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: 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: 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: 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: Americans Moving Away From Religion

NPR reported on a poll by the Pew Research Center which demonstrates that the United States is becoming less religious.  The findings can be summarized as:

• The share of Americans who say they are "absolutely certain" that God exists has dropped 8 percentage points, from 71 percent to 63 percent, since 2007, when the last comparable study was made.

• The percentage of adults who describe themselves as "religiously affiliated" has shrunk 6 points since 2007, from 83 percent to 77 percent.

• The shares of the U.S. adult population who consider religion "very important" to them, pray daily and attend services at least once a month have declined between 3 and 4 percentage points over the past eight years.

The key statistics to know is that the percentage of Americans who describe their religion as "nothing in particular" are now 23% of the population, up from 16%.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Nones Are 2nd Largest "Religious Group" In Half The World

The Pew Research Center has a report out which indicates that in more than half of the countries in the world the group of people who do not have a religious affiliation (usually referred to as the "Nones" but whom we like to call the "godless' at MadProfessah.com) are often the second most populous group.

These facts are summarized by Friendly Atheist as:

Indeed, while either Christians or Muslims make up the largest religious group in nine-in-ten nations around the globe, “nones” rank second in size in most of the Americas and Europe, as well as in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa.…Of the 112 countries and territories in which the unaffiliated rank second, Christians are the largest religion in 106. In many of these nations, including the U.S. and most of Western Europe, “nones” are a substantial minority.

Take a note that in 106 of 112 countries in which Nones are #2, Christians are #1. Yet it is the Christians who repeatedly (and falsely) portray themselves as being persecuted by non-Christians.  This phenomenon is explored and debunked as a cultivated myth by Christian adherents in the book The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented A Story of Martyrdom by University of Notre Dame professor Candida Moss.

Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: "Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" Admits He Made It All Up

The author of "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" has recanted his story, and the publisher is pulling the best-selling book from book shelves in response.

The Washington Post covers the story:

Referring to the injuries that continue to make it difficult for him to express himself, Alex writes, “Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short. … I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.”[...]
There is considerable disagreement about when Alex first recanted his testimony and objected to the book, which has reportedly sold more than 1 million copies.
Maggie Rowe, senior publicist of Tyndale, released an updated statement Friday evening, saying: “Earlier this week Tyndale learned that Alex Malarkey, co-author of ‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven,’ was retracting the story he had told his father and that he recounted in the book they co-authored for publication in 2010. It is because of this new information that we are taking the book out of print. For the past couple of years we have known that Beth Malarkey, Kevin’s wife and Alex’s mother, was unhappy with the book and believed it contained inaccuracies. On more than one occasion we asked for a meeting with Kevin, Beth, Alex and their agent to discuss and correct any inaccuracies, but Beth would not agree to such a meeting.”

Why didn't they just put the book in the fiction section where it belonged all along? How could people be so gullible? Oh, yeah, these are the same people who believe in all-seeing, all-knowing, entity who lives in the sky and follows human events continuously. Srsly.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Poll Indicates LGBT Americans Less Religious

Joe.My.God pointed out a recent Gallup poll which demonstrates that LGBT Americans are less religious than other Americans. In my mind, this is a good thing!

Gallup explains the difference may be explained:

The under-representation of LGBT Americans in the ranks of the religious in the U.S. today has a number of possible causes. Some of these center on the effect of church policies and doctrine, which have historically been disapproving of non-heterosexual love and relations, while others may reflect demographic and geographic differences in the LGBT population compared with the rest of the population. 

Societal attitudes toward same-sex relations have become more accepting, and recent stances taken by several churches and religions reflect this. Just this summer, the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to allow that denomination's ministers to perform same-sex marriages in states where it is legal. If these types of shifts continue, LGBT adults may be more likely to feel welcome in attending churches and other religious institutions, as well as in identifying as religious, personally.

