Friday, February 29, 2008
The state of religion in America
This week the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released their exhaustive study on religion in the U.S. It is significant research worth reading.
Some of the more noteworthy results include:
- nearly half (44%) of American adults are leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.
- nationwide, one in four adults ages 18-29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.
- "constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents." In other words, it is "a very competitive religious marketplace".
Religion is a fact of life. It is an instinctive impulse that every human has as they strive to discover meaning in life and their place in relation to others.
What is most disturbing to me is that the movement that was to rise above religion as usual has largely fallen back into a religious mode, and as a consequence is just another commodity in the spiritual marketplace of our society.
Certainly a tragedy in light of the radical life and message of Jesus.
Technorati Tags: religion, Pew, Christianity, endreligion
Some of the more noteworthy results include:
- nearly half (44%) of American adults are leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.
- nationwide, one in four adults ages 18-29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.
- "constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents." In other words, it is "a very competitive religious marketplace".
Religion is a fact of life. It is an instinctive impulse that every human has as they strive to discover meaning in life and their place in relation to others.
What is most disturbing to me is that the movement that was to rise above religion as usual has largely fallen back into a religious mode, and as a consequence is just another commodity in the spiritual marketplace of our society.
Certainly a tragedy in light of the radical life and message of Jesus.
Technorati Tags: religion, Pew, Christianity, endreligion
