Washington | A growing and diverse share of U.S. adults believe religion is gaining influence in American life, Pew Research Center said in a new poll, although the share at 31% remains in the minority. At the same time, Pew reports an aging of Christianity that means even more young adults are identifying as “none” when it comes to religious affiliation. This is despite recent anecdotal reports that young men are returning to church.
Among 262 million adults, Christianity claims about 162 million adherents, with 76 million people reporting no religious affiliation.
Pew’s survey pictured the religious landscape as a “small town” of 100. In that scenario, Christians would still hold a clear majority, numbering 62 out of 100. The breakdown reveals familiar American Christian and Christian-identified traditions: 23 Evangelical Protestants, 19 Catholics, 11 mainline Protestants, and 5 individuals tied to historically Black Protestant denominations.
In this hypothetical town, 4 would be Mormon or Jehovah’s Witnesses, and 7 would be a combination of Jewish (2); Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu (1 each); and a variety of beliefs from Bahai to Wiccan (totaling 2).
Perhaps most significantly, in this little town of 100 people, 29 would be “nones.”
As for influence, the percentage of Jews feeling the growing impact of religion in postmodern America doubled in a year, from 21% to 44%.
“In recent years, Americans across a variety of religious groups, in both political parties and in all age groups have become more likely to say religion is gaining influence, to express positive views about religion, and to feel that their religious beliefs are at least somewhat in conflict with the mainstream,” Pew researchers wrote. Their findings indicated “an overall shift toward more positive views about religion’s role in American life over the past five years or so.”
─from Baptist Press and Christian Post