on the CARM board back in 2008 an atheist put up this happy post about how atheist had suddenly shot up form 3% to 16%.It turns out he was misreading the table of numbers, atheism had actually gone down or stayed the same but it was at only 1.6%. He didn't see the decimal. This is emblematic of how atheists are contractually exaggerating their numbers.
"Good News--New Study supports rising tide of non belief!"
The Study in Question is the Pew Forum on Religion and public Life study
Title:
U.S. Religious Land Scape June 28, 2008.
Great news--new study supports the rising tide of Nonbelief
The Pew Center for Religion and the Public Life just came out with a new large poll on religious affiliations in the U.S. http://religions.pewforum.org. Tally up the numbers, and you'll see that Christians make up about 76.8 percent of the U.S. population, and those with no affiliation (atheists, agnostics, don't identify with any religious group but may consider themselves vaguely "spiritual") was 16.1 percent. Another .8 percent said the don't know or refused to answer--since that is not what any God-fearing religious person would say, I would add it to the "No Affilation" side of the ledger. Rounding, we have Christians as 77% and the non-religious at 17%. All other religions are in the low single digits.
The study overall found that people move around quite a bit religiously and a large percentage don't have the same religion as their parents. However, the "no affiliation" group was clearly growing and were losing far few people than they were gaining. The non-belief crowd is like a slow rising flood--there was a time we would have been in the low single digits, but now we are up to 17% overall and are an even higher percentage of the young. With each passing generation, more and more people are considering themselves as non-religious.
In my lifetime, I expect to see this number get up to 25% or more overall, and my kids could see a USA where the majority of Americans are finally secular rather than religious in their world view. Hallelujah!
Despite the positively stated title and the exultation in the closing line, some atheists actually said "no claim has been made."
he's trying to claim atheism at 17% this is such folly. They are assuming affiliation is synonymous with belief in God! So clearly foolish and when one examines the study the breakdown of unaffiliated the actual number given to atheist population in America is 1.6%! they are counting anyone not a Christian as an atheist!
(for the first page of the study).
This study actually shows atheism shrinking as the research I have done previously indicated it was at 3% of US pop. they have at 1.6%.
I find atheists doing this all the time. I've seen them count all of Buddhism as atheism so they can say they are a major world religion. IF they really believe they are right, why aren't they just content to be right? why do they take such solace in bogus inflation of numbers? Gallop shows more people in Japan are Christian than ever before.
The category of "non affiliated" leaves room for religious belief. but to be fair, he wasn't just ignorant of what decimal points do. The whole category happened to be 16% and the atheists 1.6% so he was going by the category, not taking out the decimal.
still, he should have known.
| *Adherents.com = 4% U.S. Pop is Ahtiest |
Adherents.com shows Atheists at 0.4% of U.S. Population.
Atheist 1990 adult pop: 902,000 2004= 1,272,986 Percentrage of Pop = 0.4%
a note on this statistical table says:
| *Gallup polls show 6% U.S. Pop with 3% error |
Gallup organization
finds 6% atheist in U.S. 2008, within 3% margin of error this agrees with the other polls.
May 9-11, 2008.
Which of the following statements comes closest to your belief about God -- you believe in God, you don't believe in God, but you do believe in a universal spirit or higher power, or you don't believe in either? (findings: 6% say Neither, 78% believe in God, 15% beleive in universal spirit, 1% no opinion).
| *Pew Study at top = 1.6% U.S. Pop |
2004 total population numbers were calculated by multiplying each group's percent of the total adult 2001 population (207,882,353) by the 2004 total population (using the June 1, 2004 U.S. Census Bureau extrapolated estimate of 293,382,953 total Americans). The U.S. Census Bureau total U.S. population estimate for 2000, based on the actual 2000 Census, was: 281,421,906. The U.S. Census Bureau total U.S. population estimate for July 1, 2001 was: 293,655,404. The adult (ages 18 and over) population estimate for July 1, 2001 was: 220,377,406. The total adult population for 2001 used in the 2001 ARIS study (apparently counting only adults aged 21 and over) was: 207,882,353. For 2001 figures, see: 293655404http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/SC-est2004-01.html. This method of extrapolating the 2004 total population of each religious group from the 2001 adult population of each group does not factor in differences in the average number of children per adult for each religious group.
