Nones are apparently now the largest religious group...

[Bthoth]

More evidence you don't understand that the conditional statement is so hard to grasp for you. You keep trying to change the argument to whether god exists even when it is explained that isn't relevant to the question at all.

Shaulright?

The nones are

And that is by muhammad ali.

 

[Truthseeker]

NPR presents reporting on a new PEW study...

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/24/1226371734/religious-nones-are-now-the-largest-single-group-in-the-u-s

Including the nonreligious and those who do not affiliate with any religion, the Nones are about 28 percent of adults, according to the article.

This continues a trend that extends back decades...

Thoughts? Is the sky falling? Is it the dawning of a new and better age? Is it meh?

In a way it could be thought as good, it means less people are blindly following some sect. On the other hand, I believe religion can be a source of morality, and less being religious has helped lead to yet more materialism. But there are those who say they are spiritual but not religious, but as someone who has been religious most of his life, I don't know what that means.

 

[Truthseeker]

I can't think of any reason to suppose that dogma is of more value in trying to solve the grave problems humans on this planet face, than the tools offered by science and reason.

I agree with that. Morality, science and reason is best.

 

[Truthseeker]

There's a LOT more detail here: Religious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe

Yes this is interesting:

• 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.

As a religious person I also believe that religion has done some harm, and it also has done good. I also am a firm believer that any religious belief that does not conform with science is not good for us, and probably harms us.

Many also bring up criticisms of religious institutions or people, including 47% who say that one extremely or very important reason why they are not religious is that they dislike religious organizations. And 30% say bad experiences they’ve had with religious people help explain why they are nonreligious.

The reason for not liking religious organizations is probably the insistence of most religious institutions to toe the line on what to believe. I think the other reason is not as valid. There are always bad people in any religious institution.

By a variety of measures, religious “nones” are less civically engaged and socially connected than people who identify with a religion. On average, they are less likely to vote, less likely to have volunteered lately, less satisfied with their local communities and less satisfied with their social lives.

I was surprised at first to see that "nones" voted less. That's interesting. I can more readily understand why they volunteer less and are less socially connected. The church, or whatever, provide provide the social connections, and through those connections they volunteer.

Moreover, lower levels of civic engagement tend to be found especially among “nones” who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” – not among atheists and agnostics. For example, atheists and agnostics turned out to vote in 2022 at rates rivaling those seen among religiously affiliated adults. Those who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” were the only subset of “nones” with lower voter turnout than religiously affiliated people.

I didn't expect that.

 

[Truthseeker]

They're also (currently) the biggest group on RF, according to my exhaustive survey!

Which Religion Do You Follow?

I put out one of these polls a few years ago and thought it would be interesting to see if and how the demographics around here may have changed. So, which religion do you follow? I'd love to know if there is a particular denomination or church or sect or other specific version of the religion...

www.religiousforums.com

It's a conspiracy!! (We have lots of those flying around the site lately.)

View attachment 87354

Yes, very exhaustive, there are 52 votes. There is also more variety of religions in RF than normal, in those who know English. At least so I surmise. That's always been obvious.

 

[Truthseeker]

And many of the self-declared religious people in those surveys reject many of their own religions' tenets and beliefs.

Depends on the sect how many.

As an example of this: in a 2023 American survey, 15% of Catholics did not report believing in God.

Belief in God, the devil falls to new low: Gallup

Americans’ belief in God, the devil and other spiritual entities has fallen to a new low, according to a Gallup poll released on Thursday. Seventy-four percent of Americans said they believe in God…

thehill.com

What you say about Catholics does not surprise me. I happen to know since my wife Sara was born into the Catholic family, they still consider her Catholic no matter what.