Posted on 06/07/2019 11:44:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Northeastern part of the United States, once known as a bulwark of Puritans and other strict Christian sects, now dominates the top 10 list of the most “post-Christian” cities, according to a report by the Barna Group.
For the report, released Wednesday, Barna drew from data based on interviews with 21,378 adults conducted over a 10-year period that concluded in April 2018, with a sampling error of plus or minus 0.7 percentage points.
The cities were listed in geographic area classifications known as Designated Market Areas, a term developed by The Nielsen Company to define a local media market.
Springfield-Holyoke, Massachusetts, was ranked as the most post-Christian city in America, with 66 percent of their surveyed population fitting Barna’s definition for the term.
Springfield-Holyoke was the first of eight Northeastern cities, occupying the top eight slots on the list. Second place went to Portland-Auburn, Maine, at 60 percent post-Christian.
Places three through eight were, in descending order, Providence, Rhode Island-New Bedford, Massachusetts (59 percent), Burlington, Vermont (59 percent), Boston, Massachusetts-Manchester, New Hampshire (58 percent), Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York (56 percent), Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut (56 percent) and Rochester, New York (55 percent).
Rounding out the top 10 most post-Christian cities were two outside of the Northeast: Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo, California, and Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, both at 54 percent.
To fit Barna’s label of “post-Christian,” a respondent had to meet at least 13 of 16 listed criteria, which included not believing in God, not attended church in the past six months, never made a commitment to Jesus, not prayed to God in the past week, having not read the Bible at all in the last week, believe that Jesus was not sinless, and not consider faith important in their lives.
In the case of Springfield-Holyoke, 87 percent of respondents reported not reading the Bible in the past week, 65 percent reported not attending church in the past six months, and 60 percent reported having never made a commitment to Jesus.
The 2019 Barna report on most post-Christian cities resembles the list released in summer 2017 with respect to the Northeast holding eight spots on the top 10.
In 2017, Portland-Auburn topped the list at 57 percent, followed by Boston-Manchester at 56 percent, Albany-Schenectady-Troy at 54 percent, and Providence-New Bedford at 53 percent.
Barna noted in their 2017 report that “church attendance, religious affiliation, belief in God, prayer and Bible-reading have all been dropping for decades” in the United States.
“By consequence, the role of religion in public life has been slowly diminishing, and the church no longer functions with the cultural authority it held in times past,” they added.
“These are unique days for the church in America as it learns what it means to flourish in a new 'Post-Christian' era.”
Seattle a top ten Christian city??????????????????????
What a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You misread the article. Seattle is considered a top 10 POST-CHRISTIAN city.
But there is another religion straining to get into our land and to replace Christianity. The one that bammy loves so much.
The adage says, "Nature abhors a vacuum." Filling that vacuum in this country will indeed be that "religion" that Obama loves so much.
It would be interesting to see a view of places which are socially/politically liberal, and compare to the list of so called post Christian cities.
Not to get off topic, but would also be interesting to compare social issues such as crime with religious affiliation. For example, how many members of the youth gangs, go to church and have a religious affiliation?
OK...I gotcha...Thanks...
I am surprised that Springfield, MA tops the list. It is now probably the most heavy Hispanic city in New England. Most Hispanics are Christian.
“Springfield-Holyoke, Massachusetts, was ranked as the most post-Christian city in America,”
LOL-—check the crime in those two cities.
.
OTOH, some of the best run cities in the world (Tokyo, Singapore, Taipei, Seoul) may not be majority Christian, but they certainly respect Christian values.
There is no such thing as a “post-Christian” city!! They are in reality mission fields, especially for the Holy Orthodox Church!!!!
In the Orthodox Church, we have been reading the Acts of the Apostles since Pascha! If we consider what the Apostles were up against, and what they accomplished (often involving the shedding of their blood), we see that the statement above is correct!!!!
M.A.C.A. - Make America 'CHRISTIAN' Again
Spokane, WA and Waco, TX are more post-Christian than Portland, OR according to this list.
And to be honest, the Orthodox are viewed as “ethnic” enough you have a better shot.
Lutherans are too white.
Never mind one of the biggest synods is Tansania
Bump
It is alarming to see Wilkes Barre-Sranton-Hazelton PA at # 12 with 54% “Post-Christian”.
These cities were the strongholds of Byzantine Rite Catholocism and Orthodoxy. One of the oldest parishes of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese is in Wilkes Barre.
I am surprised that Springfield, MA tops the list
They are using metro region stat area.
Double check my friend, Seattle is one of the post Christian city “outside the Northeast!”
Somewhat dated, but this chart may help.
Overall, predominately Catholic and "no religious affiliation" areas are the most liberal.
10% of Evangelical Protestants reside in the NE, 23% in the Midwest, 50% in the South, and 17% in the West. Catholics: 29% NE, 24% Midwest, 24% in the South, 23% in the West. “Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream,” Pew Research Center, 2007. http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#
The population of Massachusetts ranks as the most liberal, with Boston and Cambridge being the most liberal large cities (100,000 or more), followed by California. http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html
The 16 most Catholic states contain 24 of the most liberal cities. Excluding (Maryland 26th), predominately Roman Catholic states contain all but one (Seattle WA) of the 30 most liberal cities. Of states in which S. Baptists are the single largest denomination none (of the 30 cities) were found. (the term “liberal” being defined according to individual contributions to PACs, election returns and the number of homosexual households: http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html http://www.glenmary.org/grc/RCMS_2000/Catholic_findings.htm , http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html.
The highest percentages of residents who describe themselves as Christian are typically in the South, including: Shreveport, LA (98%), Birmingham (96%), Charlotte (96%), Nashville (95%), Greenville, SC / Asheville, NC (94%), New Orleans (94%), Indianapolis (93%), Lexington (93%), Roanoke-Lynchburg (93%), Little Rock (92%), and Memphis (92%). http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/435-diversity-of-faith-in-various-us-cities
73% of the populations of Charlotte and Shreveport held scripture in high regard, versus only 27% of the residents of Providence, Rhode Island [the most Catholic state] and San Francisco [the most homosexual large city]. ^
The lowest percentages of self-identified Christians inhabited the following markets: San Francisco (68%), Portland, Oregon (71%), Portland, Maine (72%), Seattle (73%), Sacramento (73%), New York (73%), San Diego (75%), Los Angeles (75%), Boston (76%), Phoenix (78%), Miami (78%), Las Vegas (78%), and Denver (78%). Even in these cities, however, roughly three out of every four residents align with Christianity. ^
The highest percentage of souls who tended toward being atheist or agnostic were in Portland, Maine (19%), Seattle (19%), Portland, Oregon (16%), Sacramento (16%), and Spokane (16%)
Commitment to evangelism (agree strongly that a person has a responsibility to share their beliefs with others) saw the greatest percentage of endorsement by residents of Birmingham (64%) and Charlotte (54%), in contrast to residents of Providence (14%) and Boston (17%).
I lived in Germany from 1980 to 1984. I thought Europe was pretty much post Christian back then too.
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