It looks like the USA is belatedly following the rest of the developed world in rejecting the intellectual absurdity and justification for hate that is Christianity today, if this poll is anything to go by.
It was conducted by the Barna Group which is hosted by Arizona Christian University, who, to their credit, do little to gloss over the findings which should terrify those whose livelihood depends on people turning up to church and giving their tax-free donations. Amongst the main findings of the AWVI 2021 are:
This collapse has been especially marked in the Hispanic social grouping, which historically had been the main source of growth in Catholicism, or at least acted to replace the losses to 'nones' and other Christian sects:
- dramatic changes in the faith of American Hispanics, with a decrease in the number of Hispanic Catholics, accompanied by a sharp increase in Hispanic “Don’ts”—those who don’t believe, don’t know, or don’t care if God exists;
- fast growth in Islamic, as well as Eastern and New Age religions;
- a consistent 30-year decline in both Christianity and confidence in religion;
- a breathtaking drop in four critical spiritual indicators: belief in God, belief in the Bible, recognition of salvation through Jesus Christ, and possession of a biblical worldview;
- and a surprising increase in belief in reincarnation, even among Christians.
Hispanic FaithThe bad news for other Christian sects is that they have failed to gain from this decline in Hispanic identity with Catholicism. In fact, the big gainers are what the report calls "Don'ts" - those who say they don't know, don't care or don't believe that God exists. This group can be approximated to the 'Nones', i.e, those who don't self-identify as affiliated to any religion.
For the past several decades Hispanics have been a major growth segment for the Catholic Church in America. A large majority of the Hispanic community has traditionally described themselves as Catholic. But as Hispanics have succumbed to the same acculturation pressures as other people groups in the United States, that church loyalty has significantly diminished.
An examination of the church affiliation of Hispanics shows that their relationship to Catholicism is rapidly shifting. In 1991, 59% of Hispanics in the U.S. self-identified as Catholics. That figure dropped a bit over the next decade, declining to 54% in 2001. However, there was nearly double the level of decline over the following decade, dipping below the 50-percent mark to just 45% in 2011. An even more substantial dip has occurred in the past 10 years, falling to just 28% in 2021. In other words, the proportion of Hispanic adults in the United States who claim to be Catholic has been sliced in half, from 59% to 28% in the last 30 years.
A mere 3% of Hispanics fell into the Don’ts category in 1991, but that tripled by 2001 (to 9%), grew by another one-third over the next decade (12% in 2011) but then exploded to nearly one-third of Hispanics by 2021 (31%). That means the proportion of Don’ts among Hispanics has blossomed tenfold in the last three decades.The net gain by other religious demographics from this loss of affiliation of Hispanic Americans with Catholicism have been just 2 percentage points for Protestants, 1 percentage point for other non-Christian faitsh and 28 percentage point for "Don'ts"!
| Faith Affiliation | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 59% | 54% | 45% | 28% |
| Protestant | 30% | 35% | 37% | 32% |
| Non-Christian Faith | 8% | 2% | 6% | 9% |
| Don'ts | 3% | 9% | 12% | 31% |
| Source: American Worldview Inventory 2021, Cultural Research Center, Arizona Christian University; OmniPoll™ (1991, 2001, 2011), Barna Group, Ventura, CA | ||||
The survey found that the main demographic groups driving these changes are, primarily the young (18-36 years-old), with 43% of this group identifying as "Don't". Of the main politic demographics, liberals (49%) and non-registered (40%) are "Don'ts", and geographically, the North East and California are both 40% "Don't".
One manifestation of the loss of identity with any particular religious dogma is a growth in what appears to be muddled or confused theology, with 'exotic' religions like Buddhism and Islam increasing, albeit to only a few percentage points but a large increase in relative terms. Also growing appears to be a contradictory belief of many Christians, in reincarnation. 24% of self-identified 'born again' Christians who profess to believe they face an eternity in God's presence if they confess their sins and accept Jesus, with the alternative of hellfire if they don't, also believe they may be reincarnated. Clearly both can't be true.
Belief in reincarnation was found to be increasingly common, especially in the following demographics:
The report identifies four faith-based measures, the decline of which are "the most telling reflection of the decline of Christianity as the preferred faith in America. It says the decline in these is "breathtaking":
- Our youngest adults, Millennials (51%)
- Our fastest-growing racial group, Hispanics (54%)
- Our parents of young children (47%)
- Residents of our largest states, which have greater influence on the nation (43%)
- LGBTQ adults, who are among the most influence-driven segments (65%)
- Liberals, currently the most politically-potent ideological segment (47%)
- Belief in the existence of God as the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the universe who still rules the world today—86% in 1991 to 46% in 2021.
- Belief that the Bible is the accurate and reliable word of God—70% in 1991; 41% in 2021.
- Belief that when they die the respondent will go to Heaven only because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior—36% in 1991; 30% in 2021 (note: this measured as high as 45% and was 39% in 2011).
- Possess a biblical worldview—12% in 1995; 6% in 2021.
| Indicator | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hold an orthodox, biblical view of God | 86% | 72% | 67% | 46% |
| Believe the Bible is the accurate word of God | 70 | 60 | 62 | 41 |
| Believe they will go to heaven solely due to confession of sins, acceptance of Jesus Christ as their personal savior | 36 | 41 | 39 | 30 |
| Possess a biblical worldview | 12* | n/a | n/a | 6 |
| Source: American Worldview Inventory 2021, Cultural Research Center, Arizona Christian University; OmniPoll™ (1991, 2001, 2011), Barna Group, Ventura, CA. | ||||
The director of research for this group, George Barna concluded:
We are faced with a young-adult population that is breaking the established patterns; they do not embrace many of the core beliefs and behaviors that characterized those who came before them.I do hope he is right. The four years of the Trump presidency, when evangelical Christians demonstrated their hypocritical readiness to abandon the basic tenets of their professed religion in pursuit of political power, influence and patronage, can't have gone unnoticed, nor can the cosy association between the white evangelical protestant churches and overtly neo-fascist white supremacism with their reactionary response to the BLM movement. This response was tantamount to proclaiming that, to a white evangelical Christian, Black lives don't matter and the police should be free to summarily execute black people with impunity, in a stratified society in which the law differentiates on race grounds and acts to keep the lowest strata of society in their allotted place, with extra-judicial killings.
This new America we see emerging is radically different—demographically, politically, relationally and spiritually. It is a young, non-white, mobile population. This group is largely indifferent to the United States, and is demonstrably skeptical of the nation’s history, foundations, traditions, and ways of life. They are technologically advanced, sexually unrestrained, emotionally unpredictable, and a spiritual hybrid. Christian ministry as practiced for the last five decades will not be effective with this unique population.
Fundamentalist Christianity under Donald Trump showed its true colours and became an overtly nasty, racist, divisive, and hate-driven cult, giving excuses to those for whom hate seems to be the highest of motives. Its demise in a civilised society is long overdue. Hopefully, it is now in terminal decline even in its heartland.
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