Religiosity on the decline

[Star Cluster]

I know some of you don't like the Huffington Post, but still thought you might find this interesting.  I know the results of the poll took me by surprise, especially the US numbers.

[KZN02]

This kind of confuses me with the news about belief in evolution also declining or something. Of course, they're mutually exclusive, but still.

[Neith]

The wording in the poll is stupid.

“Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?”

Someone doesn't have to be convinced of anything to be an atheist. We only need to be unconvinced of other people's god claims. Further, it sounds like "not a religious person" and "convinced atheist" were two separate options, but by definition, an atheist is someone who isn't religious.

[KZN02]

Confusion with agnostic?

[Askold]

The wording in the poll is stupid.

“Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?”

Someone doesn't have to be convinced of anything to be an atheist. We only need to be unconvinced of other people's god claims. Further, it sounds like "not a religious person" and "convinced atheist" were two separate options, but by definition, an atheist is someone who isn't religious.

Actually, having "not a religious person" and atheist as separate options makes sense to me because:

1: Organised religion vs personal faith

2: Some people just are "more religious" than others. For some people their religion affects their daily life and long term choices much more than others, some people actively go to church/temple/mosque/whatever for religious ceremonies while others do not while still believing in whatever faith they are in. (It has been a year since the last time I went to a church -and even that was for a wedding- but I still consider myself to be a christian.)

[Sleepy]

I think there is a difference between "not religious" and atheist. I've encountered tons of folks who say they're not religious, but that often translates to "I don't attend church regularly or have any religious practices at home." Atheist seems to take the extra step and say "I've given this a fair amount of thought, and I've decided that I don't believe in any deities."

[Random Gal]

Don't forget that a lot of the "not religious" responses may actually be from fundies who spout the "Christianity is not a religion; it's a relationship with God" meme.