GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Hallelujah! U.S. Church Membership Rate Fall Below 50%

Godless Wednesday makes a rare return to the blog with the amazing news that membership in houses of worship (churches, synagogues, mosques, etc) has fallen below 50% (to 47%) for the first time ever that Gallup has been measuring it. As recently as 1999 (when The Matrix came out) the worship rate was 70%. Gallup says:

The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference. Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years.

As would be expected, Americans without a religious preference are highly unlikely to belong to a church, synagogue or mosque, although a small proportion -- 4% in the 2018-2020 data -- say they do. That figure is down from 10% between 1998 and 2000.

Given the nearly perfect alignment between not having a religious preference and not belonging to a church, the 13-percentage-point increase in no religious affiliation since 1998-2000 appears to account for more than half of the 20-point decline in church membership over the same time.

This is excellent news because the decrease in religiosity of Americans will hopefully lead to an increase in fact-based, evidence-based decision-making and public policies. (One can dream!)

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: "Hate The Belief, Not The Believer"

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: "Nones" Become Largest Religious Group In The United States

Woo hoo! Fear not godless heathens, you are not alone! The Friendly Atheist reports on the latest polling data from the General Social Survey on religion that shows that the percentage of Americans who say that have "no religion" (often called the "Nones" by demographers) is now the largest segment of the population.

Religious News Service reports (and includes the graphic at the top of this post):

According to newly released General Social Survey data analyzed by Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University, Americans claiming “no religion” — sometimes referred to as “nones” because of how they answer the question “what is your religious tradition?” — now represent about 23.1 percent of the population, up from 21.6 percent in 2016. People claiming evangelicalism, by contrast, now represent 22.5 percent of Americans, a slight dip from 23.9 percent in 2016.  

That makes the two groups statistically tied with Catholics (23 percent) as the largest religious — or nonreligious — groupings in the country.   

“Nones have been on the march for a long time now,” Burge said. “It’s been a constant, steady increase for 20 years now. If the trend line kept up, we knew this was going to happen.”

So when will public policy (and politics) start recognizing this fact that the populace (and electorate) is changing?

Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Let Reason Prevail...

The Freedom from Religion Foundation is making banners available this holiday to combat the overwhelming religiosity of the occasion. One of these appeared in San Diego's Balboa Park next to a nativity display The banner reads:

 “There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. 
 There is only our natural world.
 Religion is but a myth & superstition that hardens hearts & enslaves minds.”

For lots of people, seeing such thoughts expressed in public may seem shocking or disrespectful but from my perspective as a godless person this reaction demonstrates how prous the wall between the church and the state have become.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Poll Says Atheism Is No Longer An Impediment To Elected Office

Previously I have blogged (repeatedly) about Americans uneasiness with voting for an atheist for president. However, a new survey from the American Humanist shows that progressive voters (who are pro-marriage equality and pro-choice) are happy to support an agnostic or atheist candidate for elected office.

The survey finds that 72% of liberal Democrats would vote for an atheist on the ballot. 74% of them would support a more generic “non-religious” or “agnostic” candidate.
Also interesting? 14% of those voters said they would be more likely to support an atheist while only 7% say the opposite.

Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist.

AZ-SEN: Openly LGBT Kyrsten Sinema Wins!

Congressperson Kyrsten Sinema has won election to the United States  Senate from Arizona, defeating Congresswoman Martha McSally in a very close race. Sinema, 42, is the first female Senator from Arizona, and as a bisexual woman, only the second openly LGBTQ member of the "world's most exclusive deliberative body," following openly lesbian Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin (who was re-elected last Tuesday) in Wisconsin with 55% of the vote. She will also be one of the youngest members of the U.S. Senate.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Deism versus Theism

As someone who believes in godlessness, i.e. I reject both theism and deism. However, it is at least useful to understand these terms if one is going to have reasonable dialogue between the religious and irreligious. For example, the graphic at the top of this page explains the difference between theism and deism.

