As Holy Week continues, Americans leave the church, but not God: Study
As Millions gather at the church A quiet revolution is unfolding across the country for Holy Week services. More Americans are leaving Pugh.
Major new research shows that beliefs have not disappeared, but they are changing. A decade-long research project found that fewer people attend services or identify with religion, but many people pray, meditate, and follow their faith on their own terms.
The nationally representative and probability-based study published in Socius: Sociological Study of Dynamic World for a Dynamic World, followed adults from 2003 to 2013.
Researchers used research data, interviews and educational records to understand how religious beliefs and practices evolved over time.
In his own words in Donald Trump’s relationship with God: “I have been saved.”
During Bible studies, people put their hands in prayer. Researchers report significant generational changes, indicating that younger Americans have reduced involvement in both public and private religious practices. (istock)
What they find points to major changes. People are not from spirituality, but from religious institutions.
Weekly church attendance fell from 26% to 8%. The number of young people who said they didn’t attend the service jumped from 17% to nearly 58%.
Religious affiliation – whether to identify as a Christian; Catholic or otherwise – It fell from 89% to 60%.
But my belief in God didn’t fall that sharply. I soaked from 83% to 66%.
And while fewer people pray every day, the decline was less rapid as in church attendance, the study found. Meanwhile, the number of people practicing meditation and other mental routines has almost doubled.
Recent research has found a generational decline in private prayer, especially among young Americans who are less likely to engage in religious practices outside formal worship spaces. (istock)
Researchers call this “individualization.” Instead of belonging to the church or following religious organizations, more people are shaping their spiritual paths.
What is one of the biggest reasons why people have left an organized religion? Conflicts with political values, especially on issues such as same-sex marriage and the role of traditional gender.
Many participants explained that they walked from the church they saw as having judgmentality with their beliefs or a step away.
One ex-catholic After hearing a sermon about same-sex marriage, he said he had stopped going to Mass.
“I loved coming to church,” he said. “No more.”
Another participant said she believes in God, but “it’s not the way the church tells you.”
Despite declining church attendance, this study shows that many older adults continue to pray privately. This is less common among younger age groups. (istock)
The study also found that political views made a difference.
The Liberal Party was more likely to leave religion than conservatives, and same-sex marriage and abortion support was associated with a greater decline in church attendance and religious affiliation. However, this trend was not limited to one political group. Attendees declined overall at different rates.
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Rather than explaining this as secular or non-religious, researchers argue that this is a change in the way people practice their faith.
Convictions have shifted from formal institutions to more personal, often private expressions of spirituality. Many who have left organized religions still say they pray, meditate, or believe in something bigger.