Tuesday, February 26, 2008
AMERICANS ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH
According to the Chicago Tribune:
Many U.S. Roman Catholics and Protestants are leaving the churches of their childhood and either choosing other faiths or no religion at all, according to an extensive survey released Monday.
More than a quarter, or 28 percent, of American adults said they have left the faith in which they were raised, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
About 16 percent of Americans say they are not members of any religious group, making the "unaffiliated" group the fourth largest religious tradition in the United States, rivaling the number of members in mainline Protestant churches.
The three largest religious traditions are Protestant evangelicals at 26 percent, Catholics at 24 percent and mainline Protestants at 18 percent.
The Catholic Church has lost more members than any other religious group, the survey found, with about 10 percent of all Americans reporting they have left.
Immigrants are replacing American Catholics, causing the percentage of our Catholic population to remain steady, and camouflaging the hemorrhage. I can't help but reflect on the fact that the immigrants are less likely to have information about the extent of the sexual abuse scandal. It's probably not the only factor in the drain, but surely it is part of the picture.
The Orlando Sentinel coverage on the study gives a lot more statistics on the composition of American Catholics if you're interested in that.
