So what do the numbers tell us about the Church in America?
Overall, the Church’s influence on Americans is beginning to fade. A growing number of Americans have given up on God””or at least on organized religion. They have become “Nones,” a term popularized by Pew Research. And their numbers are growing.
Pew’s 2007 Religious Landscape study, which surveyed 35,000 respondents, found that about 16% of Americans claimed no religious affiliation. By 2015, that number had grown to 23%, almost one in four Americans.
Gallup, another well-respected national firm, gives a wider view of the rise of the Nones. In 1967, Gallup found that about 2% of Americans””or 1 out of every 50””claimed no religious preference. By 2014, that number had grown to 16%, or about 1 in 7.
Read it all.
(EMQ) Ed Stetzer–The State of the American Church: When Numbers Point to a New Reality
So what do the numbers tell us about the Church in America?
Overall, the Church’s influence on Americans is beginning to fade. A growing number of Americans have given up on God””or at least on organized religion. They have become “Nones,” a term popularized by Pew Research. And their numbers are growing.
Pew’s 2007 Religious Landscape study, which surveyed 35,000 respondents, found that about 16% of Americans claimed no religious affiliation. By 2015, that number had grown to 23%, almost one in four Americans.
Gallup, another well-respected national firm, gives a wider view of the rise of the Nones. In 1967, Gallup found that about 2% of Americans””or 1 out of every 50””claimed no religious preference. By 2014, that number had grown to 16%, or about 1 in 7.
Read it all.