Half of Americans concerned by religious decline, poll shows
July 03, 2013
While about half of all Americans believe that a decline in religious faith is bad for the country, nearly 40% think it makes no difference, according to a new Pew opinion poll.
Pew found that 48% of respondents saw it as unfortunate that surveys show “more people who are not religious.” But 39% said that the decline in the number of religious believers would not make a difference to society, while 11% said it was a welcome development.
Among white respondents who identified themselves as Catholics, a majority (56%) said that the decline in religion was a bad thing, and only 5% thought it was a good thing, while 38% said it did not matter. Among Hispanic Catholics the number who welcomed the trend (11%) and the number who thought it indifferent (48%) were both higher, while only 36% saw the decline in religion as a problem for society.
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Posted by: unum -
Jul. 03, 2013 11:47 PM ET USA
I wonder how many of the people who "identified themselves as Catholics" actually practice their faith (Sunday Mass and regular receipt of the sacraments at a minimum)? That said, for practicing Catholics, the Church offers sermons on Scripture rather than how to live the faith because we don't want to upset anyone. These homilies are delivered to parents, but a majority of them have no adult faith formation. We shouldn't be surprised a the number of non-practicing Catholics
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Posted by: TheJournalist64 -
Jul. 03, 2013 7:37 PM ET USA
This Hispanic statistic is very troubling, but we have neglected catechesis and welcoming in that community.
