Today
an estimated sixteen percent of Americans—or about 49 million American
men, women, and children—live without religious affiliation.
* As a group, religiously unaffiliated Americans are more numerous than any single religious denomination except Roman Catholics.
They
are more numerous than Hispanic Americans or African Americans ...
more numerous than the estimated gay and lesbian population … more than
seven times as numerous as American Jews … more than fifteen times as
numerous as religiously active American Jews.
Not all of the
religiously unaffiliated would describe themselves as atheists or
agnostics, but recent studies suggest that the actively nonreligious
make up about two-thirds of this population, with spiritual seekers and
persons between church affiliations making up the rest.
How do we
know these things? Recent—and authoritative—data comes from the
American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) and from surveys
conducted in association with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
ARIS studies in 1990, 2001, and 2008 documented the doubling of
“nones” (people declaring no religious affiliation). Studies by Pew and
other researchers have confirmed this pattern and offered more
detailed information on the makeup of this fast-growing group. For
example, a 1994 Pew-University of Akron study gave us our most detailed
portrait of the people who make up the unaffiliated 16 percent. It
found that about a third of this group identifies itself using labels
like atheist and agnostic. Another third does not use these labels, but
when asked about their lifestyle (church attendance, beliefs about
life, and the like) is otherwise almost identical with the first group;
pollsters call these the hard seculars. Combined, self-identified
atheists and agnostics and the hard seculars make up 10.7 percent of
the total population, equivalent to two-thirds of the unaffiliated.
Spiritual seekers and persons without current church affiliation make
up the balance.
Many Americans imagine that they don’t know a
single person who lives without religion. Yet if confirmed nonreligious
people compose 10.7 percent of the population … and if one American in
six has no religious affiliation … how likely does that seem? Or is it
more likely that you already know neighbors, friends, colleagues,
schoolmates, or family members who live without religion?
*
NOTE: According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Popclock, as of February
22, 2011, the U.S. population is 310,868,110. Sixteen percent of this =
49,738,898 religiously unaffiliated Americans of all ages.
Today
an estimated sixteen percent of Americans—or about 49 million American
men, women, and children—live without religious affiliation.
* As a group, religiously unaffiliated Americans are more numerous than any single religious denomination except Roman Catholics.
They
are more numerous than Hispanic Americans or African Americans ...
more numerous than the estimated gay and lesbian population … more than
seven times as numerous as American Jews … more than fifteen times as
numerous as religiously active American Jews.
Not all of the
religiously unaffiliated would describe themselves as atheists or
agnostics, but recent studies suggest that the actively nonreligious
make up about two-thirds of this population, with spiritual seekers and
persons between church affiliations making up the rest.
How do we
know these things? Recent—and authoritative—data comes from the
American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) and from surveys
conducted in association with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
ARIS studies in 1990, 2001, and 2008 documented the doubling of
“nones” (people declaring no religious affiliation). Studies by Pew and
other researchers have confirmed this pattern and offered more
detailed information on the makeup of this fast-growing group. For
example, a 1994 Pew-University of Akron study gave us our most detailed
portrait of the people who make up the unaffiliated 16 percent. It
found that about a third of this group identifies itself using labels
like atheist and agnostic. Another third does not use these labels, but
when asked about their lifestyle (church attendance, beliefs about
life, and the like) is otherwise almost identical with the first group;
pollsters call these the hard seculars. Combined, self-identified
atheists and agnostics and the hard seculars make up 10.7 percent of
the total population, equivalent to two-thirds of the unaffiliated.
Spiritual seekers and persons without current church affiliation make
up the balance.
Many Americans imagine that they don’t know a
single person who lives without religion. Yet if confirmed nonreligious
people compose 10.7 percent of the population … and if one American in
six has no religious affiliation … how likely does that seem? Or is it
more likely that you already know neighbors, friends, colleagues,
schoolmates, or family members who live without religion?
*
NOTE: According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Popclock, as of February
22, 2011, the U.S. population is 310,868,110. Sixteen percent of this =
49,738,898 religiously unaffiliated Americans of all ages.
data to create propaganda. This is a poll done by Center for Inquiry.
CFI is nothing more than an atheist propaganda machine and their mission
statement basically say so. I'll get to that in a minute. Their poll
came up first on Google when I put in the question "what percentage of
Americas are self defined atheists?"
