The Rise of the Non-Christian Coalition

[YankeyMCC]

I haven't followed through on all his sources to try and test the validity but it sure sounds nice.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/12/14858/7477

[beam me up scottie]

1. This appears to be the source of some of the info:

http://www.gc.cuny.edu/studies/key_findings.htm

American Religious Identification Survey
The Graduate Center
The City University of New York (CUNY)

This is an incredible source Yank, damn.
What a find, you rock!

[Zenlitened]

2. Am I reading this properly? "No religion" jumped from 8.2%...

... to 14% in the past ten years? Cool. :)

[Discord]

3. "We're coming out! Guns Blazing!"

Al Pacino in Devils Advocate.

[progressoid]

4. Some interesting stats there

The top three "gainers" in America's vast religious market place appear to be Evangelical Christians, those describing themselves as Non-Denominational Christians and those who profess no religion. Looking at patterns of religious change from this perspective, the evidence points as much to the rejection of faith as to the seeking of faith among American adults. Indeed, among those who previously had no religion, just 5% report current identification with one or another of the major religions.

So only 5% of those with no religion "crossed over". Perhaps the squawking by fundies is an attempt to stave off their demise. Could be the beginning of the end? :toast:

[LisaLynne]

5. I hope so.

I read an article by an expert on Islamic Fundamentalism which postulated that actually religions turn to Fundamentalism when they are in decline and actually on the way out. He said that as Muslim countries became more modern, people were starting to turn away from Islam in general. That was when Islamic Fundamentalism became more prominent and forceful.

The arguments made a lot of sense to me at the time and I wish for the life of me I could find it again. Anyway, it made me start to think that maybe all this Christian Fundamentalism meant the same thing for Christianity. It would be nice to think that people are, in general, starting to wake up and that is why SOME people are turning to Fundamentalism, to force the world back into the black and white, "we're right, everybody else is wrong" mentality.

[GOPFighter]

6. Great Link!

Chris Bowers statistics confirmed my gut feeling: the LAST thing Democrats should do is pander to the Christian fundies and evangelicals. Democrats need to emphasize respect for religion but insist on maintaining the wall between religion and politics. I think that's what the majority of Americans want.

I also agree with LisaLynne, that the current ascendancy of the hard-line fundamentalists is a response to the decline in Christianity. They've managed to cash in on the feeling shared by many Americans, Christian and non-Christian, that American culture has turned trashy. In a democracy, however, their shrill, wacky beliefs will eventually alienate the vast majority of Americans and they will once again end up as a relatively small, probably scorned (which they thrive on), ineffectual segment of the population.

[Discord]

7. I agree that its a bad idea to pander to the far right wing

extremists. They are a poison pill and also agree that much may be in response to the scandals and the dropping numbers.

I hope your right that they will eventually alienate themselves from mainstream society by holding such extremist views, cause for them... the sooner, the better.