Posted on 02/20/2018 11:58:56 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Much of the switching in religious identity in the United States over the past several years occurred among the “nones,” specifically Americans who identify as agnostic or as “nothing in particular.” But the Christian landscape hasn’t remained static in the meantime.
Though academics have long wondered whether the US will follow the secularizing trend found in most of Europe, the greatest shifts among believers have occurred within Christianity, not away from it.
The three-wave Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES)—which surveyed the same individuals in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and started with 9,500 respondents—reveals how few Catholics and Protestants have changed affiliations and how many have moved from one denomination (or nondenomination) to another.
During this period, Catholics remained pretty attached to their tradition; they were about half as likely as Americans on average to change their affiliation: 8.8 percent vs. 18.9 percent. When Catholics do switch, they largely shift toward having no faith, with 6.4 percent switching to agnostic, atheist, or “nothing in particular.”
For Catholics, transitioning to another religious tradition is extremely rare. Of the 2,112 Catholics in the CCES sample, fewer than 50 left: 39 became Protestants, 6 became Orthodox Christians, and 3 became Buddhists.
The Catholic sample declined by 1 percent between 2010 and 2014, though this does not suggest a decline in Catholicism as a whole. (This data only includes individuals who switch into or out of Catholicism as adults, and excludes birth or death rates, which also have a tremendous impact on the total number of adherents.)
Protestants—the largest religious tradition in the US, making up 42 percent of Americans in the 2010 CCES panel—show similar patterns to their Catholic counterparts.
Protestants largely stay Protestant, defecting at similar rates as Catholics during the four-year period: 8.8 percent vs. 9.1 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianitytoday.com ...
Most people I know go home when they leave church
I went Methodist to Presbyterian (PCA) in 2014.
What I recently read is that those exiting mainline Protestant churches and the Catholic Church have moved on to independent/non-denominational churches. This also jives with my own observations and experience.
I’m hoping to go from Catholic to Eastern Orthodox - I fall into the rare group I suppose.
LOL!
I usually stop by the bakery first, though.
RE: What I recently read is that those exiting mainline Protestant churches and the Catholic Church have moved on to independent/non-denominational churches.
That’s what this articles says as well ( see charts above ).
“Most people I know go home when they leave church.”
Or their favorite dining spot for an after-church brunch-lunch.
“That’s what this articles says as well ( see charts above ).”
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Yup. I should have mentioned my observation was more in the way of a confirmation of it.
Ah, here’s the article (from 2015) that I mentioned reading recently:
“FactChecker: Are All Christian Denominations in Decline?”
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-are-all-christian-denominations-in-decline
>>I’m hoping to go from Catholic to Eastern Orthodox - I fall into the rare group I suppose.
When I left Methodism, I gave Eastern Orthodox some serious thought. I respect them.
Around here, IHOP or Silver Diner; you have to wait a long time on Sunday.
“I’m hoping to go from Catholic to Eastern Orthodox - I fall into the rare group I suppose.”
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Have you considered some of the traditional Anglican churches?
e.g.
https://www.anglicanchurchinamerica.org
Requirements:
1. Weekly communion ("This is my body, this is my blood" refers to unleavened bread and wine, not vanilla wafers and grape juice.)
2. Tolerance for belief in theistic evolution.
3. No ordination or enabling of pedophiles or sodomites.
4. No use of parishioner donations to pay court settlements against clergy. Let the hierarchy pay out of their retirement funds.
6. No Arianism.
7. No Adventist/End Times preaching.
8. NO SNAKES.
Meanwhile, I've read more of the bible in the past two years than I did in the previous 20. While I'd really like to find a community of believers to share my faith with, I think I'm OK.
“Around here, IHOP or Silver Diner; you have to wait a long time on Sunday.”
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IHOP seems to be a fave among Christian folk. Though there are usually a good number of nice sit-down family-friendly places for after-church eatins in most large locales from which to choose.
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