Religious Faith is Slowly Waning in America.
According to a recent Barna Poll Update, people who espouse "no faith" are on the rise with each succeeding generation in America.
One of the most fascinating insights from the research is the increasing size of the no-faith segment with each successive generation. The proportion of atheists and agnostics increases from 6% of Elders (ages 61+) and 9% of Boomers (ages 42-60), to 14% of Busters (23-41) and 19% of adult Mosaics (18-22).
6 comments:
This is good news. I look foward to the coming years. I only wish I could live to see further generations. Imagine, a society free from religious dogma and false beleifs. A society founded on reason and logic and rationality. I wish I could be there to see it. There will be so much less pain in the world then. So much less hostility.
This could be a generational trend or it could be an age cohort effect. Perhaps people are simply less religious when they are young and become more religious as they get older. It would be interesting to look at surveys done on the same generations at different points in time to see if the trend holds or if each generation gets more religious as it ages.
Hello John! I see everyone spending much time in getting up on unbelief in Christ. I agree with some of your statements concerning so called Christianity today. But Jesus warned that faith would wean away and not be at his return. Anyway I was wondering do animals, seriously now, have a conscience? really do they have any knowledge of right or wrong doing other than what you teach them? Do they have, possibly imaginations? Do they also lust after vain things that do not profit them? By the way I do not have a church or special group that I religiously trust in or look to as my mediator between God and me. I have found to much of the world and unbelief and disobedience to the word of God and His Christ but I will not abandon My Lord and saviour because of stupidity on the others part. God called(by the cross) "me" (whomsoever)to follow Christ in spirit and in truth not them or others. I am to seek, ask and knock for myself and give up my selfish life to Him, following His word as His Spirit leads me to know Christ(eternal life). It amazes me to see people of who have intellects spend so much time denouncing and debunking rather than spending that time and effort in following Christ. Usually folowing the worls means one doesn't want to give up ones life in faith towards Christ cause it means they can't live a self indulging life. God ain't against fun or jokes only against selfishness and hating His truth which is love. Love is "having unselfish compassion for the sake of the other person without malice or unrighteous motives for profit and gain. Christ died unselfishly and with no strings attached so we could live and have peace in our hearts serving Him in that same compassion obeying His compassionate word of Life. Sin is simply knowing to do good (being honest and sincere and truthful from the heart with an unselfish motive to please God and love others.) AND NOT DOING IT! In so doing you get a guilty conscience building guilt upon guilt "a sinful nature" a whirl wind of evil imaginations being against a moral and just right doing. If you insist on selfishness and departing from the living God for yourself then God will give you over to you will and desire for He is a righteous and just God and he is NO RESPECTOR OF PERSONS..one is a true spiritual Jew or a sinner (so called chistian-Jew-gentile). God wants all true spiritual Jews, holy temples of God to gather to gather in His name to help each other perfect and keep the Faith, they already have, in Christ not lord it over or promote an anti-christ system of nickels, noses, numbers and unbelief in Christ's doctrines.
Sorry you feel the way you do for in some cases you have a right but basically Christ calls us to follow Him and not men or systems.
thank you
hello John, (had trouble posting this once hope it only shows up once!)Its me again.Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? "whoisonthelordsside.blogspot.com".
You know Calvinism is an Anti-God doctrine which is an absolute destruction of God's character for the purpose of destroying faith in God. Also the endtimes doctrine is a farse also for it destroys faith in God's plan and purpose for savation in Christ. Its an Anti-Christ doctrine. The doctrine of the Holy spirit residing in a person at the new birth is an anti-Holy Spirit doctrine to defeat the Indwelling of the Holy Ghost in a believer to lead and guide into all truth,part of God's plan,for salvation by faith in Christ. At the new birth(having a clean conscience from guilt and being free from the whirl wind of my sinful willfully built sin nature) its a work of washing and regeneration of the Holy spirit, not the Baptism in the Holy Ghost,having faith in Christ. Anti-christ is the denominaltional system of today for nickels, noses, and numbers and for sinners who want to justify themselves. 1Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 2Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness,but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able(willfully loving sin) to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
I thank you for your patience.
hello John, the endtimes doctrine I am referring to is the one the denominational system (anti-christ) teaches. Its fleshly and reaks of fleshly earthly kingdom building just like the Jews in Christ's day.
thanks!
Anon said, "It amazes me to see people of who have intellects spend so much time denouncing and debunking rather than spending that time and effort in following Christ."
Maybe I am misunderstanding you, but... how could it possibly surprise you that "people of who have intellects" spend time supporting their own point of view instead of yours? We don't agree with you.
"I have found to much of the world and unbelief and disobedience to the word of God and His Christ but I will not abandon My Lord and saviour because of stupidity on the others part."
... and anyone who does not agree with you is stupid?
"Usually folowing the worls means one doesn't want to give up ones life in faith towards Christ cause it means they can't live a self indulging life."
We don't reject God because he has lots of rules that we don't like, and we want to be sinners. First we come to the understanding that God does not exist, then realize that there is no infinitely blissful afterlife to look forward to. While most rational people, myself included, would wish for a euphorically happy afterlife - since there isn't one, we want to make sure we enjoy the limited time we have - which does not automatically translate to what you would call sinning. For example, cherishing the time I spend with my family is one way I enjoy my life, and I am loyal to them, not because of fear, but out of true love for them.
What you fail to understand is that there really are people who don't believe that God exists. Personally, I think it's great that faith is declining with successive generations. While religion has some good points in giving some people motivation for being moral, many people rationalize the motivation for being moral in a different way. In my opinion, religion is more trouble that what it's worth and causes a lot of good people a great deal of hardship (gays, people subscribing to different philosophies, women, pregnant rape victims, people who would benefit from stem-cell research, for example).
I'm not trying to convince you to change your mind, but it seems that all you have are inaccurate insults for people who disagree with you. Maybe you should focus more on the love and peace your religion preaches and less on the discriminatory and narrow-minded aspects of it. And if you care enough to come see what atheists think, then take some time to clear up your confusion about what our reasons are for not being religious. If we are wrong, we will burn for eternity, so cut us some slack for now.
Peace.
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