While stats on Christian population have been underrated! New study finds more Christians in Japan than previous thought.
More People Claim Christian Faith in Japan
By
Audrey Barrick
audrey@christianpost.com
Sun, Mar. 19 2006 10:24 AM ET
The latest Gallup poll revealed a much higher percentage of Christians in Japan compared to previous surveys, including a surprising high number of teens who claimed the Christian faith.
More People Claim Christian Faith in Japan
Japanese people walk along Omotesando, a fashionable street in Tokyo, March 8, 2006. The latest Gallup poll revealed a much higher percentage of Christians in Japan compared to previous surveys, including a surprising high number of teens who claimed the
In a country where only one percent is Christian among those who claim a faith, findings from one of the most extensive surveys of the country ever taken showed a Christian population of six percent. Meanwhile, the most popular and traditional religions – Buddhism and Shintoism – suffered declines.
Of the 30 percent of adults who claimed to have a religion, 75 percent considered themselves Buddhists, 19 percent Shintoists and 12 percent Christians, according to the Gallup Organization. Japanese youth revealed even more alarming statistics. Of the 20 percent who professed to have a religion, 60 percent called themselves Buddhists, 36 percent Christians and Shintoists.
"These projections mean that seven percent of the total teenage population say they are Christians," said George Gallup Jr. who called the numbers "stunning."
The study - the single largest study ever attempted, according to the social scientists in Japan - examined preteens, teens, young adults, adults and seniors.
"When they saw the design of the questionnaire, Japanese experts argued that the Japanese would never answer the socially delicate and/or the highly personal questions," said Bill McKay, project research director. "However, it was our professional hunch that the Japanese were ready to talk and when they did they told us more than we had asked for. The data is the most revealing look behind the face of Japan and shatters many WWII myths of the Japanese culture."
McKay is also one of the producers of a documentary that is slated for release later this year. The poll was conducted in association with American Trademark Research and MJM Group in 2001 for use in the documentary.
"In my 50 years of polling, there has been no study that I would consider as important as this one, because it provides insight into a fascinating culture," said Gallup.
Delving into more specific attitudes, the poll also found a note of hopelessness in the responses to questions related to morality, spirituality and general views about life.
"And there is little evidence of eternal hope, although a considerable number do believe in some form of life afterlife," noted Gallup. And "there is little belief in 'absolutes,' and this is true across the all-generational groups."
In comparison to teens in the United States, Japanese teens showed a pessimistic outlook on life. Previous studies found that 85 percent of teens in Japan wondered why they existed while 22 percent of U.S. teens had the same thought. Additionally, 13 percent of Japanese teens always see a reason for their being on Earth compared to 76 percent of teens in the U.S, and 11 percent of Japanese teens wished they had never been born while 3 percent of U.S. teens wished the same.
Within an estimated population of 127.4 million in Japan, academics estimate that 20 to 30 percent of adults actively practice a particular faith, but the Agency for Cultural Affairs reported in 2003 that 213,826,700 citizens claimed a religion, according to the U.S. Department of State's latest International Religious Freedom Report.
Is Religion Declining in America or in the world?
Atheists are always pointing out statistics that try to indicate this. They are not really as impressive as they might seem.
Gallup poll published online Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Show a chart that appears to give a steady decline in religion from 1992 to 2010.If we examine the actual numbers we see more evidence of cyclical nature than a real decline. This graphs the question "how important would you say Religion is in your life?"
In 92 58% say "very important." In 2010 54% say "very important." this appears to be a 4% decline but it's really not exactly. In 97-98 it went up to 60 and 61, then began decline again to 58 in 01. From that point it went back up in o2,03 to 60-61% again and started another decline to the 4 point difference of 54. We would need to view it form a longer persective but it appears this is really a cycle. It may have been down at 54% in 91, and it may go back up to 58% in 213.
Throughout American history chruch attendance has fluctuated between 45-60%. It usually averages at 50%. We can't equate chruch going with belief necessarily, people go to chruch when they don't believe, and some believe when they don't go to chruch. I think gives us a general sense that religion in America is stable, it has been so for 200 years plus and will probalby remain so for a long time to come.