One of the more annoying aspects of interactions between believers and non-believers is the ignorance of "believers" about the diversity of people's beliefs. I have found that most people who are godless like myself are not that way because "we don't know better" or "haven't been exposed to religion." Really? You think in a world dominated by religion and religious voices like this one, you think people turn away from religion because we haven't been exposed to the right one, which just happens to be yours?

Hat/tip to Atheistic_1

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Stephen Hawking Says "There Is No God" In Posthumous Book

Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most renowned scientists, who died earlier this year at the age of 76 on March 13, has published a book where he reiterates his atheistic beliefs. This is not a new occurrence; Hawking's atheistic beliefs have been well-documented.

For example, this is a quote which comes close to what I believe as well,

We are each free to believe what we want and it is my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate.

As always, Hawking expresses the truth in a simple, declarative way.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Will The Future Be Godless?

I love this cartoon. I think it epitomizes the tension between scientific and technological advancements and the retrograde nature of religion.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Alabama Wants To Amend State Constitution To Allow Ten Commandments On Public Land

LOL here we go again! Today's Godless Wednesday is about a red state again trying to force religious views on everyone else. The Alabama legislature is considering a state constitutional amendment which would allow the erection (sic) of religious displays on government-owned property in the guise of religious freedom.

Here is the text of the language Alabama voters will see:

Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience. No person shall be compelled to attend, or, against his or her consent, to contribute to the erection or support of any place of religious worship, or to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for the support of any minister of the gospel. Property belonging to the state may be used to display the Ten Commandments, and the right of a public school and public body to display the Ten Commandments on property owned or administrated by a public school or public body in this state is not restrained or abridged  [emphasis added]. The civil and political rights, privileges, and capacities of no person shall be diminished or enlarged on account of his or her religious belief. No public funds may be expended in defense of the constitutionality of this amendment. 

The Ten Commandments shall be displayed in a manner that complies with constitutional requirements, including, but not limited to, being intermingled with historical or educational items, or both, in a larger display within or on property owned or administrated by a public school or public body.

The bill (SB 181) passed the state house 66-19 and the state senate (22-3). The amendment has now become an issue in the Alabama gubernatorial race with candidates trying to position themselves as the most in support of enhancing the place of religion in the public square.

It looks to me as if it is masquerading as a religious freedom amendment since it is odd that the phrase "The Ten Commandments" would need to appear three times in an actual religious freedom amendment. What do you think?


Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: WATCH How Neil DeGrasse Tyson Explains His Godlessness

Neil deGrasse Tyson on God, religion and reality pic.twitter.com/aedtBERl7O

— Atheist Republic (@AtheistRepublic) February 6, 2018

Today's Godless Wednesday post is just a short video of Astronomer and Science evangelist Neil DeGrasse Tyson explaining why a lack of evidence explains why he is godless.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Dawkins Responds To "What If You're Wrong?"

For today's Godless Wednesday we have a treat for you. At the top of this post is a fun video of Richard Dawkins responding to a supposed "gotcha" question from a religious student at Liberty University and gives a near perfect reply.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Dawkins Scale of Godlessness

I must confess than even though I own the book The God Delusion I have not read it, so I was unaware of author Richard Dawkins' "spectrum of theistic probability." It is more commonly known as the Dawkins scale, somewhat reminiscent of the Kinsey scale, which posits that sexual orientation exists on a spectrum where 0 is completely heterosexual and 7 is completely homosexual (I'm a 7 on the Kinsey scale). The Dawkins Scale can be summarized as:

1. Strong theist. 100% probability of God. In the words of C.G. Jung: "I do not believe, I know."
2. De facto theist. Very high probability but short of 100%. "I don't know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there."
3. Leaning towards theism. Higher than 50% but not very high. "I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God."
4. Completely impartial. Exactly 50%. "God's existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable."
5. Leaning towards atheism. Lower than 50% but not very low. "I do not know whether God exists but I'm inclined to be skeptical."
6. De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."
7. Strong atheist. "I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one."

