Organized religion is rejected by 20 percent of Americans according to a new poll, but 97 percent still believe in God.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , one third of Americans believe Christianity should be the state religion . A North Carolina bill even attempted to declare an official state religion . The Mormon religion is growing and so is its feminist movement, with a Mormon woman being allowed to lead in prayer for the first time in 183 years.
Survey data released by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Duke University show 20 percent of Americans claiming to reject organized religion , more than double the number reported in 1990. Back in 1990 those who cited “no religion” as their preference were only eight percent of the US population.
To say “no religion” does not necessarily mean that you are an atheist. It just means you do not consider yourself part of an organized religion. Atheists still only make up three percent of the population. At the same time, only eight percent of Americans were raised in a home with no religion.
The survey also found liberals are far more likely to claim “no religion” by 40 percent, with conservatives at 9 percent. 24 percent of m
- en are more likely than 16 percent of women to claim “no religion.” M
- ore whites claimed “no religion” (21 percent) compared to African Americans (17 percent) and Mexican Americans (14 percent). Finally, the youth, who also tend to identify as liberal, probably explain much of the change, since m
ore than one-third of 18-to-24-year-olds claimed “no religion” compared to just seven percent of seniors.
A pastor on Fox News attempted to explain the results showing organized religion, including Christianity, is being rejected by Americans . Craig Groeschel says, “People aren’t saying they don’t believe in God. They’re saying they don’t believe in religion. They are not rejecting Christ. They are rejecting the church.”
Groeschel says Americans are rejecting organized religion by those “who might have been hurt by the Church or let down by religion.” This pastor also says he does not like religious people. He explains, “Religion can make us nice, but only Christ can make us new. Religion focuses on outward behavior. Relationship is an inward transformation. Religion focuses on what I do, while relationship centers on what Jesus did. Religion is about me. Relationship is about Jesus.”
Why do you think organized religion is being rejected by 20 percent of Americans?
