Pew 2024 religious landscape survey

Cypress

Well-known member
Religious affiliation
Amount (%)
Details
Christians62%Evangelical Protestant 23%, Mainline Protestant 11%, Historically Black Protestant 5%, Catholic 19%, other Christian 4%
Other Religions7%Jewish 2%, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist 1% each
Unaffiliated29%Atheist 5%, Agnostic 6%, nothing in particular 19%
Considering oneself a ‘spiritual person’ by belief in God
Very spiritual32%
Somewhat spiritual42%
Not too or not spiritual at all25%


 
Religious affiliation
Amount (%)
Details
Christians62%Evangelical Protestant 23%, Mainline Protestant 11%, Historically Black Protestant 5%, Catholic 19%, other Christian 4%
Other Religions7%Jewish 2%, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist 1% each
Unaffiliated29%Atheist 5%, Agnostic 6%, nothing in particular 19%
Considering oneself a ‘spiritual person’ by belief in God
Very spiritual32%
Somewhat spiritual42%
Not too or not spiritual at all25%


So?
 
I'm a data guy.

Data can answer many questions.

The number of atheists and agnostics are pretty much holding steady, they are not increasing.

I was told atheism was surging.

The Evangelical Protestants continue to outperform the mainline Protestants.

The overwhelming majority of people maintain some kind of spiritual belief even though many people are unaffiliated with a religion or church.

Islam may be a fast growing religion in USA, but it's absolute numbers are miniscule.

There are about two billion questions that can be answered by this data.
 
I'm a data guy.

Data can answer many questions.

The number of atheists and agnostics are pretty much holding steady, they are not increasing.

I was told atheism was surging.

The Evangelical Protestants continue to outperform the mainline Protestants.

The overwhelming majority of people maintain some kind of spiritual belief even though many people are unaffiliated with a religion or church.

Islam may be a fast growing religion in USA, but it's absolute numbers are miniscule.

There are about two billion questions that can be answered by this data.
It doesn't really answer the important questions. It doesn't tell us a thing about why any of it's happening.
 
It doesn't really answer the important questions. It doesn't tell us a thing about why any of it's happening.

The trend over the past few decades in most of the West is to move to a more "secular" society. We certainly see it in Europe. I don't know if it moves to a more "atheistic society" or just one where people have a sense of spirituality but they don't align with a given faith.

I think it's an obvious outgrowth of how society is changing. Education and increased knowledge push back more and more of the magical thinking and superstition. God becomes more of a concept and less of a "bearded guy in the clouds" as our collective musings on the nature of who and what God is grow and evolve.

It's easy to see that humans, given a concept, will build it out over time. That's why we have so many variants of Christianity (not to mention the even larger number of religions in general). People tend to take a God they are given and mold him to be compliant to our personal needs. With increased individualization we can expect people to retreat to an almost personal God. A world in which each individual worships God in their own unique way and no huge overarching "organized religion" garners significant plurality in the society.

America is also quite special in that we are still FAR more religious than most of western Europe (our peers in terms of economic development). America is a bit behind the trend.
 
The trend over the past few decades in most of the West is to move to a more "secular" society. We certainly see it in Europe. I don't know if it moves to a more "atheistic society" or just one where people have a sense of spirituality but they don't align with a given faith.

I think it's an obvious outgrowth of how society is changing. Education and increased knowledge push back more and more of the magical thinking and superstition. God becomes more of a concept and less of a "bearded guy in the clouds" as our collective musings on the nature of who and what God is grow and evolve.

It's easy to see that humans, given a concept, will build it out over time. That's why we have so many variants of Christianity (not to mention the even larger number of religions in general). People tend to take a God they are given and mold him to be compliant to our personal needs. With increased individualization we can expect people to retreat to an almost personal God. A world in which each individual worships God in their own unique way and no huge overarching "organized religion" garners significant plurality in the society.

America is also quite special in that we are still FAR more religious than most of western Europe (our peers in terms of economic development). America is a bit behind the trend.
So, God as a fascist dictator, in Trump.
 
So, God as a fascist dictator, in Trump.

