7.5 million Americans lost their religion since 2012
500th plans underway
Under the theme “Freed and Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God’s Grace in Action,” the ELCA’s anniversary observance of the Lutheran Reformation will include worship, learning and service events for members. Events include the 2015 Worship Jubilee in Atlanta in July, which is being planned in collabora- tion with the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. In 2016 the Grace Gathering will be held in conjunction with the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in New Orleans, another chance for members to note the Ref- ormation and plan local and regional activities. Information is available at
www.elca500.org and on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/elca500.
Changing influences
“God, family and country” might make for a good country music tune, but that’s not how most Americans see the strongest influences on their personal identity. The order is family first (62 percent), followed by “being an American” (52 percent). “Reli- gious faith” comes in third (38 per- cent)—if it’s mentioned at all, accord- ing to a survey released in March by The Barna Group. The results were also skewed by age.
Family first: • Millennials, 53 percent. • Gen Xers, 61 percent. • Baby boomers, 64 percent. • Elders, 76 percent.
Being an American: • Millennials, 34 percent. • Gen Xers, 37 percent. • Baby boomers, 66 percent. • Elders, 80 percent.
Religious faith: • Millennials, 28 percent. • Gen Xers, 34 percent. • Baby boomers, 45 percent. • Elders, 46 percent.
A
recent survey shows in stark relief that what some are calling “The Great Decline”
of religion in America continues: Since 2012 the U.S. has about 7.5 million more people who are no longer active in religion. The 2014 General Social Sur-
vey (GSS) was released in March. It’s the gold standard for socio- logical surveys. Funded by the National Science Foundation, this multimillion-dollar study gives the most accurate data on Ameri- can society, including religion. (An impor tant point
to
remember about the data: Each percentage point increase rep- resents a growth of 2.5 million adults. So a three-point rise in sec- ularity, for example, means that about 7.5 million people have left religion since 2012.) 1. More Americans prefer “no religion.” When asked their reli- gious preference, more than 1 in 5 Americans now says “none.” Up until the 1990s, the percent- age that was in this group known
Bishop addresses race
Citing recent events across the U.S., ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton noted that “we are not liv- ing in a post-racist society.” In a let- ter and video message to the ELCA, Eaton expressed the need for conver- sation—not only among Lutherans but “all Americans”—about racism in “honest and productive ways.” View her video message at http://youtu. be/9YuMSc6XlzA and letter with ac- companying resources at http://bit. ly/1IvlWrR.
“
as “nones” hovered in the single digits. The 2014 GSS showed that nones are 21 percent of the popula- tion, up one point from 2012. There are nearly as many
Americans who claim no religion as there are Roman Catholics (24 percent). If this growth continues, in a few years the largest “religion” in the U.S. may be no religion at all. 2. Americans aren’t going to church like they used to. The number of Americans who never darken a church door is also at a record high. Over a third of Amer- icans (34 percent) never attend a worship service (other than wed- dings and other ceremonies). This is a three-point increase from just a few years earlier. 3. More Americans say they never pray. Is this just a departure from organized religion? Even with people no longer identifying with religion or attending worship ser- vices, they still pray. Nearly 1 in 6 Americans never do.
© 2015 Religion News Service Reader call
For its August cover story, The Lutheran wants to know how your congregation’s life and ministry have been affected if you’ve experienced a dwindling of attendance and giving. What can or can’t you do? The arti- cle’s focus will be on doing more with less, not the reasons behind the “less.” Please respond with no more than 300 words (and your contact infor- mation) to
julie.sevig@thelutheran. org or The Lutheran, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631 by May 15.
The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognized, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza.
Pope Francis, interviewed by Mexican television on the second anniversary of his election, when asked what he doesn’t like about being pope.
” May 2015 9 10
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