U.S. church membership dips below 50% for first time

Gallup: U.S. church membership dips below 50% for first time
Source: Axios

47% of Americans said they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque in 2020, down from 50% in 2018, according to a Gallup poll out Monday.

Why it matters: It's the first time in the eight decades that Gallup has tracked the trend that a majority of Americans do not belong to a church.

The trend has dovetailed with an increasing number of people who say they are not religiously affiliated.

Membership at places of worship was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937. It stayed near that range for six decades before starting to dip in the 21st century.



Read more: https://www.axios.com/church-membership-gallup-26cc020b-5405-417a-a786-e10c286a30db.html

 

Now that is "good news"

 

Well, I might not be religious but I am always curious about national trends and what is behind them. This is the latest trend that had been steady for over 6 decades. I wonder if it is because the rural areas are losing population?

 

Maybe people are starting to realize that they don't practice what they preach?

 

maybe people are getting smarter, at a very slow rate

 

Ignoring the comments from the rogue gallery...... Yes, it is well known fact that traditional church membership has declined in recent years yet the new evangelical mega type rock & roll churches are busting apart at the seams. So much so that many have transformed old, tired shopping malls into places of worship... It is also fact that 90% of Americans believe in a higher power. I suppose you can loosely define higher power to mean most anything you want it to mean..... Fact is, America is a faith based society. With typical families having to work two jobs to keep up, Sunday mornings have been relegated to family time in many households. Oddly, since my little church began broadcasting their services live, our Sunday morning attendance has soared on-line.

It is like anything else. The brush you choose to paint your perspective from has two sides. Those of us that practice our faith may be dummies to some, but we are quite happy. Can you say the same?

 

Yes. Why wouldn't I be?

 

I believe you. But you are a down to earth fellow that doesn't throw about the idea that those of us that practice faith are uneducated bumpkins like others around here.

 

Thanks. I have no reason to.
I've stated that I believe Jesus was a great man and more should strive to follow his teachings. It's the God was his father thing I don't buy into.
Faith can be very helpful and very dangerous at the same time.
Depends on how it's followed.

 

Richard Dawkins on outgrowing god

 

Richard Dawkins was fifteen when he stopped believing in God. Deeply impressed by the beauty and complexity of living things, he felt certain that they must have had a designer. Learning about the theory of evolution changed his mind. In his 2019 book, Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide to Atheism, Dawkins provides an accessible primer to atheism for readers looking to rethink some of the big questions that shaped his own path towards seeing the magnificence of a world without God. In twelve fiercely funny, mind-expanding chapters, Dawkins explains how the natural world arose without a designer—the improbability and beauty of the “bottom-up programming” that engineers an embryo or a flock of starlings—and challenges head-on some of the most basic assumptions made by the world’s religions: Do you believe in God? Which one? Is the Bible a “Good Book”? Is adhering to a religion necessary, or even likely, to make people good to one another? Dissecting everything from Abraham’s abuse of Isaac to the construction of a snowflake, Outgrowing God is a concise, provocative guide to thinking for yourself.