So maybe that's why atheism and gayness go together like rainbow flags and pride parades!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Percentage Of Godless Americans Doubled Since 1999

The ranks of the godless are growing! A recent Gallup poll indicates that up to 19% of Americans say they agree with statement "Humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in  the process." Sadly, 42% of Americans agree with the scientifically false statement "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time in the past 10,000 years or so." This is so disheartening for someone who is an academic and who has worked at the National Science Foundation. What are you people thinking?

Between 40% and 47% of Americans over the past 32 years have said the creationist explanation for the origin of human life best fits their personal views. These Americans tend to be highly religious, underscoring the degree to which many Americans view the world around them through the lens of their religious beliefs. Those who adopt the creationist view also tend to have lower education levels, but given the strong influence of religious beliefs, it is not clear to what degree having more education or different types of education might affect their views. 

A number of states have been embroiled in fights in recent years over the degree to which evolution and creationism should be included in their public school curricula. Residents in the South are more likely to believe in the creationist view of the origin of humans than are those living in other regions, making it clear why the fights to have creationism addressed in the public schools might be an important political issue in that region. 

Still, few scientists would agree that humans were created pretty much in their present form at one time 10,000 years ago, underscoring the ongoing discontinuity between the beliefs that many Americans hold and the general scientific consensus on this important issue.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Pastafarian Sworn In Wearing Colander On Head

The picture at the top of this post has been getting a lot of attention because it shows an elected politician getting sworn into office wearing a colander on his head.  Christopher Schaeffer was elected as a councilman in the city of Pomfret, New York and he is wearing a colander because he is a Pastafarian, and a minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. H

Hemant Mehta has an interview with Schaeffer which is informative:

It has come to my attention that my religion has become a topic of debate. Although it is not in my nature to discuss my religion unless asked about it, I do not want my beliefs to be a distraction to this board while it carries out its duties. Therefore I have prepared this statement.

My religion encourages adherents to wear the holy headgear under certain situations; the taking of official pictures is one of these situations. I did not take this action out of disrespect for the office, quite the opposite I have great respect for this country and the citizens of Pomfret. Our constitution allows for, we the citizens, to practice our religions without fear of oppression. This was one of the greatest gifts our forefathers left us.

I do not ask that you accept the beliefs of my religion, I do ask you to treat it with the same dignity and respect that I treat yours. I will not apologize for the beliefs and customs of my religion. Even though my religion is satirical, that does not make it any less valid than any other.

Read that last line again: "Even though my religion is satirical, that does not make it any less valid than any other." There is an important point to be made here. If society allows people to claim that firmly held religious belief impacts public policy for others than what is to stop other people creating religions to align with whatever public policy belief they want to promote?

In the case of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster this is their doctrine:

Pastafarianism is a real religion.

Most of us do not believe a religion – Christianity, Islam, Pastafarianiasm – requires literal belief in order to provide spiritual enlightenment. That is, we can be part of a community without becoming indoctrinated. There are many levels of belief.

By design, the only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma. That is, there are no strict rules and regulations, there are no rote rituals and prayers and other nonsense. Every member has a say in what this church is and what it becomes.

This may be a Church I can believe in!

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: New Poll Documents Declining Belief In God

A new poll from Harris Interactive documents the decline in the belief of God among U.S. adults over the last few years.

A new Harris Poll finds that while a strong majority (74%) of U.S. adults do believe in God, this belief is in decline when compared to previous years as just over four in five (82%) expressed a belief in God in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Also, while majorities also believe in miracles (72%, down from 79% in 2005), heaven (68%, down from 75%), that Jesus is God or the Son of God (68%, down from 72%), the resurrection of Jesus Christ (65%, down from 70%), the survival of the soul after death (64%, down from 69%), the devil, hell (both at 58%, down from 62%) and the Virgin birth (57%, down from 60%), these are all down from previous Harris Polls. 

Belief in Darwin's theory of evolution, however, while well below levels recorded for belief in God, miracles and heaven, is up in comparison to 2005 findings (47%, up from 42%). 

[...] 

