Decline of Christianity slows in US but future among the young looks bleak: study
Despite a consistent decline in the share of adults in the United States who identified as Christians over the last 17 years, the trend appears to have slowed in the last five years of a long-term Pew Research study.
The slowdown may not last, however, as other data from Pew's third Religious Landscape Study shows America's youngest adults are significantly more likely to be unaffiliated with religion than their older counterparts, suggesting potential future declines in the "American religious landscape."
Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off – at least temporarily – at slightly above six-in-ten, according to a massive new Pew Research Center survey of 36,908 U.S. adults.
The Religious Landscape Study (RLS) is the largest single survey the Center conducts, aiming to provide authoritative figures on the size of U.S. religious groups because the U.S. census does not collect that information.
Americans decreasingly call religion important to their lives and are divided over its role in society
A major new study on religious views in the United States finds – as Americans’ connection to organized religion continues to fade – there are deep divides over the appropriate role for religion in American public life, with sizable shares in favor of a more formalized role.
Digital Lectors for a Postliterate Age
Suppose you agree that ours is an increasingly postliterate age. The average person, including the average Christian, is reading less, and Christians of all ages, especially the young, lack the basics of biblical literacy. Is that all there is to say? Is hunger for Scripture simply dying out? By no means. Of all tech pessimists I may be chief, yet few things excite me more than what’s happening online with the Bible. What we see is not declining interest in Scripture but an explosion of it. The question is not,...
Each year, a Burlington food activist opens his home for an Eid feast
BURLINGTON — FaReid Munarsyah missed breaking fast with his friends and family back home in eastern Indonesia. So he created his own gathering in Vermont. For about two decades, the Burlington resident and co-organizer of The People’s Kitchen has been serving up community feasts on Eid from his South End home. The Islamic holiday marks the end of Ramadan when Muslims around the world break their month of dawn-to-dusk fasting with a traditional feast. What that feast entails depends on where you are from. For Munarsyah, it includes shrimp chips,...
U.S. Hispanic Protestant Churches See Growth in Membership, Outreach Efforts
According to a new Lifeway Research survey, Hispanic congregations in the United States have seen significant growth amongst their members and in outreach efforts.
"For decades, the Hispanic population in the U.S. has been growing exponentially, and it is imperative for churches to be informed about the specific needs of this community," said director of global publishing for Lifeway Recursos Giancarlo Montemayor. "This study will help us to continue the ongoing conversation of how to serve our brothers and sisters in a more strategic way."
‘Nondenominational’ Is Now the Largest Segment of American Protestants
Call it the rise of the nons.
Not the “nones,” who have commanded attention for years, as the number of Americans who don’t identify with a specific religious tradition has grown from just 5 percent during the Cold War to around 30 percent today. This is the nons—nondenominational Christians, people who shake off organizational affiliations, disassociate from tradition, and free themselves from established church brands.