Posted on 02/17/2014 5:37:11 AM PST by daniel1212
Religiosity index shows the changes in religious activity in the United States. Religion News Service
This image is available for Web publication. For questions, contact Sally Morrow.
Religiosity in the United States is in the midst of what might be called ‘The Great Decline.’ Previous declines in religion pale in comparison. Over the past fifteen years, the drop in religiosity has been twice as great as the decline of the 1960s and 1970s.
How do we track this massive change in American religion? We start with information from rigorous, scientific surveys on worship service attendance, membership in congregations, prayer, and feelings toward religion. We then use a computer algorithm to track over 400 survey results over the past 60 years. The result is one measure that charts changes to religiosity through the years. (You can see all the details here).
The graph of this index tells the story of the rise and fall of religious activity. During the post-war, baby-booming 1950s, there was a revival of religion. Indeed, some at the time considered it a third great awakening. Then came the societal changes of the 1960s, which included a questioning of religious institutions. The resulting decline in religion stopped by the end of the 1970s, when religiosity remained steady. Over the past fifteen years, however, religion has once again declined. But this decline is much sharper than the decline of 1960s and 1970s. Church attendance and prayer is less frequent. The number of people with no religion is growing. Fewer people say that religion is an important part of their lives. All measures point to the same drop in religion: If the 1950s were another Great Awakening, this is the Great Decline.
Interesting that there was roughly 20 years of stability (1973-1993) before Bill Clinton took office.
You can almost see to the year how the government programs changed the family, how welfare and social programs replaced the mother and father. Government is the new “god” of liberalism.
2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
I Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
I Corinthians 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
I Cor. 6:1-5 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
Agreed. Haven’t seen any actual numbers, but I’m sure the phenomenon exists. I suspect more Episcopalians and Lutherans have gone into non-demoninational or other Protestant conservative churches, though.
Yes, I thought the same thing. But the major decline seems to coincide with the emergence of the Internet. Not saying that is the reason, just an observation.
On second thought, the graph is not entirely meaningless. It does show differences in rate of decline over time. It’s just that without vertical scale you don’t know whether you’re talking about a total 1% drop or a total 90% drop.
This surely appears to be the “falling away” spoken of by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thess. 2:3. Even without Y-axis numbers listed, we know there’s been a profound drop in righteousness and a profound increase in evil in this country.
Neither Clinton nor Obama could’ve been elected unless our fellow Americans wanted leaders that reflected their own depravity.
That would be Stalin.
Your numbers are meaningless unless you show percent share of population. Also consider tht without crimigration, those numbers will be even smaller. The gates of hell maybe not, but the gates of Hollywood, yes.
So much for the fiscal conservatives only.
Clinton wore his when it was convenient.
**** Over the past fifteen years, however, religion has once again declined. But this decline is much sharper than the decline of 1960s and 1970s.***
It appears to me the decline really began when movies and TV began to show more vile programing.
In the 1950s and 1960s TV was safe to watch. Dads were the anchor of the TV family, religion was respected.
Then Bobby Kennedy got shot and panic ensued. Movie threw off the Hays code and began to produce the most violent and vile movies to influence young people.
TV dads became the dum bass of the family and the kids all developed the smart mouth syndrome. Religion disappeared except to be a joke on the show.
Twenty years later, those smart mouth kids degenerated to dum bass parents with smarter mouth kids, who then, twenty years later, again degenerated into dum bass parents with smart mouth or homo kids.
You would be surprised. Entire churches have converted to Catholism. Remember that George Washington’s church (Episcopalian) was part of the reason our founding fathers left Europe. They wanted to be able to worship without undue worldly influence. Traditinal faiths have much more in common with Catholics than “non denominational” churches. Not one of our founding fathers was a Southern Babtist.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/06/maryland-episcopal-roman-catholic_n_871950.html
PFL
Not surprising, since Southern Baptists didn’t split off till the slavery issue became dominant.
All I can say is that I wished people would realize that any “church” that has “preacher” bad mouthing, using God’s word to judge and condemn, or slandering, ANY other Christian faiths, is NOT from God.
May God help them
William Howard Taft was a Unitarian who didn’t believe in the divinity of Jesus. Neither did Thomas Jefferson, but don’t tell that to the Southrons (there is a difference between Southerners and Southrons, the latter of which are notorious revisionists). ;)
Agreed. At one time, when America was overwhelming a Christian nation, we might have been able to have enjoy the luxury of sniping between sects over the finer points of doctrine. But that ended about fifty years ago.
Sorry but YOU are not a scientific and credible source on what is a scientific and credible source, since the typical RC rule is if anything impugns Rome is cannot be, while if you dared to look - which many RCs testify they will not - then you will see that the stats are carefully accredited to scientific and reputable credible sources.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.