I always wake up on Sunday mornings and think about, among other things, church. It's just habit. I don't go to any particular church and I am not religious. Because I live with my grandmother, a devout presbyterian woman, usually the idea of church comes up at least once a week as she is constantly coordinating her rides to and from on Sundays as well as any event she'd like to attend during the week. My mother grew up going to a Presbyterian church in TN with my grandparents, but when we moved her to NC she really did not make it such a habit, a fact which I KNOW she laments. She feels like it is best to raise children in the church because it gives them a positive place to belong and grow. I think it bothers her that I do not go and I do not consider myself Christian. I had what we will cal an 'interesting' experience with a church a few years back that changed the way I will look at religion forever. It was not all bad, but it was not all good either. Since then, I have gone from being 100% sold out for Christ to being almost 100% comfortable with the fact that I don't know if God exists, although I don't rule it out. I mean, I think life is so complicated beyond what I can know or understand and I don't want to follow any religion simply because 'I grew up that way' or 'I should'.
And apparently, I'm not alone in this country. In a recent survey apparently many Americans, in growing numbers, are declining to refer to themselves as Christians. Many people are no longer claiming to belong to any type of religious faith.
The survey showed that the number of Americans who call themselves Christians had fallen to 76 per cent of the population - compared to 86 per cent in 1990.
The survey showed that the number of Americans who call themselves Christians had fallen to 76 per cent of the population - compared to 86 per cent in 1990.
Those describing themselves as generically "Protestant" dropped to 5 million, from 17 million nine years ago.
Mr Silk conceded that many of these people had probably given up religion altogether.
Indeed, the only area to witness a sharp rise in every US state pertained to those respondents who said they have no religion at all.
I don't know what the cause or reason behind this is, and the study did not offer any suggestions either. My boyfriend sometimes goes to a church in the area, and though I will go with him whenever he asks, I will probably never join. Not just his church, any church. While I enjoy looking at the role religion plays in different cultures, I can honestly say it is not for me, at least for now. What do you all think about the decline in religious people in the US? What could be behind this shift? Do you think it is good or bad? Does it really matter for us as a country? I know religion and politics are touchy subjects for most, but I enjoy talking to people about both of them and would love to hear your thoughts!
Excerpt taken from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/4965093/Americans-abandoning-religion-as-number-of-non-believers-climbs-to-15-per-cent.html
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