[lbo-talk] U.S. religious ID: "none" makes a big gain

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Thu Oct 7 07:31:15 PDT 2004


Read the latest: <http://www.jewishresearch.org/PDFs/Religion_Report2.pdf>

Approximately one of every six Americans has no religious identity

Sixteen percent of United States adults either fail to place themselves in any denominational category (answering "none" or "no religion"), or they describe themselves as secular, humanist, ethical-culturalist, agnostic, or atheist.

Individuals who identify with no religion are a growing population

Based on a review of survey evidence, the proportion of non-identifiers appears to have grown substantially in the last 10-12 years. The non-religiously identified make up the third largest group in the country likely to be. Religious identification shows a steadily increasing association with age. It is unclear whether this represents a persistent growth trend in non-identifiers, or if it reflects a snapshot in time, with younger people likely to become more affiliated with religion as they pass through customary life-cycle stages. Non-identification in the United States likely will continue to increase.

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