The survey also finds that 42% of Americans believe in ghosts, 36% each believe in creationism and UFOs, 29% believe in astrology, 26% believe in witches and 24% believe in reincarnation - that they were once another person.

Note that even though belief in God is declining, nearly three-quarters of Americans still say that they believe in this all-powerful, all-knowing being. Ugh.

The good news is that nearly half of Americans (47%) believe in evolution.  Which must be surprising news to some Texas politicians.

Hat/tip to Friendly Atheist

Godless Wednesday: Young Godless Liberal Democrats Are Cool!

Hemant Mehta over at Friendly Atheist looked more closely at the recent Gallup poll about marriage equality that I blogged about yesterday and noticed that he is a member of all of the top five groups which strongly support marriage equality: Liberals (77%), "No religion" (76%), Democrats (70%), 18-34 years old (69%) and Rarely/Never attend church (67%). These are all well-above the level of support given by all American adults to marriage equality: 52%.

Since this is a Godless Wednesday® post I must also point out that the groups most opposed to marriage equality are 55 and older (58% opposed), Protestants (58% opposed), Republicans (66% opposed), Conservatives (67% opposed) and attend church weekly (73% opposed).

I think this explains why House Republicans (who as a group are widely oversampled in at least 3 of these groups) were willing to blow millions of tax payer money on defending DOMA all the way to the Supreme Court and are so virulently opposed to marriage equality.

Godless Wednesday: Should Agnostics Pick A Side?

Watch this video of Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist, discussing his views on agnosticism. Basically, Hemant says that people who say that they are agnostic are really just being "wishy-washy" because they have already concluded that there is not enough evidence to determine whether God exists. (They also have concluded that there is not enough evidence to determine whether God does not exist.) But he makes the point that in place of the word "God" in the two previous sentences one could use the words "flying unicorn" and people generally take the default position that flying unicorns don't exist. I used to describe myself as agnostic myself and so I agree with Hemant that many people who are actually pretty convinced God does not exist shy away from using the word "atheist" to describe themselves even though that is probably a more accurate term.

I think the "agnostic/atheist" situation is somewhat similar to the reluctance of women (and men) who believe in complete equal rights based on gender (or sex) but refuse to call themselves "feminist." If you believe in equal rights based on gender (or sex) then you are a feminist! Similarly, if you really think that it is unlikely that God exists, you might as well as call yourself an atheist.

The one aspect of the agnostic/atheist debate which I think Hemant misses is that I think that if you really believe in religious freedom you also have to support people's right to call themselves whatever they want. So if someone wants to call themselves an agnostic they have every right to do so, but it also does not stop other people from pointing out that agnostics are oftentimes really atheists who are just reluctant or afraid or ashamed to claim the word atheist.

And what agnostics often don't understand (and this is what caused me to move over to the atheist side myself) was that the religious side views everyone who doesn't believe in their religion as equally wrong anyway, because in their minds atheism and agnosticism is a distinction without a difference. (One could make the argument that it shouldn't matter what other people think when one is choosing one's own self-definition, but for a lot of people other people's views definitely affects their decision-making.

Regardless of whether you are agnostic or atheist you are still a "Godless heathen" and in my book, that's a good thing!

Godless Wednesday: Bill Maher Explains Atheism

For today's Godless Wednesday enjoy this video compilation of Bill Maher explaining godlessness to the religious, to great comedic effect.

Hat/tip to Evolution is True

Godless Wednesday: Where The Atheists Are

Joe.My.God points out an article at the Washington Post showing where the atheists around the world reside. This is in reaction to a recent statement by Pope Francis (then retracted by the Vatican) that even atheists have been redeemed by God. This was seen as a surprisingly neutral position by the head of the Catholic church to non-believers.

Overall, the poll concluded that roughly 13 percent of global respondents identified as atheists, more than double the percentage in the U.S. 

The highest reported share of self-described atheists is in China: an astounding 47 percent. Faith has a complicated history in China. The state is deeply skeptical of organized religion, which it has long considered a threat to its authority.

