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Study: Young Americans Dumping Religion at Rapid Rate
The New American ^ | 09 October 2012 | Selwyn Duke

Posted on 10/09/2012 3:25:25 PM PDT by Paladins Prayer

According to a recent study, religion is dying in America. And it’s a trend that has grave implications for our politics, culture, and the fate of our civilization. Ben Fearnow of CBS News reports on the story, writing:

...The study also posits some theories for this burgeoning irreligiosity, which, writes Fearnow, “run the gamut from a backlash against the entanglement of religion and politics to a global relationship between economic development and secularization.” Now, I don’t know if that “gamut” includes the obvious, but these two theories miss the mark.

Question: Do we wonder why Pakistan is spawning jihadists when we know that 10,000 madrassahs (Muslim schools) pepper its lands? In the same vein, American schools, along with the media and popular culture, instill secular dogma (I discuss one dimension of this here), and faith and her institutions are continuously discredited via specious documentaries and biased news reportage. Put simply, our culture preaches a secular-fundamentalist message. So is it any wonder that Americans are thus influenced? But more about the cause in a moment.

Having said this, some traditionalists will note that there’s also good news. As the study indicates, not all the “unaffiliated” are atheists; in fact, 68 percent claim to believe in God and 21 percent pray every day. The question is, To whom?

I’m not just being snide. The unaffiliated’s behavior reflects the now common position, “I’m spiritual, but not religious,” and this is in fact a claim 37 percent of them make. Yet while it sounds enlightened and cool to modern ears to profess spirituality, it’s a meaningless statement.

(Excerpt) Read more at thenewamerican.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: decline; generationy; religion; secularism; trends; unchurched; youth; youthvote
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Excellent analysis. This is a pice that goes beyondreporting and down to philosophy.
1 posted on 10/09/2012 3:25:35 PM PDT by Paladins Prayer
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To: Paladins Prayer

Our Catholic church in Miami overflows on Sundays and is always very active.


2 posted on 10/09/2012 3:28:38 PM PDT by mgist
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To: Paladins Prayer

Hollywood and the public school system is wining the moral battle for our young people.


3 posted on 10/09/2012 3:28:58 PM PDT by ForAmerica (Texas Conservative Christian Black Man!)
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To: Paladins Prayer

“Merely having an open mind is nothing; the object of opening a mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”
G.K. Chesterton


4 posted on 10/09/2012 3:30:51 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: GiovannaNicoletta; F15Eagle; .45 Long Colt; Buddygirl; Former Fetus; Bockscar; Graybeard58; JLLH; ..

Baptist ping


5 posted on 10/09/2012 3:34:11 PM PDT by WKB (After 4 years of Obama I am ready for a little R and R!!)
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To: mgist

Total church membership reported in the 2012 Yearbook is 145,691,446 members, down 1.15 percent over 2011.

1. The Catholic Church 68,202,492, [ranked 1 in 2011] , down 0.44 percent.
2. Southern Baptist Convention 16,136,044, [ranked 2 in 2011] , down 0.15 percent.
3. The United Methodist Church 7,679,850, [ranked 3 in 2011] , down 1.22 percent.
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 6,157,238, [ranked 4 in 2011] , up 1.62 percent.
5. The Church of God in Christ 5,499,875, [ranked 5 in 2011] , no update reported.
6. National Baptist Convention , U.S.A. , Inc. 5,197,512, [ranked 6 in 2011] , up 3.95 percent.
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 4,274,855, [ranked 7 in 2011] , down 5.90 percent.
8. National Baptist Convention of America , Inc. 3,500,000, [ranked 8 in 2011] , no update reported.
9. Assemblies of God 3,030,944, [ranked 9 in 2011] , up 3.99 percent.
10. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 2,675,873, [ranked 10 in 2011] , down 3.42 percent.
11. African Methodist Episcopal Church 2,500,000, [ranked 11 in 2011] , no update reported.
12. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America 2,500,000, [ranked 11 in 2011] , no update reported.
13. The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod (LCMS) 2,278,586, [ranked 13 in 2011] , down 1.45 percent.
14. The Episcopal Church 1,951,907, [ranked 14 in 2011] , down 2.71 percent.
15. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. 1,800,000, ranked 15 [ranked 17 in 2011] , up 20 percent.
16. Churches of Christ 1,639,495, [ranked 15 in 2011] , no update reported.
17. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 1,500,000 , [ranked 16 in 2011] , no update reported.
18. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church 1,400,000, [ranked 18 in 2011] , no update reported.
19. American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. 1,308,054, [ranked 19 in 2011] , down 0.19 percent.
20. Jehovah’s Witnesses 1,184,249, [ranked 20 in 2011] , up 1.85 percent.
21. Church of God ( Cleveland , Tennessee ) 1,074,047, [ranked 22 in 2011] , down 0.21 percent.
22. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ 1,071,616, [ranked 23 in 2011] , no update reported.
23. Seventh-day Adventist Church 1,060,386, [ranked 24 in 2011] , up 1.61 percent.
24. United Church of Christ 1,058,423, [ranked 21 in 2011], down 2.02 percent.
25. Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. 1,010,000, [ranked 25 in 2011 ], no update reported.
Total membership in top 25 churches: 145,691,446, down 1.15 percent.