The big head line
of the study "one out of every Six Americans has no religious
affiliation." Assuming that was true, (which it's not becuase it's
assinign if you know the studies) it seems totally taken for granted
that having no religious affiliation is a bad thing for religion. I'm
not sure that's true. They are equating it with unbelief and that's not
right. Here's their pie chart break down:
Unaffiliated 16%.
Evangelical Protestant 12%
Evangelical Baptist 11%
Other religions 37%
Catholic 24%
What's
wrong with this picture? Do we really think that with the tea party
blazing and right wing hysteria foaming that the largest religious group
in America is "other religions?" This is totally ludicrous. I fyou
study the Pew study, which is the major valid best study done in 2007
(to date the state of the art) on religious land scape in America one
can see how they have fudged on this. for one thing all studies give
Chrisiantiy at least 75% or more. This one gives it (adding all the
Catholic, protestant, and Baptist(?) Christinty as a whole only has 44%.
It is inconceivable to me that just since 2007 things changes this drastically.
Here's the Pew findings:
unaffiliated 16%
Evangelical protestant 26% *(not 12)
Catholic 23%
Mormon 1.7%
Historically Black chruches 6.9%
Mainline Protestants 18.1% (separate from Evangelical protestant)
Other Christian 0.3%
Other
religions 0.3% (Pew also adds to "other" Jews 1.7%, Muslim 0.6% what it
calls "other faiths" as distinct from major world religions, in that
slot they put unitarians, new age, mind scinece and so = 1.2%). While
CFI has a whopping 37% the better study by far, Pew, has abotu 2%. How
Breaking down the unaffiliated at the top, Pew lists atheists as
1.6%. not 16, but 1.6. If you see
my page on Doxa about
how atheists inflate their numbers, there are several studies that show
atheists down around that figure. Pew figure is the most conservative.
Adherent's.com gives them 4%. Gallop in May 2008 give 3% with 3% margin
(so between 3-6%).
you see they split
Baptist from Protestant for some absurd reason because Baptists are
protestants of course. Makes both groups seem smaller. Then they just
ignored half the Christian population.
The reason for
these discrepancies is not far to seek. CFI is a propaganda wing of the
Atheist movement and all do to know this is look at their mission
statement. One might also take note they own Skeptical Inquirer
Magazine.. Their mission statments pulls no punches in admitting they
are out to destroy religion.
mission Statement of CFI.
The
mission of the Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based
on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values.
That's the head line on the mission statement. That's no atheist propaganda is it? It's even touting their rhetoric.
To
oppose and supplant the mythological narratives of the past, and the
dogmas of the present, the world needs an institution devoted to
promoting science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. The
Center for Inquiry is that institution.
To oppose and supplant.
Supplant means to replace, to destroy. Like all good little dawkies
they confuse scinece with hating religion. Their aim they state clearly
to destroy religion. why should we believe they are above lying to
achieve that end? We know they don't believe in truth. Their little
solider have fabricated data before. I have no evidence on CFI but
I have shown atheist websites that just out and out fabricate the statistics.
If this is guilt by assocaition one might look at the wildly off target
statistics above. Giving 34% to "other religions" when the valid study
gives 2%. This survey wasn't done yesterday. Things couldn't change that
much since 2007.
more of the mission statement:
At
the Center for Inquiry, we believe that evidence-based reasoning, in
which humans work together to address common concerns, is critical for
modern world civilization. Moreover, unlike many other institutions, we
maintain that scientific methods and reasoning should be utilized in
examining the claims of both pseudoscience and religion. We reject
mysticism and blind faith. No topic should be placed off limits to
scrutiny—certainly not fringe science and religion, which have an
enormous influence on beliefs and conduct.
If they knew anything about mysticism they would know that it's backed with
empirical scientific evidence. They are using that as a pejorative catch phrase that means any and all religion.
We
also maintain that values are properly the subject of study and
discussion as much as empirical claims. The Center for Inquiry studies
and promotes human values based on a naturalistic outlook. Ideological doctrine and religious dogma have no more right to dictate our moral norms than they do to influence scientific research.
That's
exactly what their rhetoric has spelled out, ideological doctrine. Look
at the obvious philosophical contradiction: "values are properly the
subject of study and discussion as much as empirical claims" that means
we will teach you to hate religion too. then they ahve the gall to say "
Ideological doctrine
and religious dogma have no more right to dictate our moral norms than
they do to influence scientific research." That statement is
ideolgoical in and of itself. To make good on that they have to argue
for a philosophical ethical position that has to be justified by
argument. They are merely presenting their own ideology and dogma. When
they talk about values they stepping beyond the limits of science.
