The fastest growing religion is...

[NicoleWasHere]

...no religion, at all.


New survey: growing number of Americans claim no religious affiliation




The only religious tradition that’s growing in the United States seems to be no religion.

“Nones,“ or those people who don’t identify with a religious tradition, are growing in number.

A growing number of Americans simply answer “none” or “no religion” if anyone ever asks and research shows they are the fastest-growing segment of the national religious landscape.

“You do see more people moving more to non-denominational churches that don’t identify necessarily with a denomination, versus a religion,“ said Dallas resident Kevin Canida, “So no, it doesn’t surprise me at all.“

These people tend to be skeptics, not outright atheists, and some experts say churches are at least partly to blame.

“When they began looking for someone that they could lean on and they could articulate spiritual values and talk about spiritual paths and prayer,“ said theologist Dr. Frederick Schmidt, “what they found was that Oprah was closer to being prepared to talk about those spiritual issues than the average clergy was.“

A new survey by Trinity College shows that within 20 years, a quarter of Americans will claim no religious affiliation.

Some say people are just tired of church politics.

“I think people often want to have their relationship directly with God,“ said Dallas resident Nancy Blake. “Organized religion gets so, so organized that they feel as though they have to fulfill a number of requirements with their time and do things that are maybe uncomfortable for them.“

Experts says these trends likely mean the debate about spiritual and religious values will get more complex in the decades ahead

New survey: growing number of Americans claim no religious affiliation | WCBD

[lurkur]

Good, more people should take off their shackles.

[Shinola]

I was just saying yesterday how glad and relieved I am that I don't belong to any religion. And not unlike the article says, I found (at age 11) when I had a real spiritual crisis, my church was the last place I could turn for help. Church--even though mine was not an extremist one--was sort of about enforcing group norms, and having any kind of problem or crisis or question was not really acceptable; it was like a tacit admission that you had fallen from grace or something. A failure, rather than a normal part of life or even an opportunity to become a deeper person.

If religion can't stand up to questioning and searching, then it's useless for anything but inducing conformity and causing conflict.

[Alysheba]

Bound to happen. Glad it was in my lifetime.

[Quazar]

I'm sure there have always been many people who have felt this way but were afraid to admit they didn't believe in religion or God. It's just become "slightly" more acceptable to say so now. There is still a stigma though if you are a non-believer. In the US - there is huge societal pressure to believe in something vs. nothing. The most obvious example is that you would never be elected POTUS. An overwhelming majority of people would never vote for someone who wasn't affilated with a religion. Not only that but religion is usually a focal point in their lives.

[Novice]

Typically American-centric article... Its not true for the rest of the world.

The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions

Islam
Growth rate*: 1.84 percent
Adherents: 1.3 billion
Behind the trend: High birthrates in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe

The Bahai Faith*
Growth rate: 1.70 percent
Adherents: 7.7 million
Behind the trend: High birthrates in India

Sikhism
Growth rate: 1.62 percent
Adherents: 25.8 million
Behind the trend: High birthrates in India

Jainism
Growth rate: 1.57 percent
Adherents: 5.9 million
Behind the trend: High birthrates in India

Hinduism
Growth rate: 1.52 percent
Adherents: 870 million
Behind the trend: Surprise! High birthrates in India

Christianity
Growth rate: 1.38 percent
Adherents: 2.2 billion
Behind the trend: High birthrates and conversions in the global South

*Growth rates over the period from 2000 to 2005; all figures from the nondenominational World Christian Database, a project of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
*The entry on the Bahai faith was revised to reflect the concerns of readers. Originally, the item was entitled "Bahaism," and described the religion as "an offshoot of Islam." Additionally, the sentence on Israel was clarified to better reflect the fact that Bahais are treated well in that country, but face discrimination elsewhere in the Middle East.

OK, so its from 2007, but I doubt its changed much since it based on birthrates.

[celeb_2006]

I used to be pretty religious when I was a kid, mainly because I went to a catholic grade school.

But now I am older and I don't affiliate with any religion. I hate to say it but I just cannot bring myself into believing in some higher spiritual being. There really hasn't been any proof that says otherwise, but yea I guess that's why it's called faith.

I think when we die, that's it. Total nothing. I can understand why people would turn to religion for a sense of comfort and peace.

[Grimmlok]

having experienced a number of paranormal events in my life, i'm pretty sure there's some other plane of existence... but as for that heaven/hell thing, no.. just a different way of being

[Little Wombat]

Originally Posted by Novice

Typically American-centric article... Its not true for the rest of the world.

Does the article you cite list atheism as well or does it just refer to religions (and not include secular portions of the global population)?

[nana55]

I believe there is "something" It sure isn't what people now worship though. I think there is something after death but not heaven or hell.

[ManxMouse]

Prognosis: worm food.

[Chimera]

^^what Manx said.

[Sarzy]

Originally Posted by ManxMouse

Prognosis: worm food.

Lulz. Nothing beats getting straight to the point!

[olivia]

Originally Posted by Novice

Typically American-centric article... Its not true for the rest of the world.

The article stated that survey was of US America. Why do you expect anything different?

Originally Posted by ManxMouse

Prognosis: worm food.

Pretty much.