With US youth losing religion, evangelicals struggle to spread ‘good news’

[guno]

American adults under 30 increasingly identify with no religion whatsoever, but some teenagers on the edge of this demographic are enthusiastically embracing faith. As the fraction of unaffiliated, agnostic, and atheist surpasses one-third of young people, proselytizing denominations are trying to win over the so-called “nones.”

'Great evangelical recession'
Some evangelical leaders suggest the movement is in decline, after it delivered a major political victory with the re-election of President George W. Bush in 2004, and then saw two subsequent national defeats at the ballot box.

In a New York Times op-ed, John S. Dickerson, senior pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Arizona, summarized the state of evangelism just after Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election: “This former juggernaut is coasting, at best, if not stalled or in reverse.”


With US youth losing religion evangelicals struggle to spread lsquo good news rsquo Al Jazeera America

 

[TheOldSchool]

 

[TheOldSchool]

 

[amrchaos]

The atheists and agnostics do not have the propaganda to win or even keep "nones"

Just remember, many of these "nones" do have a kind of theistic belief, its just that they do not commit to a religious denomination. I guess they are developing different notions of what God is.

 

[koshergrl]

Northwest Baptist Convention:

"Together we facilitate about 20 new church starts every year."

Northwest Baptist Convention randyadamsdotorg

 

[Hollie]

Northwest Baptist Convention:

"Together we facilitate about 20 new church starts every year."

Northwest Baptist Convention randyadamsdotorg

You cultists are losing.

Religion Among Americans Hits Low Point As More People Say They Have No Religious Affiliation Report

Religion Among Americans Hits Low Point, As More People Say They Have No Religious Affiliation: Report

 

[koshergrl]

The cultists are on the left.

Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds.

"New statistics show that atheists are in decline around the world. Meanwhile Christianity and Islam are the world's fastest growing religions. Despite their vocal nature, atheists are making up a smaller proportion of the world's population."
Atheists losing ground as Christianity surges - Living Faith - Home Family - News - Catholic Online

 

[koshergrl]

God is winning:

"In the last 100 years Christianity became the most diverse and global religion ever, with Christians from the Global South now outnumbering those from the Global North, and forming a majority in 158 of more than 200 countries and territories surveyed.
A new report from the invaluable Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the most important source for information on religion in today’s world, will make a lot of people unhappy. The report looks at religious belief worldwide and finds that Christianity in the last one hundred years grew to become the world’s most widespread and diverse religion as well as the largest. Roughly one third of the world’s almost seven billion people are (or at least say they are) Christian. The second largest religion, Islam, claims about one fourth of the world’s population.

"The most dramatic change in the last 100 years is Christianity’s global surge. In 1910, there were about 9 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, the Pew survey reports. Today there are more than half a billion. "

The Missionaries Win Christianity Becomes Global Religious Superpower - The American Interest

You will also note that in places where Christianity grows, the quality of life improves.

Where it recedes, quality of life also takes a hit.

yup.

 

[Hollie]

God is winning:

"In the last 100 years Christianity became the most diverse and global religion ever, with Christians from the Global South now outnumbering those from the Global North, and forming a majority in 158 of more than 200 countries and territories surveyed.
A new report from the invaluable Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the most important source for information on religion in today’s world, will make a lot of people unhappy. The report looks at religious belief worldwide and finds that Christianity in the last one hundred years grew to become the world’s most widespread and diverse religion as well as the largest. Roughly one third of the world’s almost seven billion people are (or at least say they are) Christian. The second largest religion, Islam, claims about one fourth of the world’s population.

"The most dramatic change in the last 100 years is Christianity’s global surge. In 1910, there were about 9 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, the Pew survey reports. Today there are more than half a billion. "

The Missionaries Win Christianity Becomes Global Religious Superpower - The American Interest

You will also note that in places where Christianity grows, the quality of life improves.

Where it recedes, quality of life also takes a hit.

yup.

Yup. The decline of superstitious, self-hating, hyper-religious loons.

Where cultists decline, quality of life improves.

Americans and religion increasingly parting ways new survey shows

By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | March 12, 2013

BERKELEY —
Religious affiliation in the United States is at its lowest point since it began to be tracked in the 1930s, according to analysis of newly released survey data by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Duke University. Last year, one in five Americans claimed they had no religious preference, more than double the number reported in 1990.