I don't think that I am actually a 7 on the Dawkins scale, I would definitely say I am at the very least a 6. Dawkins himself says that he is a 6.9. Take the survey!

Where are you in the Dawkins scale?

Create your own user feedback survey

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Another Survey Confirms Increase In Godlessness In United States

Another study of Americans has documented the rise in the "religiously unaffiliated" which we like to call "godlessness" at this blog. The Houston Chronicle reports about a study commissioned by the Desert News (a Mormon-affiliated publication) and  the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University which documents that a plurality of Americans (the largest group in the survey) respond "None" when asked their religious affiliation.

34 percent of respondents said they had no religious denomination, compared to 33 percent who identified as Protestants and  21 percent who said they are Catholic.
[...]
Baptists made up the largest Protestant group, at about 32 percent, with 19 percent saying they belonged to a non-denominational or independent church. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed consider themselves "born-again" or Evangelical Christians.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents say religion is very important in their lives, but only 24 percent say they attend religious services one or more times a week. Fifty-four percent said they seldom or never attend church.
Of those polled, 21 percent said one of the most important issues facing families is "decline in religious faith and church attendance.

Interesting results, eh? I wonder when public policy and politics will start responding to how Americans actually live their religious lives, instead of how people "wish" (or "believe") they do.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman Reveals He Doesn't Believe In God

Jared Huffman has become one of the rare prominent U.S. politicians to publicly announce he does not believe in God.  Welcome to the growing group of Americans (such as yours truly) who are "religiously unaffiliated"! The democratic U.S. Congressman (CA-2) made the announcement he was changing his official religious affiliation to "humanist" after receiving the endorsement of the Freethought Equality Fund PAC:

"I’m honored by this endorsement because it recognizes and reinforces my efforts to ensure that everyone in this great, diverse country is treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their religious or nonreligious views. Today more than ever, we must defend the religious liberty our founders enshrined in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
…
“Like many people,I’ve struggled with questions of faith and religion for most of my life. While I don’t pretend to have all the answers, I am convinced that people of all religions, as well as the nonreligious, can work together to make a positive difference in the world.”

It is a big deal that Huffman has "cmoe out" in this way. The only other out godless federal politician was Congressman Pete Stark (curiously, he also represented a Northern California district). Obviously it is very unlikely that Rep. Huffman is the only member of Congress who is godless. One question is will Huffman's action encourage any of his colleagues to join him? Stay tuned!

 Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: More Americans Identify As "Spiritual" Than "Religious"

The Pew Research Center regular conducts polls about religious identity of the American population. They asked people to put themselves into four categories: "religious and spiritual," "neither religious nor spiritual," "religious but not spiritual" and "spiritual but not religious."

In the 5 years since they last conducted the poll in 2012 the number of people who said spiritual but not religious jumped from 19% to 27% and the number who said religious and spiritual dropped from 59% to 48%.

Sadly, the group I would have identified with, Neither religious not spiritual only marginally increased from 16% to 18%.

Regardless, the fact that more Americans as "spiritual" (75%) than as religious (54%) is a pretty big deal, and is the key takeaway of today's Godless Wednesday.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: 24% Of Americans Are Religiously Unaffiliated

For today's Godlesss Wednesday post I want to return to the topic of how the demographics of religious identity are changing in the United States. A report from the PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) titled "America's Changing Religious Identity"  released on September 6 2017 chronicles these changes. Some of the findings are:

• White Christians, 81 percent of the population in 1976, now account for less than half the public — 43 percent of Americans identify as white Christians, and 30 percent as white Protestants.
• 92 percent of Lutherans are white, more than in any other denomination.
• White Christians are aging. About 1 in 10 white Catholics, evangelicals and mainline Protestants are under 30, compared with one-third of all Hindus and Buddhists.
• Muslims and Mormons are the youngest faith groups in the U.S., with 42 percent of all Muslims under 3o, and nearly a quarter of all Mormons.

