Pew Study: Christianity Declining in USA

A recent study released this week has caused all kinds of elation among atheists and others who see the data in this study as "good news."  The study, "America’s Changing Religious Landscape" conducted by the Pew Research Center claims that Christianity is on the decline while the "nones" or those who do not identify with any religion are on the rise.

Immediately, many atheists such as the "Friendly Atheist" have interpreted the study as an increase in atheism and secularism.  This is not the case at all.  Those classified as "non-affiliated" are a combination of those who are indifferent (believe in God but do not participate in any denomination), agnostics, atheists and so forth.  The study only shows an increase of 3.1% from an n sample of 35,000 survey participants.  That being said, a sample of 35,000 survey participants are NOT representative of the entire population of the United States which has over 300 million citizens. What atheists seem to have trouble understanding is that this survey ONLY reflects the trends within the n or sample size of 35,000.  According to the study, 300 people were questioned via the telephone in each State. This data was then compared with other polls and statistics.

The study also claims that the "nones" outnumber Catholics; however, this is also disputable as appendix c clearly states:

"But there is less of a consensus about trends in American Catholicism. Some surveys, including the one featured in this report, indicate that the Catholic share of the population is declining, while others suggest it is relatively stable or may have declined and then ticked back up in recent years."

This shows that there is a discrepancy with the data the Pew Research Center collected and other data available. Therefore, we must remain skeptical of their claims that Catholicism is on the decline and that the "nones" outnumber them.  Moreover, the data from the Pew Research Center reflects data from 2014 and years in the past.  We have celebrated the Easter Triduum and the Catholic Church in America and the world saw an increase in new members.  These were not recorded in this study from the Pew Research Center. The Pew study also clearly states that this is just one of many more reports to come.  Ironically, a study released in April of 2015 by the Pew Research Center showed that atheism is on the decline and would be nearly wiped out by 2050 mainly due to lack of reproduction (see: Atheism Is Dying).

In the study released this week, only 3.1% out of 35,000 surveyed identified as atheists.  3.1% of 35k = 1,085. This is not a significant increase. Atheism is not on the rise.  What the study does state is that based on previous data, it seems that those who identify as "non-affiliated" have slightly increased.  If we apply this alleged 3.1% increase of atheists to the general American population of 300 million, this would show that there are 9,300,000 million atheists in America.  However, note that the 3.1% increase is based SOLELY on the 35,000 surveyed, not the general population, so in fact, there are not 9,300,000 million atheists.

Speaking of which, here come the Nones (no religious affiliation) http://t.co/6KbFzxgcix More of us than Catholics! pic.twitter.com/uBdMENJdbu

— Michael Shermer (@michaelshermer) May 13, 2015

CNN: Millennials leaving church in droves, study finds http://t.co/9AMOb7VWpB with commentary from CFI's @paulfidalgo pic.twitter.com/AQxV6IizWm

— Center for Inquiry (@center4inquiry) May 12, 2015

While it is not news that some people have stopped attending Church, this does not mean that they automatically become atheists.  Some just stop going, but still believe in and pray to God.  There are many factors for this cessation of participation in a parish.  With today's demands in regards to work, school, raising families and so forth, unfortunately, Church-time suffers. Many times Catholics at parishes where I have worked at wanted to participate in meetings and other events but had to work or care for their children. Furthermore, the Pew study does not take into account lapsed Catholics who often show up for Mass only on holy days such as Christmas and Easter.  Many even show up only for Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday just to receive the ashes and palms (see: A & P Catholics).

Also, according to the numbers in the Pew Study, the Evangelical branch of Protestantism is still strong and increasing.  Other main branches of Protestantism which planted itself in America from Europe during the age of exploration are seeing a sharp decline, but this is mainly due to the abandonment of their Christian roots. They have set aside Sacred Scripture and Christian tradition which they have gotten from the Catholic Church and have adopted liberal ideas such as abortion, contraception, and so-called same-sex marriage. The popular Anglican "archbishop" Desmond Tutu even said that he would prefer going to hell than a heaven that condemned homosexuality as a sin. Other Protestant religious leaders have allowed women clergy and have even denied the existence of Satan (see: Anglican Synod).  Since these denominations have lost their roots in Christianity, then they have ceased to be Christian which in turn has turned off many of their members.  Many Anglicans have even petitioned Pope Benedict XVI which persuaded him to create ordinariates to welcome these Anglicans back to Rome while retaining some of their Anglicanism rites.   That being said, people want truth.  "Truth" that changes "with the times" was never truth to begin with.

In closing, this Pew study only shows increases and declines based on an n or sample size of 35,000, not the general American population of 300 million. We must take it as such. While religion often loses members, this has always been the case and there is a variety of reasons for this which will not be addressed here but in future posts. Exaggerated claims by atheists and atheist bloggers that Christianity is on the verge of obliteration in America are unfounded and shows the mathematical illiteracy of these individuals who do not understand basic statistics.