I think Trump represents the possibility that an American version of "ultra-Christian nationalism" might rise up. We are certainly seeing the emboldening of that kind of thinking with Trump.

I don't know if it will be possible for it to gain a significant foothold or not, but it certainly is bobbing in the background. Something to keep a close eye on.
 
I think Trump represents the possibility that an American version of "ultra-Christian nationalism" might rise up. We are certainly seeing the emboldening of that kind of thinking with Trump.

I don't know if it will be possible for it to gain a significant foothold or not, but it certainly is bobbing in the background. Something to keep a close eye on.
No surprise Christians support Trump. They think God is a bully forcing everyone to fall in line.
 
We're going to move on from organized religion.

If you know many people under 30 - they don't put up with hypocrisy, and they can spot phony a mile away.

I think you're right, there is a trend to moving away from affiliating with a church or denomination.
But there seems to be a lot more stability in terms of the number of people who accept a belief in souls, a universal spirit, and a belief something spiritual beyond the physical world.

  • 86% believe people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body.
  • 83% believe in God or a universal spirit.
  • 79% believe there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we can’t see it.
  • 70% believe in an afterlife (heaven, hell or both).

 
I think Trump represents the possibility that an American version of "ultra-Christian nationalism" might rise up. We are certainly seeing the emboldening of that kind of thinking with Trump.

I don't know if it will be possible for it to gain a significant foothold or not, but it certainly is bobbing in the background. Something to keep a close eye on.

White Christian nationalism can't be sustained over the long term. The country is progressively getting less white.

I think one way Christianity has a revival in this country is if immigration continues to largely come from the global south, which tends to be very Catholic.
 
I think you're right, there is a trend to moving away from affiliating with a church or denomination.
But there seems to be a lot more stability in terms of the number of people who accept a belief in souls, a universal spirit, and a belief something spiritual beyond the physical world.

  • 86% believe people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body.
  • 83% believe in God or a universal spirit.
  • 79% believe there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we can’t see it.
  • 70% believe in an afterlife (heaven, hell or both).


For sure. It's organized religion that's going out of vogue - but most are still very "spiritual," and have beliefs about a higher power and the afterlife.

I'm kind of that way. I believe a lot of the message of Jesus, and I believe in a "God" (though I don't describe it that way - "God" as too many connotations now), and I believe we have a soul and soul's purpose.

I can definitely see that as being more of the new direction people are heading in. Why do we need church elders to "interpret" things for us, or tell us how to live?

There is only truth - whatever that turns out to be. But everyone has an individual journey in that regard.
 
White Christian nationalism can't be sustained over the long term. The country is progressively getting less white.

I think one way Christianity has a revival in this country is if immigration continues to largely come from the global south, which tends to be very Catholic.
Agreed....not to mention the fact most educated people realize that our differences are cultural since there's no such thing as human races except for the one; the human race.
 
Agreed....not to mention the fact most educated people realize that our differences are cultural since there's no such thing as human races except for the one; the human race.
White Christian nationalism is really a political ideology, which co-opts the Bible as fig leaf decoration.
I don't remember Jesus or Paul in the New Testament promoting a political ideology.
 
For sure. It's organized religion that's going out of vogue - but most are still very "spiritual," and have beliefs about a higher power and the afterlife.

I see the number one reason organized religion takes a hit is that whichever church is losing followers it has increasingly gone woke. That is, as Leftist ideas and ideology permeate a church, people in the church leave.
 
White Christian nationalism is really a political ideology, which co-opts the Bible as fig leaf decoration.
I don't remember Jesus or Paul in the New Testament promoting a political ideology.
More churches have gone woke than towards White Christian nationalism by far. Woke is a political ideology too. Neither one attracts many adherents.
 
More churches have gone woke than towards White Christian nationalism by far. Woke is a political ideology too. Neither one attracts many adherents.
And as always with the Death Cult there is no honesty......they will swear up and down that WOKE has nothing to do with it....they are good christians.....as hilarious as that claim is....as how ignorant as anyone would have to be to believe it.

But this is the age of the Modern Moron....some of the dumbest people to ever walk this planet.....this being a very nasty dark age.
 
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