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religion and social changes
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A recent survey finds that constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing members. Those that are growing because of the religious change are simply gaining new members at a faster rate than they are losing members. Conversely, those that are declining in number because of religious change simply are not attracting enough new members to offset the number of adherents who are leaving those particular faiths.
The United States, founded by dissident Protestants in search of religious freedom, is on the verge of becoming a nation in which Protestants are a minority. A growing portion of Americans identify themselves as unaffiliated with any religious tradition, and a small but increasingly significant number say they are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Orthodox Christian. In addition, a flood of overwhelmingly Catholic immigrants, mostly from Latin America, is helping to counterbalance a high dropout rate among U.S. born Catholics.
These are among the key findings of a groundbreaking study of the American religious landscape released recently by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The study, which is the most comprehensive such assessment of the country in at least a half century, finds that the United States is in the midst of a period of unprecedented religious fluidity, in which 44 percent of American adults have left the denomination of their childhood for another denomination, another faith, or no faith at all. The study is based on a survey of 35,000 Americans age 18 and over who speak one of five different languages. This is a very large number for survey research, which allowed the researchers to get more detail about minority religious groups than is usually available from smaller studies. The study is also important because the quantification of religious association in the United States is often complicated and contested; the U.S. Census does not include questions about religion, and many studies rely on counts submitted by denominations, whose self-reporting is often undependable (Dykman 41).
The new study is filled with results about a extraordinarily diverse nation, with a population that is fashioned by affiliation with a vast and shifting collection of religious groups and sects. A number of subgroups represent every religious family - Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists. The nation is still predominantly Christian - 78 percent of adults say they are Christian - but nearly 5 percent recognize themselves as members of other faiths, and 16 percent say they are unaffiliated (Dykman 41).
Just as there is a variety of identities involving race, gender, and class, so too are there a range of religious identities. Byzantine Catholics, Hindus, born-again Evangelicals, atheists, agnostics, and Buddhists are only a few religious identities I have encountered in America. This environment, at best, allows religious variety to be understood and embraced—and at worst, divides us. In Acts of Faith, author Eboo Patel discusses his belief that the “faith line” will define conflict and concord in the 21st century.
“About 270,000 religious congregations in the US have combined annual revenue of $80 billion. Slightly more than 50 percent of Americans belong to a religious congregation. In terms of membership, the largest faiths in the US are Catholic (about 25 percent of the population); Baptist (16 percent); Methodist (7 percent); Lutheran (5 percent); Presbyterian (3 percent); Pentecostal (2 percent); and Episcopalian (2 percent). Church membership statistics are notoriously unreliable.”(Hoover’s 2008)
The United States is commonly thought to be on an inevitable march towards secularization. Scientific thought and the failure of the enlightenment to reconcile the concept of god within a scientific framework are commonly thought to have created the antithesis of religious practice in the rise of the scientific method. However, the rise of doubt and the perception that secularization is increasing over time has in actuality caused an increase in religious practice in the United States through episodic revivals. Moreover, practice of unbelief has developed into a movement based in the positive assertion in the supplantation of God by the foundations of science, or even in the outright disbelief in God. The perception of increasing secularism in the United States spurs religious revivalism which underscores the ebb and flow of religious practice in the United States and the foundation of alternative movements which combines to form the reality that the United States is not marching towards secularism but instead religious diversity.
Christianity’s role in America has rapidly changed over the last decades. Although it is still the most popular religion in the country its power over the people has decreased significantly. However, there are still many misconceptions towards American Christianity and in order to understand the unique nature of this religiously diverse country; one must understand its history and its citizens own views on the matter.
Butler, J., Balmer, R., & Wacker, G. (2008). Religion in American Life : A Short History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Now Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print
Lippy, Charles H., and Peter W. Williams. Encyclopedia of the American religious experience: studies of traditions and movements. New York: Scribner, 1988. Print.
Bindley, Katherine. "Religion Among Americans Hits Low Point, As More People Say They Have No Religious Affiliation: Report." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
Thomas, Oliver "Buzz". "How To Keep The 'United' In United States: Coping With Religious Diversity In The World's First 'New' Nation." Church & State Feb. 2007: 19+. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
There is a distinct problem with religion in this country. The churches of America have become racially divided, creating inequalities amongst our populace. Racial divisions run deep, and there is an undeniable relationship between religion and racism. Since the inception of this country, we have been racially divided. These divisions continued throughout the 20th century, and continue to this very day. These divisions often include, but are not limited to social and political values.
Throughout history, religion has impacted the lives of millions whether at school, work, with friends, or by some tragedy. Religion can change the way people view their existence. Religion also plays a big role in the infiltration of values into the loves of many young people today. In a recent pole printed in the USA Weekend Paper, “34% of respondents [said] Religion plays a powerful role in their everyday lives.” These student respondents “cited religion as the second-strongest influence in their lives outranked only by parents.” Religion also surpassed the world-renounced media as an influence in their lives (Lerman. 1).
- Jeffrey Passel and D’Vera Cohn. “The Global Religious Landscape, 2012.” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (December 18, 2012). http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/, accessed on Monday 21, 2014.
“If Religion Makes People Happy, Why Are So Many Dropping Out?” -- Louis Tay and David G. Meyers.
Today, religion is the first-most protected paradigm among culture groups in the world, but what does that mean for the everyday average person? It should be asked where is religious movement going in the future? Is it increasing due to missional work of various religious groups and the passing down of one’s beliefs to aid religious movement. Is religion in America staying about the same, without steady increase or decrease. Or is religion slowly decreasing due to the increase of humanist or secular philosophies growing in today’s modern era. The information below describes a short history of religion in America, followed by the current state of it, then discuss how religion may fare in the future. [What some prominent people of today say about America’s current state in religious affiliation and even a discussion with a theologian.]t reform to the ideas they had in mind, so they went off to a new county to believe as they choose. Contrary to the popular belief at the time, the Puritans saw the English church as man-made rather than inspired of God. The Puritans held the belief that The Bible was God’s “instruction manual” to live-out one’s life. Before a mass of Puritans left for America, a large sum actually played a part in Parliament. But when the Puritans came over from Great Britain, most of them lived in the New England colonies before spreading-out into other areas. Their number grew from 17,000 to 106,000 between 1640 and 1700. The first Americans were predominantly Protestant Christian. The Founding Fathers, such as first and third U.S. president, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were a couple with some Deist philosophical ideals.
Eck, Diana (2002). A New Religious America : the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. HarperOne.