Posted on 10/09/2012 3:08:34 AM PDT by markomalley
For the first time in its history, the United States does not have a Protestant majority, according to a new study. One reason: The number of Americans with no religious affiliation is on the rise.
The percentage of Protestant adults in the U.S. has reached a low of 48 percent, the first time that Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has reported with certainty that the number has fallen below 50 percent. The drop has long been anticipated and comes at a time when no Protestants are on the U.S. Supreme Court and the Republicans have their first presidential ticket with no Protestant nominees.
Among the reasons for the change are the growth in nondenominational Christians who can no longer be categorized as Protestant, and a spike in the number of American adults who say they have no religion. The Pew study, released Tuesday, found that about 20 percent of Americans say they have no religious affiliation, an increase from 15 percent in the last five years.
Scholars have long debated whether people who say they no longer belong to a religious group should be considered secular. While the category as defined by Pew researchers includes atheists, it also encompasses majorities of people who say they believe in God, and a notable minority who pray daily or consider themselves "spiritual" but not "religious." Still, Pew found overall that most of the unaffiliated aren't actively seeking another religious home, indicating that their ties with organized religion are permanently broken.
(Excerpt) Read more at bigstory.ap.org ...
Source: Pew Research Center AP
“found that about 20 percent of Americans say they have no religious affiliation, an increase from 15 percent in the last five years.”
A change of 5% over the last 5 years is suddenly of earth changing significance?
The last 5 years have been very tough financially for many and I suspect that has had an effect on what people tell pollsters.
If you noticed the Catholic trend is also slightly down.
Given the historical record of majority Catholic nations, it’s now a pretty safe bet that our economic future will mirror the other examples.
They can probably consider 50% of the Catholics as Protestants; that would get them above 50% again. They’ve been taught Protestantism under the guise of post-Vatican II Catholicism.
If the non-protestants can't keep the America they made it ain't the Protestants' fault.
Guys, get a life.
Why constantly throw rocks at other Christians who don’t view everything the way you do.
The Leftist love our division.
The Commies successfully infiltrated much of the Catholic Church in Central America. Throw rocks at them.
Look at the chart. Catholics aren't trending any better than Protestants.
Majority Catholic?
I think of the 56 signers of the Declaration, 54 were of the various Protestant denominations, one was Quaker, and one was Catholic.
America thrived back when Catholics and Protestants were butchering each other by the bushel—hard not to get nostalgic for the good old days;)
The majority of the US now seems to be protesters.
“Look at the chart. Catholics aren’t trending any better than Protestants.”
Trend line is flat for the Catholics and declining for the Protestants. Are you looking at a different chart than I am?
In any case, the result is clear. Ex-protestants are becoming a serious problem for America.
“The Leftist love our division.”
Precisely!
And now the principles contained in the Declaration and Constitution are being “interpreted” away by a Supreme Court that has not one Protestant among it’s members.
I give you Roberts and the health care decision as the prime example of someone who has twisted themselves into an epistemological pretzel to justify that which the Founders would have laughed out of Congress.
I see a 1% change for Catholics and a 5% change for Protestants.
Because of the fact that Catholicism is more common than Protestantism in S. America, Asia, and Africa, than Protestantism, it is fairly apparent that if not for immigrants (legal or otherwise), I believe the change would be as dramatic, if not more, for Catholics.
In any case, the result is clear. Ex-protestants are becoming a serious problem for America.
Agreed.
... and the country’s gone all to hell. Coincidence? I think not, lol.
But seriously, it’s an interesting gimmick, peeling off nondenominational Christians to get the crowing headline.
It’s strange, though, for such a supposedly declining group to attract so much spin. We’ve got Catholics on FR lumping Mormons into Protestantism on the one hand, so “unaffiliated” surely is as well. But, on the other hand, we’ve got the AP attempting to depict a decline.
Which is it?
Labels and charts mean nothing in the search and practice of a spiritual life.
There are millions of Americans who do not attend church, but live moral lives - guided by the Ten Commandments of their parents and the Constitution.
I was raised Episcopalian, married a “Catholic” and have recently attended a non-demoninational Christian, Community Church. There were dozens of young men and women in attendance, led by a young, inspirational pastor. His sermons are tailored to our modern problems with biblical solutions. Very hopeful for the future. No robes, no rituals or regulations - just pure love for Christ.
Labels and charts mean nothing in the search and practice of a spiritual life.
There are millions of Americans who do not attend church, but live moral lives - guided by the Ten Commandments of their parents and the Constitution.
I was raised Episcopalian, married a “Catholic” and have recently attended a non-demoninational Christian, Community Church. There were dozens of young men and women in attendance, led by a young, inspirational pastor. His sermons are tailored to our modern problems with biblical solutions. Very hopeful for the future. No robes, no rituals or regulations - just pure love for Christ.
BTW, just about every large family (out to the first cousins) has at least one divorced member ~ hence, that person will be attending a Protestant church ~ if at all. News gets out eh!
Which is it?
A question that has been tossed about for a while around these parts.
FReeper xzins had this observation a few years ago:
Methodism came a couple hundred years after the reformation, so it’s ify whether one could agree with Wesley and include them in the reformation. The reformation churches, in my mind, should be the true definition of protestant.It’s simply incorrect to view the Assembly of God or the Church of God, etc., as protestant. Some other label would be more appropriate: American Evangelical....something like that.
While FReeper Alex Murphy had this insight:
…In my own mind, I tend to break down "Protestant" into categories of:
"Reformed/Protestant" (16th century, those that trace denominational and creedal roots back to the Reformation),
"Evangelical" (17th century, like xzins' Wesleyans/Methodists or the Baptists, largely anabaptist, that arose after the Reformed groups);
"Restorationist" (19th century, independent "first century style" churches / denominations that can be traced back to the Stone/Campbell movement in NY's Hudson River valley); and
"Charismatic" (20th century, any "Spirit-led" but anti-creedal church or denomination that followed or appeared alongside the Restorationists, but especially those that originated with the "baby boomer" generation i.e. the Calvary Chapel/Vineyard churches).I'm honestly not sure where I'd place groups like the "emergent churches" or even the Warren / Osteen style megachurches. They lack the strong theological distinctives (Calvinism, creedalism) that characterizes the earlier groups, and the strong cultural distinctives (display of charismatic gifts, fierce cultural isolationism) that characterizes the later groups. I tend to think that they should get their own category, but I usually lump them under the "evangelical" label because they usually associate themselves with that group socially.
The point being that I doubt there is a good, universally accepted, definition for what is "Protestant."
nondenominational Christians who can no longer be categorized as Protestant
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LOL
This is written by some ijit who doesnt understand Christianity...
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