I wish I could say this shocked me...sad.

Quote:For the first time in history, atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion has increased 266% over the past three decades and now account for 23.1% of the population, just barely edging out Catholics and Evangelicals as the nation’s dominant faith. Mainline Protestant churches have suffered the greatest collapse, declining 62.5% since 1982 and now comprising just 10.8% of the U.S. population.

As religiosity has declined, social ills have abounded. Nearly one in five American adults suffers from anxiety disorders, which now constitute the most common mental illness in the country. One in six Americans takes antidepressant drugs, a 65% surge over just 15 years. The problem is particularly acute among younger Americans. While depression diagnoses have increased 33% since 2013, that number is up 47% among Millennials and 63% among teenagers. Coincidentally, suicide rates among American teenagers have increased by 70% since 2006. American life expectancy declined again last year, as Americans continue to drug and kill themselves at record rates.

Link

And there you have it, America is on its death bed.

(04-09-2019 07:35 AM)SoMs Eagle Wrote:  And there you have it, America is on its death bed.

In a country where the murder of the unborn is a celebrated event by one of the major political parties, this is not shocking news.

(04-09-2019 07:33 AM)usmbacker Wrote:  

I wish I could say this shocked me...sad.

Quote:For the first time in history, atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion has increased 266% over the past three decades and now account for 23.1% of the population, just barely edging out Catholics and Evangelicals as the nation’s dominant faith. Mainline Protestant churches have suffered the greatest collapse, declining 62.5% since 1982 and now comprising just 10.8% of the U.S. population.

As religiosity has declined, social ills have abounded. Nearly one in five American adults suffers from anxiety disorders, which now constitute the most common mental illness in the country. One in six Americans takes antidepressant drugs, a 65% surge over just 15 years. The problem is particularly acute among younger Americans. While depression diagnoses have increased 33% since 2013, that number is up 47% among Millennials and 63% among teenagers. Coincidentally, suicide rates among American teenagers have increased by 70% since 2006. American life expectancy declined again last year, as Americans continue to drug and kill themselves at record rates.

Link

How is that a religious group? Quite sad for sure.

what a bunch of idiots

Well.....

We all know Millennials and younger people are FAR less tied to traditions, loyalties, and beliefs of the past. They're far less willing to just accept what it is because that's what their parents and their parent's parents did.

Combine that with "Churches" getting more & more into politics and matters of the state, numerous scandals, sex abuse, charlatans abound and it's no wonder why people aren't packing the pews.

Then there's numerous people like myself. I don't need "faith" to make sense of life or give me a "path". I'm perfectly capable of leading my own life without the "guidance" of some reverend or minister. Some people NEED that, others of us don't.

Couple of comments. First, atheism is not a religious group. If you're going to go about drawing conclusions from this study, the take away should be that people with a religious affiliation has dropped to 76.9%. Then further subdivide that 76.9% as you wish.

From the article: "...But “our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people,” as John Adams wrote to the Massachusetts militia in 1798. “It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

A miserable politics awaits us when the irreligious rot flows downstream. Who but God can help us now?"

This should come as no surprise to anyone. The public education system is an indoctrination into atheism.

Democracy and capitalism without Christian values doesnt work well

I'm confused....

...atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion ...

So the largest religious group in America consists of Americans that have no religion?

(04-09-2019 08:59 AM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote:  This should come as no surprise to anyone. The public education system is an indoctrination into atheism.

I think mass media and music has more to do with it.

Compare movies/TV shows/pop music from the 60s to now. The Byrds even had a hit pretty much straight from Ecclesiastes. The anti-establishment song "Signs" had the church as the place where everyone was welcome. Things that are positive about religion are quarantined on the Christian rock stations now.

(04-09-2019 09:24 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  I'm confused....

...atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion ...

So the largest religious group in America consists of Americans that have no religion?

Some of the most "evangelical" people I know are committed Atheists. They preach that **** all the damn time.

(04-09-2019 09:31 AM)49RFootballNow Wrote:  

(04-09-2019 09:24 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  I'm confused....

...atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion ...

So the largest religious group in America consists of Americans that have no religion?

Some of the most "evangelical" people I know are committed Atheists. They preach that **** all the damn time.

Atheism is a religion. It requires a "leap of faith."
Agnostics-they're just the Charlie Browns of faith-wishy, washy.

(04-09-2019 09:24 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  I'm confused....

...atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion ...

So the largest religious group in America consists of Americans that have no religion?

Yes, atheism is a religion.

Religion is defined as "a comprehensive worldview or 'metaphysical moral vision' that is accepted as binding because it is held to be in itself basically true and just, even if all dimensions of it cannot be either fully confirmed or refuted."

Under this definition (and many others), atheism is surely a religion.

An organized hierarchy is a feature of some religions, but not all.

The way the so called Christian's in our government behave, this will only grow. I'm not shocked.

(04-09-2019 09:34 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(04-09-2019 09:31 AM)49RFootballNow Wrote:  

(04-09-2019 09:24 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  I'm confused....

...atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion ...

So the largest religious group in America consists of Americans that have no religion?

Some of the most "evangelical" people I know are committed Atheists. They preach that **** all the damn time.

Atheism is a religion. It requires a "leap of faith."
Agnostics-they're just the Charlie Browns of faith-wishy, washy.

That's wrong. The leap of faith is believing in something. Burden of proof is for those who make the positive claim. If you cannot prove it but elect to believe anyways, then that's faith.

(04-09-2019 09:31 AM)49RFootballNow Wrote:  

(04-09-2019 09:24 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  I'm confused....

...atheists constitute the largest religious group in America. According to the General Social Survey, the number of Americans who have no religion ...

So the largest religious group in America consists of Americans that have no religion?

Some of the most "evangelical" people I know are committed Atheists. They preach that **** all the damn time.

LOL, very true.

About 10 years or so ago I was at a dinner with some colleagues from Virginia and one of the guys (an atheist) went on a rant about Christianity, Christians and Church customs/rituals. I proceeded to ask him what he did as an atheist and he told me:

- he went to a weekly discussion group
- every night he would study some atheist literature
- he donated some money to his discussion group
- he vowed to speak/educate others on what it means to be an atheist.

After he pointed all these things out I told he was more of a devout evangelical than most of the people he purported taking issue with. I told him I took no issue with his personal belief system, but noted the hypocrisy.

(04-09-2019 08:53 AM)bullet Wrote:  From the article: "...But “our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people,” as John Adams wrote to the Massachusetts militia in 1798. “It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

A miserable politics awaits us when the irreligious rot flows downstream. Who but God can help us now?"

This is true.

Our founding documents are replete with examples of this.

someone needs to hand the author a dictionary. Seems atheists are a quarter of the population now.