The Pew Research Center released their new report on Tuesday, citing a trend in the United States that's "big, broad, and everywhere." Entitled "America's Changing Religious Landscape," the report is a fascinating snapshot of a country in the middle of a massive religious shift. Though Christianity still dominates our population with 70%, that's a significant drop from 78% in 2007. "Overall," says Pew's Alan Cooperman, "there are more than four former Christians for every convert to Christianity."
While Christianity appears to be in decline, both atheists and agnostics nearly doubled their share of what Pew calls the "religious marketplace." In fact, the total number of those claiming an "unaffiliated" status (i.e. atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular) climbed nearly seven percent in seven years.
From Pew:
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages. The same trends are seen among whites, blacks and Latinos; among both college graduates and adults with only a high school education; and among women as well as men.
In short — hell yeah.
