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Archive for the ‘secular’ Category

Fewer than half of Americans may be Christian by 2070, according to new projections

September 13, 2022 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — America has long prided itself on being a country where people can choose whatever religion they like. The majority has long chosen Christianity. By 2070, that may no longer be the case. If current trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the population —

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‘God-denying’ women and self-replacing Christians: How religion changes birthrates

September 8, 2022 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — According to Bloomberg News, South Korea’s fertility rate dropped from .84 babies per woman to .81 in 2021, the lowest figure on record. If current trends continue, the number of people in South Korea will be the same in 2100 as it was in 1960. In response, the government

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How America’s youth lost its religion in 1990s

April 13, 2022 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — Possibly the most oft-repeated statistic in American religion is the rise of the religiously unaffiliated from just 5% of the population in the early 1970s to about 30% of adults in 2022. In a field where shifts typically move at a glacial pace, that demographic factoid may represent the

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Study: Women of no faith face discrimination — when they are seen at all

March 22, 2022 By Alejandra Molina (RNS) — A survey of nonreligious people reveals that women are more likely than others to encounter stigma and discrimination in nearly every area of their lives — social media, education, employment, the military and within their families — because of their beliefs. The report, “Nonreligious Women in America,” released Tuesday (March

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Curmudgeons or not, atheists like those of other faiths more than Christians do, study finds

July 2, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — David Speed does not worship Satan — a fact that helped win over his wife-to-be early in their relationship. On one of their first dates, Speed’s wife, who grew up Anglican, asked him what faith he belonged to. When Speed replied that he was an atheist, she

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Pagan politics are not as uniform (or liberal) as you think

May 26, 2021 By Heather Greene (RNS) — In 2017, witches around the United States, and a few around the world, turned their magic to political activism, performing a spell to “bind” then-President Donald Trump “and all who abet him.” While the former president had this politicizing effect on many pagans, the spell was not

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Being ‘godless’ might be good for your health, new study finds

March 4, 2021 By Bob Smietana Produced in collaboration with the Religion News Service.  (RNS) — In recent decades, a number of studies have found that being religious can be good for your health. People who regularly attend services are less likely to smoke, may be less likely to use drugs or be obese and may live longer than those who don’t attend services.

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Are Democrats ‘spiritual’ and Republicans ‘religious’? It’s not that simple.

A new survey suggests that the ‘God gap’ may actually be better defined as a spirituality gap. But there is plenty of room on both sides for peace, inspiration and love.

The decline of the religious left in the age of Trump

Hopes for a revived religious left may be based more on a wing and a prayer than solid evidence of any such new awakening. Rather, there are several signs indicating “a notable decline” in political activity among religious liberals, new research indicates..

'Nones' may be influential swing voting bloc

No political party should take the “nones” for granted, new research suggests. “Nones now have the potential to rival evangelical Protestants as a politically relevant constituency,” a sociologist stated.

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