Growing Atheist population in America.

[SouthAfrican]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/04/no-religion-no-problem.html

Quote:

No religion? No problem.

Once vilified in this country, non-believers today make up roughly 1 in 5 Americans. This isn’t to say people like me should begin to impose our non-belief on others. On the contrary, the shifting numbers give all Americans an opening to focus more on coexisting and less on religious combat.

By Nica Lalli

(Illustration by Sam Ward/ USA TODAY)

Demographers are already salivating ahead of the upcoming U.S. Census, which will no doubt show just how different 2010 America is from 2000 America. When it comes to the religious breakdown of the country, though, the waiting game is over. Try this pop quiz:

What is the fastest-growing religious group in our country?

A. Southern Baptists.

B. Roman Catholics.

C. Non-denominational Christians.

D. None. As in, no religion at all.

The answer is D, but fear not. This isn't the end of the world or of religiosity in America.

First the numbers: According to the recently released 2008 American Religious Identification Survey by researchers at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., the percentage of people who identified themselves as having no religion has almost doubled since 1990, from 8.2% of the population then to 15% today, the largest gain in any group. And that number may be low because some Americans still prefer to give no answer, and others identify with a religion, even if they no longer really believe in it. That "no answer" number grew as well, from 2.3% to 5.2%, meaning that just over 20% of the population has no overt religious identity. Simply put, that means more people are willing to identify themselves as being outside of religion or without belief in a supernatural being. If this trend continues, expect even more atheists to come out of the closet in the years ahead.

This isn't to say we're taking over the nation, and that God-fearing Americans now have something else to fear. On the contrary, atheists like me are just content to be able to be religion-free without the social stigma that has been attached to "my kind" the irreligious minority in this country. Of course, the simple math shows that 80% of you do believe in God or some greater being, so the numbers still run heavily in the faithful's favor.

My great hope, though, is that the 80% will have a greater understanding of the 20% of which I am a part. I am hoping that this new survey will help bring much-needed changes in the relations between the faithful and those who are outside of the established faiths.

The full article is here : http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/04/no-religion-no-problem.html

Interesting reading.

What do you guys think of this?

[SouthAfrican]

HEY SOUTHAFRICAN

well the homosexuals are coming out of the closet

to say and getting more favorable attention so I GUESS

atheist are not willing to come out as well

I THINK the devil is trying to get more people to be

tolerant of others while lowering the bible values

and morals....

dgrimm60

Correction - lower the Biblical values, then get rid of them.

Small steps - if Biblical values be rid overnight, then there will be a huge uproar, but if done by small steps, then nobody will notice until it is too late.

[Gerr]

"When the Son of Man cometh, will He find faith on the earth?"

Did you read in the news where something like 100,000 Brits renounced their baptism and declared themselves secularists?

[phkrause]

No I have not heard that either. And yes will the Lord find any faith when he returns. Fortunately he will Gerry, those will be the remnant that are left at the end, Praise the Lord there will still be some.

pk

[Gerr]

I saw that in the internet news. I hardly buy any newpaper these days.

[Dr. Shane]

The growing number of non-believers creates greater opportunities for the church to evangelize here at home. In many ways, it is easier to get a non-believer to join our church than to get a believer in another denomination to switch. It really comes down to meeting the people's needs. People are born with a need for spirituality. If that need is being met by another denomination that it is hard for us to get our foot in the door. If they are secularists, we can get our foot in the door by offering seminars that will meet their needs such as divorce recovery, weight loss, stop smoking, financial counseling, marriage retreats and other similar programs.

[phkrause]

Good point Shane.

pk

[Joe_in_RP]

Atheist is a popular choice among young people who reject rigid controls on things like sex. It is growing rapidly in America. It should be no surprise given the divorce rate for so long. So many one parent families now also raising children on their own.

[olger]

You all are sounding good. So, what can we do to help lost people? Shane had some good ideas.

og