Why are people leaving religion?

Leftover sends this, a PRRI study on why people are leaving religion in the U.S. According to the study, people tend to just stop believing, usually by the age of 30. This means the so-called Nones (people who profess no religious belief) are growing. Time to up the door-knocking, Christians! (Just kidding.)    

Americans disapprove of Muslims, atheists, and people who don’t proclaim a religion

But not necessarily in that order. A study out of University of Minnesota looked at how Americans viewed various groups, and found that: Americans’ disapproval of Muslims has jumped to 45.5 percent from just over 26 percent 10 years ago, the last time the question was asked. In all, the survey revealed some fairly hateful, unloving …

So how are the Nones doing with child rearing?

Not too shabby, according to Vern Bengtson, a USC researcher who recently added secular families to his field of study. The Longitudinal Study of Generations, which Bengston oversees, looks at religion and family life over generations. From a Los Angeles Times story, Bengtson was surprised by what he found: High levels of family solidarity and …

And the most religiously diverse region is…

…not us. It’s Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan. And even more interesting, in this round-up at Vox? Maybe the most surprising thing here is that most of the US’s religious diversity comes not from religious minorities, who in total are only 5.3 percent of the population, but from the 16 percent of Americans who are unaffiliated. It’s …

The nones are growing

People who check “none” for religious affiliation now account for 19 percent of the population — the highest percentage recorded, according to some Pew Research Center for the People and the Press numbers. This news was from the great work by USA Today’s Cathy Grossman. And, as a side note, read about the new knowers/not …