6 posted on 10/09/2012 3:35:41 PM PDT by mgist
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To: Paladins Prayer
nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14 percent).

What does the writer mean by affiliation? I know Christians who are no longer members of a church because of that church's position on homosexuality.

I did not read the entire CBS report, but it is possible to not be a member of a denomination and still believe in the Lord, Bible etc.

I would like to know how many have left “the church” but not Christ?

7 posted on 10/09/2012 3:35:46 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3 (Obama is everything Oklahoma is not.)
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To: Paladins Prayer
"According to a recent study, religion is dying in America."

If true, America will die along with it.

Those of us who believe knew it was coming....just seems to be happening at light speed.

8 posted on 10/09/2012 3:36:23 PM PDT by NoGrayZone (For evil to triumph it is only necessary for good men to do nothing.)
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To: Paladins Prayer

bmflr


9 posted on 10/09/2012 3:40:41 PM PDT by DarthVader (Politicians govern out of self interest, Statesmen govern for a Vision greater than themselves)
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To: NoGrayZone

We’ve seen from Europe’s example that “Secular Humanism” does not vill the void as Christianity is shoved aside. It just holds the door open for Islam.


10 posted on 10/09/2012 3:40:45 PM PDT by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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To: Paladins Prayer

Does this include declining Zer0 worship?


11 posted on 10/09/2012 3:42:14 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Paladins Prayer

If one studies human deities over the ages one would see a transition, evolution as it were, from many gods (polytheism) to one g(G)od (monotheism). It is not surprising that nonotheism would be the next step. As an agnostic I still have strong feelings on the subject, probably from my religious upbringing (including many years as an altar boy when the Mass was still said in Latin). After assembling all of the evidence, I still don’t know...but I’ll keep looking. I promise to never burden this, a conservative political site, with my religious angst.


12 posted on 10/09/2012 3:43:02 PM PDT by gorush (History repeats itself because human nature is static)
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To: mgist

Thank you mgist. Puts things in perspective.


13 posted on 10/09/2012 3:43:02 PM PDT by bronxville (Margaret Sanger - “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population,Â)
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To: Paladins Prayer

Maybe because our public schools teach that evolution is their GOD; and there is no other. (A fool has said in his heart, there is no God...


14 posted on 10/09/2012 3:44:02 PM PDT by BillT (If you can not stand behind our military, you might as well stand in front of them!)
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To: ForAmerica

Yes and the churches are doing so much to combat it own decline. No moral compass, moral equivalency, political correctness, pedophilia just to name a few.


15 posted on 10/09/2012 3:49:05 PM PDT by dirtymac (Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Really NOW!!!!)
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To: Paladins Prayer

Don’t buy it. Since I’ve been seeing this message consistently in the MSM, I doubt it. Pew works for the FEDS. They lie, wishfull thinking.


16 posted on 10/09/2012 3:49:42 PM PDT by mgist
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To: Paladins Prayer

A discussion I had with a teenager a couple of years ago illustrated this mindset well. After he espoused some relativistic sentiments, I pointed out that if everything is relative, he couldn’t rightly say that “racism” or “sexism” was wrong. He actually agreed, saying (I’m paraphrasing), “It sometimes scares me that there’s no Truth, and sometimes I wish there was, but that’s just the way it is.” He ended the conversation shortly thereafter, before I could marshal further arguments. And the real tragedy is that this wasn’t done out of anger — but ennui. But how culpable was he for his indifference? He had been taught that there are no treasures to be found, no answers — only preferences. Thus, searching for them made no more sense than laboring long and hard to discover whether chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry is the “best” flavor. A quick taste tells you all you need to know because it’s whatever works for you, man. So from his relativistic perspective, his intellectual incuriosity was entirely logical.


Not the way I was brought up........................


17 posted on 10/09/2012 3:50:13 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple ( (Lord, save me from some conservatives, they don't understand history any better than liberals.))
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To: TornadoAlley3

I do see a generation ripe for conversion to Islam, probably one of the more insidious threats buried in this report.

The endless battering of any mention of Western religions in public schools, the mocking of Christmas and Christianity, the open contempt for any sort of conversation about morality and values, and the outright denial of observations of any kind, except for Islamic rituals, is fast setting the pace.

Public school officials seem paralyzed when it comes to setting the same limits on Islam, or even witchcraft, that they routinely place on Judeo-Christian traditions. It is OK to set aside prayer rooms and declare school holidays for Islamic students, but the non-Islamic have no such amenities granted to them.

Where there is a vacuum, something shall rush in to fill it.


18 posted on 10/09/2012 3:52:41 PM PDT by alloysteel ("You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity".)
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To: BillT

Now that you mention that, the author links to an article on evolution that he wrote. I’m glad I read it because it really is phenomenal.


19 posted on 10/09/2012 3:54:56 PM PDT by Paladins Prayer
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To: Paladins Prayer

And unless we reverse this cultural decline, tomorrow is something we may not want to see.


The money quote. I am not very optimistic of the future because we are not getting at the core of the problem.

Tough times are the only thing that will get us to turn to God.


20 posted on 10/09/2012 3:55:43 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple ( (Lord, save me from some conservatives, they don't understand history any better than liberals.))
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