For the first time, “No Religion” is the most popular choice for Americans

Tying Catholicsm and evangelicalism,:

“‘Religious nones’ as they are called by researchers, are a diverse group made up of atheists, agnostics, the spiritual, and those who are no specific organized religion in particular. A rejection of organized religion is the common thread they share,” CNN reports.

“It is the first time we have seen this. The same questions have been asked for 44 years,” political scientist and Baptist pastor Ryan Burge told CNN. Timothy Meads, “ICYMI: ‘No Religion’ Now As Popular As Catholicism, Evangelicalism” at Townhall

While there is certainly a decline in organized religion in the Western world, in North America the near-collapse of mainline Protestantism is the main driver of the current numbers.

Put another way, people who, forty years ago, would have cited the church their parents once attended as their “religion” now say “no religion.” That’s probably because, in current urban society, they no longer experience social penalties for being honest. It’s still a decline but to discuss it intelligently, we need to see clearly what it is a decline in.

Note; The survey involved only 2000 people but it probably does capture an important trend.

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