Thursday 28 February 2008

The Fluidity of American Religious Affiliations

A recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that more than 40% of Americans are willing to, or have already, switched away from their childhood faith. Furthermore, Americans are showing less and less affiliation with Protestant and Catholic churches altogether. Oregon is being called the "most secular state in the union" because of a significant rise in those "unaffiliated" with a church or religious traditinon altogether. The percentage of Oregonians who are "unaffiliated" is recorded as 27% compared to a national average of 16%.

You can read the NPR story, Brian McLaren's perspective (on Jim Wallis' blog), and interact with the results yourself at the Pew Forum website.

So why is this the trend and what can (or should) be done about it?

1 comment:

Current Resident said...

I think it's AWESOME! The more people that realize what a sham religion is, the better! Atheists are the enlightened ones!