained 11 million
followers since 1990, but its share of the population fell by about a
percentage point to 25 percent.
Christians who aren't Catholic also are a declining segment of the country.
In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about
77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the
dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and
Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years,
mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of
the population.
The report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford,
Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through
November of last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5
percentage points. The findings are part of a series of studies on American
religion by the program that will later look more closely at reasons behind
the trends.
Organized religion playing less of a role
The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized
religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married
couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of
respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.
About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal
God at the core of monotheistic faiths. And, since 1990, a slightly greater
share of respondents — 1.2 percent — said they were part of new religious
movements, including Scientology, Wicca and Santeria.
The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either
don't belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious
group.
Respondents who called themselves "non-denominational Christian" grew from
0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year. Congregations that most often
use the term are megachurches considered "seeker sensitive." They use rock
style music and less structured prayer to attract people who don't usually
attend church. Researchers also found a small increase in those who prefer
being called evangelical or born-again, rather than claim membership in a
denomination.
Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34 percent of all American
adults and 45 percent of all Christians and Catholics, the study found.
Researchers found that 18 percent of Catholics consider themselves
born-again or evangelical, and nearly 39 percent of mainline Protestants
prefer those labels. Many mainline Protestant groups are riven by conflict
over how they should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships,
salvation and other issues.
Pentecostals stay steady
The percentage of Pentecostals remained mostly steady since 1990 at 3.5
percent, a surprising finding considering the dramatic spread of the
tradition worldwide. Pentecostals are known for a spirited form of
Christianity that includes speaking in tongues and a belief in modern-day
miracles.
Mormon numbers also held steady over the period at 1.4 percent of the
population, while the number of Jews who described themselves as religiously
observant continued to drop, from 1.8 percent in 1990 to 1.2 percent, or 2.7
million people, last year. Researchers plan a broader survey on people who
consider themselves culturally Jewish but aren't religious.
The study found that the percentage of Americans who identified themselves
as Muslim grew to 0.6 percent of the population, while growth in Eastern
religions such as Buddhism slightly slowed."
------
This doesn't surprise me. Gee, you mean maybe we're here all by ourselves? We're supposed to figure this shit out on our own?
WHAT A PHENOMENAL CONCEPT!!!!
------
Monday night, my sons and their bass playing friend Ian hit up the second open mic of their lives with their band, Thunderstump, and literally rocked the joint. Not bad considering it was a country bar and grill called the Buffalo Chip Saloon. Afterwards they met a woman who promised to send them info on open mics that make more sense for a punk group.
------
My gigs this weekend:
Friday: Mama Java's, 36th St. and Indian School, 8 p.m.
Saturday: Poor Reds, New River, 1-3 p.m.
SHOW UP! That's an order!
TT
Comments:
Post a Comment
