Atheism in America: New Study Shows More Americans Don’t Believe in God
A new study shows that the number of Americans who believe in God has fallen dramatically, adversely affecting organized religion in modern society.
The belief in God has long been a major sticking point for Americans, with most claiming some sort of faith. But according to a new Pew Research Study, there has been a decrease in the number of people flocking to religion, or at least those who actively participate.
The study sampled about 35,000 adults in the U.S. The findings showed that a great fewer of them now do certain things associated with organized religion, including going to church, praying, attending religious ceremonies and generally believing that God exists.
There was also a reverse side to that data. The study said that despite roughly 75 percent of Americans claiming a religion, there were also a large percentage of "nones," or people who do not claim any religion whatsoever. Meanwhile, the number of faithful has remained largely unchanged, at least in terms of those who update their religious status.
The "nones" are still considered a minority in the study, but their growing numbers have largely been attributed to the millennial generation.
Even though the share of U.S. adults that still claim to believe in God is particularly high, especially when compared to other highly advanced and industrialized nations, the number has seen a modest decrease over the past eight years since the 2007 study.
In 2007, that number was at 92 percent, but this study showed that the number has dropped to 89 percent in less than a decade. Meanwhile, the share of people who claimed to be "absolutely certain" that God exists dropped from 71 percent in 2007 to 63 percent in 2014.
When coupled with the statistically relevant information about people who are less engaged in organized religion, those numbers illustrate a steady fall in religion.
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