Not too long ago a Pew Institute study reported that nearly 20% of Americans preferred a “none” designation when asked about a religious affiliation.http://www.pewforum.org/Unaffiliated/nones-on-the-rise.aspx
According to a recent poll of those believing in God, around 80% identified themselves as being Christian. So why is there a 10% discrepancy in the statistics?
Those eager to increase their atheistic ranks have been claiming that the 20% reported by the Pew study demonstrates that people are rejecting religion and God. However this premature assessment is merely self serving and fails to address the real reason why so many more Americans are checking off the “none” column when asked about a religious affiliation.
Having no denominational loyalty is becoming a fast growing phenomenon among those of the Christian faith. Having a denominational slogan attached as Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Lutheran or Assembly of God is becoming old school as many congregations are opting on non-denominational descriptions even in their church names. Clinging to a denominational label is pa se and old school.
As a result, by asking for a “religious affiliation” will often times earn a “none” designation from those being questioned. One would be jumping to conclusions if the “none” response to religious affiliation is interpreted as not believing in God or classified as though the individual doesn’t want any part of religion.
Naturally the “none” responses would prop up the pre-suppositions of those looking for a answer that would mold into their preconceived ideas, however the numbers of those believing in God or calling themselves “Christians” has been a solid 80% of Americans for decades. It’s clear that around 10% of responders merely don’t want to be associated with any specific denominational description.
Naturally you can spin the facts anyway you want them and that is being done by those anxious to increase the secular ranks of those not accepting God or being atheists. Decades ago Time Magazine trumpeted an article saying “Is God Dead?”. These forces looking to diminish the religious heritage of what Americans believe have been working overtime ever since to make their anti-religious claims a reality.http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19660408,00.html
Beside being premature with the “God is Dead” moniker, Time Magazine also ran an article claiming that “America was no longer a Christian nation” even though a solid 80% of Americans believe in God and prefer a Christian designation to their faith.http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2012/dec/08/america-no-longer-christian/
It’s a small wonder the effort to interpret the “none” affiliations for religion are being reworked to mean that “noners” don’t believe in God and don’t like religion. These poor conclusions are not backed up by religious statistics.
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