The PRRI report is based on a survey of 101,000 Americans in all 50 states and has a margin of error of 0.5 percentage points. Another big take-away from the report is that no single religious group in the United States is larger than the group of "religiously unaffiliated," which makes up 24% of the population.

This is awesome news!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Partisan Differences In Religious Affiliation

From Five Thirty Eight comes this interesting analysis of a report from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) which discusses the implications from looking at the differences in partisan affiliation of various religious groups. There are opportunities and challenges for Democrats:

There’s also evidence in the report that young religious voters of color in particular may feel less loyalty to the Democrats than older generations did. Only 35 percent of Hispanic Catholics under the age of 30 identify as Democrats, compared to 56 percent of Hispanic Catholic seniors. Similarly, just 58 percent of black Protestants under 30 say they’re Democrats, compared to 79 percent of black Protestants over the age of 65.

and Republicans:

So far, having a base that’s composed overwhelmingly of one demographic group hasn’t doomed Republican candidates — white, conservative Christian voters have been the bedrock of the GOP base since the 1980s and helped deliver President Trump to the White House last year. In 2016, a whopping 35 percent of Republicans were white evangelical Protestants, 18 percent were white mainline Protestants, and 16 percent were white Catholics; together, those groups account for nearly 70 percent of the Republican base.

To me, the most interesting aspect of the report is the age breakdown of the "religiously unaffiliated" (which I would call "the godless").  The results are 34% are age 18-29, 37% are 30-49, 19% are 50-64 and 10% are 65+.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Australians Becoming Much More Godless!

There's some interesting news out of Australia and the changing (decreasing) prevalence of religiosity among their populace. They conduct a census every 5 years and one of the questions they ask is about religion.

The 2016 results were published this week:

After decades of rapid growth, the number of Australians marking “no religion” on their census forms has for the first time surpassed Catholicism as the most common answer to a prompt in the country's 2016 Census about religion, according to data released Monday. If all Christian denominations are considered together, they would make up just over half of respondents. 

The number of respondents who identified as nonreligious — 30.1 percent — almost doubled from 15.5 percent in 2001. Less than 1 percent identified that way in 1966, the year Australia lifted its “White Australia Policy,” which opened up immigration to non-Europeans and kicked off broader demographic changes. Australia's population has also more than doubled since then.

Hmmm, so we learn several things from this excerpt. First, Australia had a "White Australia Policy" until 1966! Secondly, 30% of Australians identify as essentially irreligious (or "Godless" as we like to say around here). That compares pretty favorably to the rate in the United States, which PRRI estimates to be 25% (in 2016). The following graph also indicates that the growth in the fraction of the population in the United States that is "religiously unaffiliated" has changed dramatically in the last few decades.

Hat/tip to Washington Post and PRRI

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Hateful San Antonio Mayor Loses Re-election

Today's Godless Wednesday is about bad things happening to people who attack godless people. Ivy Taylor was the mayor of San Antonio, Texas (which is the 7th most populous city in the United States) when she said that one cause of poverty is a failure to believe in God. This was pretty shocking, but happily Ms. Taylor received her comeuppance soon afterwards, when she lost her bid for re-election to Ron Nirenberg. The Friendly Atheist comments:

The mayor’s remarks about poverty reflect an astonishing and willful ignorance. Perhaps more important, there is something deliberately cruel and profoundly vicious in Taylor’s attempt to claim the root cause of poverty is people who don’t share her religious superstition, and that those individuals who do not share her religious superstition are somehow “broken people.”

 [...] 

Bottom line: Mayor Taylor is an intolerant conservative Christian with no respect for poor people or atheists. Her remarks indicate a callous and insensitive disregard for both. As such, she has no business serving as Mayor of San Antonio.

Hear, hear!