Reading Time: 5 minutes A new survey out today from the Pew Research Center finds that nearly half of all Americans, 45%, believe we ought to live in a “Christian Nation.” They disagree, however, on what that means in practice, and most Americans still believe church and state should remain separate. The phrase “Christian nation” is not meant to […]
Pew Research
Posted inReligion
The evolution of religion and the rise of the nones
Reading Time: 4 minutes The decline of Christianity in the United States does not mean that “religion” is dead or dying. News of the death of religion may excite humanists, but it is unlikely to go extinct. Religion is an adaptable social phenomenon. Religious beliefs and behaviors have always evolved. In a free country, this evolution will continue. Secularism […]
Posted inNews
New research: The future of religion might just be no religion at all
Reading Time: 2 minutes The long-term future of Christianity is looking pretty grim. At least that’s what the data from a recent Pew Research Center study is showing. According to their report, Christianity continues to shrink as a share of the US population as more people engage in religious switching. In this report, “switching” is defined as “a change […]
Posted inNonreligious News
The future of American religion? Christians will finally be in the minority
Reading Time: 5 minutes Back in 2015, the Pew Research Center released a landmark study about the changing religious landscape in America, and there was one graph in particular I still think about to this day. I’ve even used it in presentations I’ve given to various groups over the years. It involved religious “switching” and showed that people were […]
Posted inEthics and Morality
According to Pew Research, sometimes bad things just happen
Reading Time: 5 minutes In a lot of ways, this research really asks about how American Christians engage with the Problem of Evil. The Problem of Evil asks how suffering can possibly exist in a world governed by an all-powerful, all-good, and all-loving god. It shouldn’t exist at all, and yet here we are, in a world full of suffering.
Posted inUncategorized
It’s Not Just Young White Liberals Who Are Leaving Religion
Reading Time: 4 minutes I am fairly addicted to FiveThirtyEight, even though I am a Brit, although I’ve more recently been watching their podcasts and videos on YouTube. That said, a recent piece was particularly interesting: “It’s Not Just Young White Liberals Who Are Leaving Religion“. It starts: Only 47 percent of American adults said they were members of […]
Posted inGeneral
The Shaky Foundation of the Pre-Trib Research Center
Reading Time: 9 minutes Recently, I ran across a group I’ve somehow never heard of: the Pre-Trib Research Center. They’ve been around for many years, just truckin’ along in their little nook in Liberty University. And y’all, they are pure, unfiltered wingnut goodness. Today, let me show you their shaky foundation beliefs.
Posted inParenting & Family
The childfree life: Parenthood is becoming less popular
Reading Time: 8 minutes Even as a child, I knew that parenthood wouldn’t ever be for me. At the time (the 1970s), this decision marked me as a completely transgressive weirdo. I got some serious flack for it from people who thought they were qualified to tell me what I wanted out of life. I even faced reproductive sabotage from my then-husband! But according to a recent Pew Research study, it seems like more and more young adults are choosing the childfree life these days.
Posted inPolitics
What Trump NEEDS but Won’t Get to Be Re-Elected (Including Many White Religious)
Reading Time: 6 minutes Donald Trump is a truly divisive figure. You only have to look at the threads here to see that. In the UK, you’d say he was like Marmite – you either love him or hate him. I’d add quantifiers to that: you with really love him or really hate him. He does have a path […]
Posted inReligion, Science
Reducing Christian Churn By Manipulating Parents
Reading Time: 7 minutes Yes, Christians. The shameless hucksters whose livelihoods are directly tied to your contributions would really like you to step up your Jesus-ing. They’ve decided to threaten your kids with eternal physical torture in an imaginary realm if you don’t comply with their demands.