Spiritual, but not religious seems to be the growing trend.
According to a recent
PEW survey, the number of Americans who claim “no particular religion” has grown from 7% to 14% in the 1990’s to nearly 20% today.
Even more dramatically,
“(… fully a third of those ages 18-30) have no religious affiliation.”
is the deputy director of the nonpartisan Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. He asks a panel of experts whether the U.S. public is becoming more or less religious.
Claude Fischer, UC Berkeley says “… Americans have long been, and still remain, the most religious people among the peoples of the Western nations, both in faith and in practice ….” He notes that although religious involvement is higher than a century ago, “When Americans are disappointed in their churches, they exit and usually look for another church. Recently, … many of the disappointed now opt for labeling themselves as “spiritual, but not religious.”
Frank Newport, of the Gallup organization, says we may be seeing a change in how people label themselves, rather than a change in religiosity. He says, “… these people for whom religion wasn’t important (may) now feel freer to tell a survey interviewer that they don’t have a religious identity.”
Greg Smith of the Pew Research Center, comments that the percentage of ‘no religious affiliation’ in the U.S., “20% or 19%, or 17% or 18%, are all in the same ballpark. “We’ve seen that they are (the trend).”
So what is happening to our “Christian Nation?”
Are we becoming spiritual but not religious? And, if so, why? Your comments and insights are welcome below…
