To: Brumar89 who wrote (856456 ) 5/12/2015 9:00:12 PM From: Wharf Rat 1 RecommendationRecommended By gronieel2
Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1575939 It's bigots like you that give Christianity a bad name.Americans Leaving Christianity in Droves UNAFFILIATED NOW NUMBER 56M IN US BEHIND EVANGELICALS By Arden Dier, Newser Staff newser.com Posted May 12, 2015 7:51 AM CDT (NEWSER) – The nation's Christians are experiencing a steep slide in numbers, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. The survey of 35,000 adults finds the number of those who identify as Christian slid from 78.4% in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014, the New York Times reports. Almost every major Christian denomination saw a decline, and no age group, race, or region was immune. The trend "is big, it's broad, and it's everywhere," report editor Alan Cooperman tells USA Today . "The decline is taking place in every region of the country, including the Bible Belt," he adds, per the Times. While some of the slide is attributed to non-Christian millennials supplanting the elderly, many once-Christians have shifted to the unaffiliated category of atheists, agnostics, and those of "no particular religion," which has grown from 16% of adults to 23%. That means the 56 million "nones" are now the second-largest faith group behind evangelicals, who make up about a quarter of the religious market. Catholics make up about 21% of the population, though Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants saw the greatest declines, each falling by more than 3%. Evangelical Protestants actually grew in number but fell by 1% as a share of the overall population. About 19% of adults are now ex-Christians and 13% are former Catholics, the report finds. "Overall, there are more than four former Christians for every convert to Christianity," Cooperman says. Affiliations with non-Christian faiths, including Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism, rose slightly from about 5% in 2007 to 6% in 2014. Experts say the survey will have political consequences and may be greatest felt by conservatives and Republicans, who typically rely on white Christian voters, the Times reports.