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For the first time "No Religion" has topped a survey of Americans' religious identity, according to a new analysis by a political scientist. The non-religious edged out Catholics and evangelicals in the long-running General Social Survey.
Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Eastern Illinois University and a Baptist pastor, found that 23.1% of Americans now claim no religion.
Catholics came in at 23.0%, and evangelicals were at 22.5%.
The three groups remain within the margin of error of each other though, making it a statistical tie. Over 2,000 people were interviewed in person for the survey.
[...] "We are seeing the rise of a generation of Americans who are hungry for facts and curious about the world," she says.
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Survey: As Many Americans Claim No Religion as there are Evangelicals, Catholics
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You humans are all alike.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @12:39AM (13 children)
So when does the great religiously unaffiliated voting bloc need to be pandered to by politicians?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @12:49AM
In every election, just like all other voting blocs.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday April 15 2019, @01:01AM (1 child)
I'm not sure pandering works that way.
I think you can be pandered to if you're part of a group, but if you're not part of a group it's a bit harder.
I'm guessing that's how you've wound up with people like Mike Pence.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @02:05PM
They are a group, they're just a group that's identified as having opted out to all that silliness. The targeting isn't as easy as it is when all the rubes show up at the same place to receive programming every week, but it can be done.
Generally speaking, things which increase religious liberty are likely to go over well. Same goes for things that actually address our problems. You're just not likely to see us voting in lockstep to destroy the world or against our best interests because that's what the candidate that is giving lip service to us wants to do. Abortion and gay rights being criminalized is the only thing the evangelicals seem to care about, and they're willing to destroy the entire world to get it. Doesn't seem very Christian to me.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @01:32AM (4 children)
Around here it's pretty obvious that the big money goes to football, but that religion wasn't included in the survey. Makes it tough for me and a few friends that worship auto racing. While a local billionaire is courting tax $$$ for a new stadium, the local short track and drag strip (with a very dedicated group of 1/8 mile bracket racers) is between owners and may not open this year. I see many arrests for street racing as a real possibility this summer.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @04:38AM (3 children)
Let me tell you, they are coming for your street racing.
We now have live video feeds on at least every third lightpost and on all major intersections. There is at least one per mile on every non-thoroughfare street with a stop light as well. The only streets left that don't have them are stopsign only streets which aren't sufficient to get you across town without being recorded. Combine it with your cell phone, electronic or RFID tagged license places, tpms sensors, and cellular navigation/security systems and staying alive above 55 will soon be a thing of the past.
The only thing I can suggest to those of you who still like speed is live fast, drive hard, and die free. Because the end *IS* coming and while it may be a few decades later than the 70s and the rebellion the cannonball runs and similar activities made it seem, they finally have the civilization in place to catch you all whenever they find it convenient to. With the dwindling number of cars left that are spyware-free, it will only get worse as time goes on and license plate replacements are mandated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @05:35AM
While you might disagree, I posit that street racing is *not* a religion.
I say that despite Peter Medawar's insightful observation [azquotes.com]:
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @08:09AM (1 child)
Wonderful. If you can provide the footage for a modicum fee, so that we can decide the race winners easier, it would be excellent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @08:55AM
Hah! Due to county laws, the police in my area won't even pull the video for auto accidents.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday April 15 2019, @03:03AM (3 children)
1. When the unaffiliated refuse to vote for religious people the way that many die-hard Christians refuse to vote for non-Christians under any circumstances.
2. When atheist, freethinker, etc organizations put together larger checks than the religious types can.
Those are the only real mechanisms you have to influence politicians.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday April 15 2019, @05:51AM (2 children)
Those are the only real mechanisms you have to influence politicians.
We can't know that until people make an effort to vote them out.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @09:41AM
Isn't voting them out quite literally the first option given?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @04:58PM
Yeah, the push for voting machines came from no where and it seems like the point of them was to make it EASY to hack elections. This is upheld by the multiple researchers who were able to compromise voting machines within minutes.
So if voting has been subverted then what?
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday April 15 2019, @05:57AM
I don't think it ever will. In fact isn't the reverse true, that it's still effectively impossible to be elected president unless you affect some sort of religious attitude?
You also need to take any religion figures for the population with a huge grain of salt. My country is, according to the census, about 70% religious. However if you re-word the question to "do you go to church/temple/whatever at least three times a year outside of Christmas/Easter/funerals?" and that drops to single digits just for people religious enough to attend three while services a year. You put down that you're Anglican or whatever because it's peace of mind, not because you actually believe in any of that stuff. You just have to look at the empty and deconsecrated churches to see what the real figure for religion is.