Here are more articles critiquing this Pew study:

http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/the-real-but-overstated-decline-of-american-christianity/?_r=0

http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/may/pew-evangelicals-stay-strong-us-religious-landscape-study.html

http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/christian-nation-2/american-christianity-on-the-decline-not-so-fast   

http://ht.ly/MR11l

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/publiccatholic/2015/05/christianity-declines-sharply-in-america-heres-the-one-two-three-of-it/?hootPostID=58a613efd9c8c807f34d9fbc638010e9




Source:

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/15/compared-with-other-christian-groups-evangelicals-dropoff-is-less-steep/

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/05/12/landmark-study-shows-remarkable-growth-of-non-religious-americans/

http://t.co/AJxVJgzFUN

http://t.co/dlfducTgkt

http://t.co/BlaUwHe6ux

http://t.co/JtpuxL3pXX

http://t.co/ek0Fovq05g

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2015/05/good-news-christianity-suffers-steep-decline-in-u-s/

https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=24639

Atheism is Dying

Atheism is on the decline and is dying out, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. Previously, a study conducted by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity in Massachusetts demonstrated that Christianity was replacing atheism in places where atheism was thought to be increasing.  This new Pew Research data shows this is apparently occurring and will continue into 2050.

The study also states that while Islam is the fastest growing religion, Christianity will still be the most dominant.  It also states that atheists and those unaffiliated with religion will decline, mainly due to lack of procreation.  These people often adhere to liberal ideas of reproduction and resort to contraception and abortion.  Because of this, they will be having fewer children and their numbers will not keep up with religious families who do promote childbirth.

This comes to no surprise. Atheism does not have the intellectual credentials needed in order to be rationally accepted by the educated and rational person. It proposes the non-existence of God without supplanting that claim with evidence - something they constantly request of theists.  Atheist leaders such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris must start pressing the 'panic button.' The "Militant Atheism" agenda is nothing but a movement based on propaganda, emotivism and ignorance as demonstrated in CNN's Atheist special showing David Silverman and others profiting off of disbelief. We all are hard-wired for belief in God. There is no way around this biological fact. Atheists exist because they willingly refuse to acknowledge the existence of God and the supernatural.  Think about it.  In order for atheists to exist, there needs to be a God otherwise they would not have a reason to be atheist.

I wrote about the rates of atheism in comparison with religion in these two posts:

http://www.sacerdotus.com/2012/09/atheism-on-rise.html

http://www.sacerdotus.com/2012/12/religion-is-growing.html

The claim that "atheism is growing" is nothing but propaganda.  To be fair, the only thing growing in atheism is its online popularity and appeal on social networks.  This is possibly due to people seeking the need to "belong" to a social pack.  Loners and others find friends among other loners who adhere to naive ideas which they adopt from the so-called "new atheists" who are vocal.  However, this fades with time.  Religion is here and will not go anywhere but up in numbers.  Take the World Youth day in 2013 where over 3 million youth packed the Copacobana beach in Brazil.   

Over 3 million pack Copacobana beach for WYD 2013

Imagine, 3 million young people gathering in undesirable local conditions just to hear the Gospel being preached by an elderly man called the "Pope."  He was not performing tricks, or dancing. He was not singing in a boy band or rapping; he was just preaching the Gospel via words and example. No musician can ever gather the crowds that Christ gathers before His Vicar on Earth, the Pope.

Morever, the Pope's visit to the Phillippines last year brought crowds of over 7 million people.  This is something unheard of. Not even President Obama, "Lady Gaga," or boyband "One Direction" have been able to gather so many people.  Again, these people flock to hear an "archaic message" from a "corrupt irrelevant" leader as atheists love to claim.  Clearly the message is not archaic and this leader is not irrelevant if both gather these crowds.  Ironically, atheists had the "Reason Rally" in 2012 which only produced a small crowd of a few hundred. Some reports out there claim that tens of thousands came, but I have friends who participated and told me otherwise.  Moreover, the photos and video of the event found on Atheist TV does not lie.  It was poorly attended and was never repeated.  If atheism was indeed growing and popular, then we would have these "Reason Rallies" all the time since there would be people to fill them and these people would help finance them.     

Papal visit to the Phillippines 2014

"Reason Rally" in Wash. DC, 2012; only a few hundred attended

To truth of the matter is that Science, Theology and Philosophy are killing atheism. An investigation regarding the social phenomenon called atheism found that:

"Atheists have appealed to science in defence of their atheism since the first avowedly atheistic manuscripts of the mid seventeenth century. However, as the German expert on atheism Winfried Schroeder has shown, the relationship between early modern atheism and science tended to embarrass rather than strengthen the fledgling atheism's case." - "Atheism and Science" Investigating Atheism project - Cambridge and Oxford.

Atheism only attracts those who are attracted to bad behavior. Some psychologists call this the "Misfit syndrome." Remember in elementary school; there was always that kid that had to be naughty for some reason?  He or she had to always get attention?  Remember that he/she found pleasure in bullying, asking the teacher stupid questions or making smart remarks?

Well, this is the typical atheist of today who can be found online and in these "Reason Rallies." They are adults with this kind of naughty child's mentality.  They feel that mockery and abuse are the means to spread "reasons." This horrific understanding of reason and persistence in using uncivil means to argue is one of the reasons why atheism is dying out.  Since atheists lack "reason" to support their claims, then they must rely on aggression in order to get attention. Let us continue fighting on and not be afraid to challenge atheism head on. 

Source:


http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/

http://www.christianweek.org/atheism-in-decline/?utm_content=buffer91aaa&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2015/04/the-facts-atheism-is-dying-out.html

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/global-study-atheists-decline-only-18-world-population-2020

http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/Why-Atheism-Will-Decline-20150223

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/11518702/Mapped-What-the-worlds-religious-landscape-will-look-like-in-2050.html