Slowly Decaying Religion in the US

Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks revealed some very interesting data concerning the growth of non- religious sentiment in the US. Further, he posited that it is a huge voting bloc which has not yet coalesced into a real movement and political force .

The growing number of non-religious people in the US, particularly the huge jump between 1990 and today shows some real decline in the religiously influenced people.

In the first half of the 20th century, ...that number [of non-religious] among Americans was at 5 percent.

...snip...

“In 1990, that number moved up to 8 percent,”

..snip...

...“All of a sudden, when they ask again today, the number has moved up to 20 percent.”

Liberals showed 40% non-religious while conservatives only 9% . Almost 1/3 of those under 30 are non-religious.

Tags: Cenk_Uygur, Non-religious, Young_Turks

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim DePaulo on March 16, 2013 at 2:17pm

When religion weakens we become stronger

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on March 23, 2013 at 9:29am

Please religion ... please keep on decaying

We are getting stronger! Our numbers are increasing.

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on March 16, 2013 at 2:22pm

I'd be willing to bet that a healthy portion of that 20% was as a direct or indirect result of 9/11 and the increased scrutiny on religion which was a side-effect of those attacks.  A further study would be quite interesting.

Permalink Reply by Jim DePaulo on March 16, 2013 at 2:28pm

Yeah, the timing seems about right. Many people see 911 as an attack by Muslims but some see it as an attack by blind religious fanatics irrespective of their particular flavor of mythology.

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on March 16, 2013 at 2:35pm

Well, take 9/11, add the crap coming down from Robertson, Falwell et al, mix in some catholic pedophilia and some other stuff I'm not thinking of at the moment, and what you wind up with might just be an idea whose time has come:

Atheism.

Permalink Reply by Jim DePaulo on March 20, 2013 at 4:04pm

That's a nasty stew you've brewed brother Loren. :>}

Permalink Reply by Pat on March 16, 2013 at 2:43pm

One of the things (among many) to which I attribute the decline in religious affiliation in the US is the religious themselves. Case like Kitzmiller v. Dover, which showed the lying fraud that Intelligent Design really is, the bat shit musings of Pat Robertson and the late (none too soon) Jerry Falwell, Tammy Faye and Jim "Ex Con" Baker, and the myriad other public frauds out there. In addition to them, the Xtian politicians such as Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin of Missouri, Christine "What's A First Amendment" O'Donnell, Rick "Ayatollah" Santorum, and others of their slimy ilk. By openly pandering, they are hard pressed to hide their ignorance, all of which inures - albeit slowly - to our benefit.

Permalink Reply by Nathaniel Summers on March 16, 2013 at 8:41pm

I would say it's a combo of increased internet access and a reaction to fanaticism. The transparency and ease by which we can obtain useful information has pretty much spelled out the demise of delusion. Fanaticism is the death throws of religion. As they feel their impending doom, they either leave their delusions behind or they fall deeper into them. The fanatics then serve to drive even more people away. As far as I'm concerned, this is the beginning of the end of religion. In the meantime, however, expect the extremists and fanatics to get increasingly worse.

Permalink Reply by Humble Pie on March 17, 2013 at 3:40pm

I think you've really hit is there.  A lot of these nones, I believe, aren't really atheists.  They just don't want to be seen with the crazy religious right.  They might prefer religion, and believe in "God", or some other super natural crap, but are driven away from the current religious establishment by who is in charge.  Hopefully, they get comfortable enough out here with us to stay, even if the church leadership changes down the road.

Permalink Reply by Todd Skaggs on March 17, 2013 at 10:34pm
I really have to agree with a lot that has been said on this thread. 9/11 mixed with the unprecedented exposure of corporate sanctioned catholic pedophilia, massive miss-steps by the Republican party due to thier total submission to evangelicals, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, etc., all leads any rational thinking person to at least question the exalted place religion has enjoyed in America.

Well said Daniel; "Fanaticism is the death throws of religion. As they feel their impending doom, they either leave their delusions behind or they fall deeper into them". I expect we will see more desperate acts as the numbers continue to fall for the big superstitions, at least in the USA.

I'm afraid a lot of the "None's" would say they are spiritual and not religious, which seems to mean they want to be superstitious without following an organized religion. Not exactly athiesm, but I'll take that as a modest step in the right direction. It's ridiculous how many times I hear people who never attend church say "everything happens for a reason". As if we're just marionettes on some magic string. It's a hard habit to break apparently.
Permalink Reply by RML on March 24, 2013 at 8:33am

An aside:  I cringe when ppl say "...happened for a reason" or "it was meant to be."  Yes, I have two "spiritualists" in-laws.  They both gabble those sayings...ick.    

Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on March 18, 2013 at 3:11am

Curious about why so many Americans are religion-afflicted?

Law professor and US Appellate Court Judge Richard Posner, in his 1992 Sex and Reason, wrote that America is the only nation with both Catholic and Puritan influences.

His first aim: "...to bring to the attention of the legal profession the rich multidisciplinary literature on sexuality--and to shame my colleagues in the profession for ignoring it."

In his opening paragraph: "...judges know next to nothing about the subject beyond their own personal experience, ... limited, perhaps more so than average, because people with irregular sex lives are pretty much ... screened out of the judiciary, ...."

Posner appears to have had an influence. Several years after his book's publication, the US Supreme Court reversed its "superficial[ly discussed]" 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick decision upholding "the constitutionality of state laws criminalizing homosexual sodomy."

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