More Americans appear to be turning away from Christianity, seeing themselves as irreligious or “no religion,” even as some conservative Republicans seek to “inject” more religion into schools and public life.
Many Americans say they no longer believe in the initial teachings of their religion, and in many cases, they disagree with the religion’s stance against LGBT people. Hence, you may understand this “leap” in moving away from religiosity or from religions.
More Americans are turning away from Christianity, seeing themselves as irreligious or “no religion,” even as some conservative Republicans seek to “infuse” more religion into schools and public life.
What do the numbers say?
A nationwide poll of people conducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute found that a quarter of Americans, 24 percent, said they had changed a religious tradition or denomination in the course of their lives or had recently. The survey found that this is a jump of 50 percent compared to 2021, when 16 percent said they had converted to another religion.
People belonging to religions other than Christianity accounted for 38 percent, and the religiously unaffiliated accounted for 37 percent, and they are considered the most likely to say that they have “converted from a different religious tradition.”
One in four African-American Protestants (28 percent), white evangelical Protestants (25 percent), and Hispanic Protestants (24 percent) say they practice or follow another religious tradition.
Is there a secret?
The survey discovered that the Catholic Church lost the highest proportion of its followers, 39 percent, to the group without a religious affiliation. On the other hand, non-evangelical Protestants lost 28 percent, the second largest member.
What to understand:
A 2022 American Values Institute survey found that only 64 percent of Americans “identify” as Christian, and the percentage has been dropping.
The survey also considered that nearly 27 percent of the general population is now not affiliated with any religion, the fastest growing segment.
Some 56 percent of those who converted or changed their religion said they changed or left their religion simply because they stopped believing in the teachings of the religion.
About 30 percent said that “negative” religious teachings about or treatment of LGBT people forced them to change. Only 17 percent said they had converted because their church or followers had become too “political”.
The Church is no more divided than before
However, the study found that most churchgoers, 56 percent, do not believe their current church is more divided by politics than it was five years ago.
“There is basically a paradox going on. On the one hand, there is more religious unrest. There are also more people in America who are becoming less religious,” the study notes. It is also said that “among Americans who still go to church on a regular basis, they seem to still be very happy with what’s going on in their churches.”