 

[koshergrl]

"The five fastest growing religions in terms of absolute numbers (new adherents per year, in millions):

1.

Christianity

25,210,195" http://fastestgrowingreligion.com/numbers.html[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]

[TBODY]

 

[koshergrl]

"
• At slightly less than 2 billion, Christianity makes up about a third of the world population and approximately the same as the two next largest religions combined; Islam and Hinduism. Christianity is also the only religion represented in all 238 surveyed countries.
• The largest religion (Christianity) is aprox. 68% larger than the second largest religion (Islam) and 246% larger than the third largest religion (Hinduism)."

Fastest Growing Religion Christianity

 

[Hollie]

http://tobingrant.religionnews.com/2014/01/27/great-decline-religion-united-states-one-graph/

Religiosity in the United States is in the midst of what might be called ‘The Great Decline.’ Previous declines in religion pale in comparison. Over the past fifteen years, the drop in religiosity has been twice as great as the decline of the 1960s and 1970s.



- See more at: The Great Decline 60 years of religion in one graph - Corner of Church and State

 

[koshergrl]

Our church started 20 new churches in the Northwest. We're doing great.

 

[Hollie]

Event Transcript Religion Trends in the U.S. Pew Research Center s Religion Public Life Project

Event Transcript: Religion Trends in the U.S.
The share of Americans who claim no particular religion doubled from 7% to 14% in the 1990s, as sociologists Michael Hout and Claude Fischer reported in an influential 2002 article based on the General Social Survey. A decade later, the Pew Research Center found that one-in-five U.S. adults (and fully a third of those ages 18-30) have no religious affiliation. Despite the rapid growth of the unaffiliated, Gallup editor Frank Newport cited survey data in a recent book to explain why he thinks “God is alive and well” in the United States. These findings raise many questions, including: What are the reasons for the rise of the religiously unaffiliated? Can organized religion thrive in the United States if growing numbers claim no religion? Is America, as a whole, becoming less religious or more religious? And how different, religiously, is the millennial generation from baby boomers and other recent generations?

 

[koshergrl]

That's alarming because they've also found that lack of religion is rampant in poorly educated, single parent households. You know, the ones most of our criminals come from.

As I said. Our society is declining, as it must when Christianity recedes.

 

[Hollie]

Organized Religion In America Continues Its Decline - 20 Percent Have No Preference

Religious affiliation in the US only began to be tracked in the 1930s but newly released survey data shows the curve continuing to go down. Last year, 20 percent of Americans claimed they had no religious preference, more than double the number reported in 1990. It doesn't mean they are atheists, that is 3% of the public, but that they do not subscribe to an organized religion. 'Spiritual' is the catch-all phrase they tend to use.




Down...... Down.....down.


Fear and superstition have never been positive attributes for humanity.

 

[koshergrl]

but Christianity has always been.

 

[Hollie]

but Christianity has always been.

..... a yolk of fear and superstition.

Graphs 5 signs of the Great Decline of religion in America - Corner of Church and State


We are in the midst of the “Great Decline of Religion” in America. In a previous post, I showed in one graph thousands of survey results. But here are just five measures of American religion reported annually by Gallup that each show the same thing: religion in America is on the decline.


- See more at: Graphs 5 signs of the Great Decline of religion in America - Corner of Church and State

 

[Blackrook]

Even if I was an atheist, I would prefer to live in a society where most people are Christians. Atheists have no moral fence posts to keep them from doing whatever the hell they feel like doing. I would not go in business with an atheist.

 

[Steven_R]

Even if I was an atheist, I would prefer to live in a society where most people are Christians. Atheists have no moral fence posts to keep them from doing whatever the hell they feel like doing. I would not go in business with an atheist.

I'm an atheist. I try to live my life with the simple philosophy of "don't be a dick." I try not to judge people, I don't lie, steal, or cheat, and I'm down with forgive and forget. Other than not believing in the whole God/Jesus/Spirit story, I try to live a good "Christian" life by loving my neighbor even though I'm a big fan of sex, drugs, and rock & roll.

Outside of the belief in mythological figures, how are we that different?