Science is not about teaching values.When religious believes talk about
values they holding up the progress of science.
The Center for Inquiry supports research, but our mission activities go far beyond sound scholarship.
they sure do! there you have it folks a frank admission of what I'm saying. Going beyond includes lying and fabricating numbers!
The Center for Inquiry, and its affiliates, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism,
also carry out their work through education, publishing, advocacy, and
social services. The Center for Inquiry has established dozens of
regional centers and communities, which provide a means of delivering
educational programs and services on a local level and provide a venue
for like-minded individuals to meet and share experiences. In addition,
the Center for Inquiry has affiliates and sponsors programs in many
different countries. A secular society ultimately should embrace all of
humanity, not just selected countries.
what they are describing is the actives of a political campaign. I think this violates their 501c(3)
that
statement tells us they are a propaganda machine. I am not trying to
accuse all "humanist" of being in a conspiracy, but it's obvious there
is an organized group making war on Christianity. We have to oppose them
by spreading truth.
ABC Poll = 38% of Americans are Christian, 48% of world.
Eighty-three
percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians. Most of the
rest, 13 percent, have no religion. That leaves just 4 percent as
adherents of all non-Christian religions combined — Jews, Muslims,
Buddhists and a smattering of individual mentions.
That's quite
different from the world at large: Fifty-two percent of the world's
population is non-Christian, compared to 4 percent in the United
States; and one-third is Christian, compared to 83 percent in the
United States. (These are rough comparisons, because the world figures,
reported by the Encyclopedia Britannica, are for the full population,
while the U.S. figures are among adults only.)
Non Christian religions given 4% no Religion in America 13% (somewhere in that 13% is the atheists).
CNN (not the best)= 75% say Christian in America (2009)
Seventy-five
percent of Americans call themselves Christian, according to the
American Religious Identification Survey from Trinity College in
Hartford, Connecticut. In 1990, the figure was 86 percent.
Newswek Poll = 81% self identified Christian in America (2009)
By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Apr. 08 2009 11:50 AM EDT
A new Newsweek poll
reveals that although most Americans are still holding on to their
faith and describing themselves as Christians, fewer believe religion
can answer today’s problems.
According to the poll of 1,003
adults, released Tuesday, 60 percent of American adults say religion is
very important in their lives and 78 percent say prayer is an important
part of their daily lives.However, less than half (48 percent) believe
religion can answer all or most of today’s problems. The percentage is
the lowest number Newsweek has recorded since it began polling
Americans on that issue in 1957 (when 82 percent believed religion
could answer the problems of that time).
Washington Post reports on
poll in 2009 that finds the group that says it has no religion is at
15% That doesn't mean atheits are at 15%. 12% of the "no religion group"
doesn't' mean they don't believe in some kind of God it means they have
organized religion. Most polls don't bother to make that distinction
but the better one's do.
Gallop
= self id Chrsitians in America at 77%. this is probably the same
survey all those above are keyed to, it was actually done in 2008, just a
year after the Pew study came out.
11 comments:
http://subversivethinking.blogspot.com/2009/01/prometheus-books-and-pseudoskeptical.html
The world needs to stand up to these bullies.
here
Even their credo is condescending.
Why is it we're the only ones that are expected to show any tolerance?
It would be nice if they swallowed their condescendence and showed some of the tolerance they demand from everybody else.
And, they want to take away stigma on them, but put it on other people by lies and deceit. These people are the biggest bunch of frauds going.
Although I am Leary of actual fanaticism. that's largely in the eye of the beholder.
atheism as a movement as a schizophrenic reaction: on the one hand they want to actually pretend they are in the majority and they constantly blow their figures out of all proportion to do that.
(1) they count anyone who is the least bit angry with organized religion as an atheist.
(2) they count all Buddhists as atheists.
(3) I've seen some try to count Hindus as atheists even though they clearly have gods.
(4) one nut case on carm who tires to make it sound like each individual christian is a cult unto himself/herself becuase we all have different concepts of God, however slightly they differ.
(5) atheist also use cheats like "we are all born atheists" to try make themselves seem more the majority.
Then on the other hand they relish their self-pity thing about "we are so put upon and oppressed."
I feel bad for you if those are the people that you debate with on CARM every day. Those people seem lost and confused. They aren't currently finding truth through Atheism, and I don't think they ever will.