Has the rise of religious ‘nones’ come to an end in the U.S.?
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Anonymous
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https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/24/has-the-rise-of-religious-nones-come-to-an-end-in-the-us/
In Pew Research Center’s 2023 polling, 28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, describing themselves as atheists, agnostics or simply “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion. That’s marginally lower than our surveys indicated in 2022 and 2021, and identical to what we found in 2020 and 2019, which raises a question: After decades of sharp growth, has the rise of these religious “nones” ended? I always think Pew words this question in a confusing manner. Pew defines religious nones as: atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion. At Pew Research Center, we get lots of questions about this group, often called the “nones.” What do “nones” believe? Are they opposed to religion? What are their views about science? Is their growth good or bad for society, and why? Our survey data shows: Most “nones” believe in God or another higher power. But very few go to religious services regularly. Most say religion does some harm, but many also think it does some good. They are not uniformly anti-religious. Most “nones” reject the idea that science can explain everything. But they express more positive views of science than religiously affiliated Americans do. Surveys have consistently shown that many Americans view religion’s declining influence in society as a bad thing. “Nones” tend to vote less often, do less volunteer work in their communities and follow public affairs at lower rates than religiously affiliated people do. |
Anonymous
| They note, "After all, every estimate from a probability survey comes with a margin of error" yet they do not provide the statistical significance testing for any of this data. Given the sample size, all of these year-over-year small changes could well be within the margin of error. |
Anonymous
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Nones are marked by ambivalence, not antagonism, toward religious people and organizations.
The Nones place a high value on science, but most believe in God or a higher power (70 percent) or in spiritual forces beyond the natural world (63 percent). Only 17 percent identify as atheists. Half of those whose religion is “nothing in particular” maintain a belief in heaven, and 41 percent believe in hell. Nearly a quarter of all Nones believe in God, the human soul, the supernatural, and heaven and hell. The “nothing in particular” Nones are less likely to vote, less likely to volunteer their time, less likely to express satisfaction with their local communities, and less likely to say their social lives are going well. The main reason the Nones aren’t religious is that they question the teachings of organized faith. Sixty percent say their doubts about religious teachings are the primary reason for their unbelief. They’re religiously unaffiliated due to a mix of skepticism, unbelief, and, for a substantial minority, a dislike of religious organizations. Only 30 percent cite bad experiences with religious people, but 55 percent mention religious organizations or religious people as a reason they stay away. Interestingly, about 4 in 10 Nones say they don’t feel a need for religion, and 12 percent say they don’t have time for religious observance. Pew says they need more data to come to a conclusion. |
Anonymous
Margin of error is 1.8% but you have to click through a link to find it. You can find more about the methodology here too. https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/2023-NPORS-Methodology-Statement.pdf |
Anonymous
| You can’t infer the end of a trend from one sample. If the Pew results stay the same for 5-10 years, then it would be a reasonable inference. |
Anonymous
I am not; Pew is. I didn’t research or write the article. They gave the article the title. It’s their website linked. |
Anonymous
No they aren’t inferring a trend. You’re selectively quoting from the article. It goes on to make my exact point: “These kinds of trends are best assessed over the long haul, based on many survey readings.” |
Anonymous
| The nones don't answer the phone when they see it's a survey company. |
Anonymous
Do you have proof that nones are less likely than people of faith to answer the phone? A survey, maybe? Or did you just make that up? |
Anonymous
| was there a category for "Highly skeptical" or even more prevalent: "I just don't think about it much"? |
Anonymous
I would fit in with the last one. I wouldn't bother with a survey like this. |
Anonymous
Just like 99.9% of people in the US. |
Anonymous
| there really needs to be a category for: "Who cares - It's completely irrelevant to my life"? |
Anonymous
| No, the US will get more secular like western Europe. |