A new study modeled four scenarios for how religious beliefs might change in the United States and predicts that the proportion of people who do not follow a religion will increase.
Image DiggPirate / Getty
hide captions
switch captions
Image DiggPirate / Getty
A new study modeled four scenarios for how religious beliefs might change in the United States and predicts that the proportion of people who do not follow a religion will increase.
Image DiggPirate / Getty
Eliza Campbell has spent her entire life as a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She was born in Utah, a state where most residents belong to the church, and attended Brigham Young University, a private church-owned and operated institution.
“It’s part of your entire professional network, your entire emotional community,” she says. “It basically touches every aspect of your life.”
Eliza Campbell said she started thinking about offending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the age of 20, but it took years to officially leave the church.
Eliza Campbell
hide captions
switch captions
Eliza Campbell
Eliza Campbell said she started thinking about offending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the age of 20, but it took years to officially leave the church.
Eliza Campbell
Then, two years ago, after nearly three decades, Campbell left the church.
She is one of a growing number of Americans who are Catholic but not religious.
The majority of America’s Christians are facing a serious decline
Christianity is still the majority religion in the United States, as it has been since the founding of the country, but it is on the decline.
One New research from the Pew Research Center shows that the Catholic majority in the US has been shrinking for years, and if recent trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the US population within a few decades .
Research shows that Christians made up about 90% of the population 50 years ago, but as of 2020, that number has dropped to about 64%.
“If the recent trend turns [changing one’s religious affiliation] We predict that Christians could make up 35% to 46% of the US population by 2070, said Stephanie Kramer, the senior researcher who led the study.
The study modeled four scenarios for how religious affiliation could change, and in all cases it found a sharp drop in Christianity.
While the study doesn’t question why Christians are so disgruntled with their religion, Kramer said there are a number of theories that could help explain the phenomenon.
“Some scholars say it’s just an inevitable consequence of the development of development for societies,” says Kramer.
“Others point out that affiliation really started to decline in the ’90s. And it may not be a coincidence that this coincides with the rise of religious rights and more links between Christianity and conservative political ideology.”
For Campbell, the conflict between her teachings of faith and her own personal identity and values was at the core of her decision to leave.
“For me, especially, when I started being the weirdo, I couldn’t reconcile this church to basically admitting that they wanted kids like me to die or commit suicide,” she said. “I decided I had to choose myself and choose my happiness.”
“No religious affiliation” can become the majority
Along with the declining number of Christians in the US, Pew’s research also shows that the proportion of people who identify as “non-religious” is increasing and may one day become majority.
“That’s where most of the movement is going,” Kramer said. “We don’t see many people leaving Christianity to convert to a non-Christian religion.”
Importantly, Kramer says, “religious non-alignment” is not synonymous with atheism, as the term also includes people who identify as “agnostic,” “spiritual,” or “unremarkable.” .”
In the four scenarios Pew modeled, Americans with no religion are projected to approach or surpass Catholics by 2070. At the same time, the percentage of people who follow other religions is also predicted. expected to double.
“It was pretty much what I expected,” said Hasan Tauha, a student at Stanford University, of the growing number of non-religious people in the United States.
“I don’t think that’s surprising. I think it’s the product of modern conveniences. I think when life is good, when it’s better, you know, religion isn’t as important.”
Tauha is not a raised Christian. He spent most of his life as a devout Muslim but 4 years ago he decided to leave his religion and he now identifies as an atheist.
At one point, Hasan Tauha considered becoming a pope and even attended a religious school. However, he said that studying history, philosophy and other subjects made his mind question his faith.
Hasan Tauha
hide captions
switch captions
Hasan Tauha
At one point, Hasan Tauha considered becoming a pope and even attended a seminary. However, he said that studying history, philosophy and other subjects made his mind question his faith.
Hasan Tauha
Like Campbell, Tauha’s process of turning away from her faith was not just a matter of changing beliefs; it involved disconnecting from the religious community he had been attached to all his life.
“The process of leaving the faith was torture for me,” he said. “[But] I look back on my experience and leave faith as something generally helpful and positive. In fact, I’d say it’s still the formative experience of my life [and] gave me a new direction. So I look back on it respectfully. “