 Note, of course that North America had a relatively low percentage of atheists,. The most important results, as Joe points out is that the poll concludes that "religiosity is highest in the poorest and least educated nations."

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: There Is No God: Atheists in America

I am known as something of a "closet sociologist" (and an out atheist) and so news that a new book about atheists in America from two sociologist professors is coming out soon is exciting. The book is There is no God: Atheists in America by David A. Williamson and George Yancey.

Here is the blurb for the book on Amazon.com:

There is No God: Atheists in America answers several questions pertaining to how the atheist population has grown from relatively small numbers to have a disproportionately large impact on important issues of our day, such as the separation of church and state, abortion, gay marriage, and public school curricula. Williamson and Yancey answer the common questions surrounding atheism. Just how common is the dismissal and derision of religion expressed by atheists? How are we to understand the world view of atheists and their motivations in political action and public discourse? Finally, is there any hope for rapprochement in the relationship of atheism and theism? In There is No God, the authors begin with a brief history of atheism to set the stage for a better understanding of contemporary American atheism. They then explore how the relationship between religious and atheistic ideologies has evolved as each attempted to discredit the other in different ways at different times and under very different social and political circumstances. Although atheists are a relatively small minority, atheists appear to be growing in number and in their willingness to be identified as atheists and to voice their non-belief. As those voices of atheism increase it is essential that we understand how and why those who are defined by such a simple term as “non-believers in the existence of God” should have such social and political influence. The authors successfully answer the broader question of the apparent polarization of the religious and non-religious dimensions of American society.

Hmmmm, my birthday is coming up and this might be a good gift. Jus' saying!

Hat/tip to friendly atheist

Godless Wednesday: Religion is Organized Bullsh*t

I'm sure many of you have been wondering what the difference is between "religion" and "spirituality." Embiggen the cartoon above by clicking on it and the answer will be revealed.

Hat/tip to The Atheist Pig

Godless Wednesday: Which States Are Less Religious?

This is not your typical red/blue map of party affiliation or presidential preference but instead a map depicting religious affiliation. This map was produced by David Jarman of DailyKos.com who explains it thusly:

The red states are those where the plurality of adherents are Evangelical Protestants; the blue states are home to a plurality of Catholics. Yellow are Mainline Protestants, while green states have "Other" as a plurality, which clearly means Mormon in the three states in question.

The curious aspect of the map is that Jarman decided to ignore the data of "unclaimed" persons in each state. These are people who are either non-believers (welcome, my fellow godless Americans!) or are not associated with any "organized" religion. If he had included that data, the map would look very different, but he was trying to show the correlation between evangelical belief and partisanship.

However, if you look at the actual data yourself (which is publicly available), you can see that in most states the unclaimed dominate the population, with the Top 5 "unclaimed" states being Maine (72%), Oregon(69%), Vermont (66%), Alaska (66%), and Nevada (66%).

That's today's lesson in godlessness, folks!

Godless Wednesday: 20% of Americans Are Irreligious

A new survey shows that the rate at which Americans are claiming to have "no religion" is continuing its rapid growth, having reached a record 20% of respondents in a nationally representative poll.

A summary of the analysis of the poll includes the following points:

• Liberals are far more likely to claim "no religion" (40 percent) than conservatives (9 percent)
• Men are more likely than women to claim "no religion" (24 percent of men versus 16 percent of women).
• More whites claimed "no religion" (21 percent) compared to African Americans (17 percent) and Mexican Americans (14 percent).
• More than one-third of 18-to-24-year-olds claimed "no religion" compared to just 7 percent of those 75 and older.
• Residents of the Midwestern and Southern states were least likely to claim "no religion" compared to respondents in the Western, Mountain and Northeastern states. But Midwesterners and Southerners are catching up, Hout said.
• Educational differences among those claiming "no religion" are small compared to other demographic differences.
• About one-third of Americans identify with a conservative Protestant denomination, one-quarter are Catholics (although 35 percent were raised Catholic) and 1.5 percent are Jewish.

Great news for a Godless Wednesday!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God