Nones

[tiltbillings]

http://www.pewforum.org/unaffiliated/no ... -rise.aspx

[cooran]

Very interesting Tilt! I wish someone would do as detailed a study on the views of Australians.

With metta
Chris

[zavk]

I've come across some commentaries/review of these findings.

‘Nones’ ≠ Nonreligious
http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispa ... gers/6648/

Does Record Number of Religious “Nones” Mean Decline of Religiosity?
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archi ... ligiosity/

The Great Religious Realignment
http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispa ... alignment/

Some of the questions raised seem interesting, though I can't say I really grasp the implications since I do not have firsthand experience of the American context, which, as far as I can tell, is quite different from any lived experience I've had.

Hope the above links are of interest.

[LonesomeYogurt]

However, a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted jointly with the PBS television program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, finds that many of the country’s 46 million unaffiliated adults are religious or spiritual in some way. Two-thirds of them say they believe in God (68%). More than half say they often feel a deep connection with nature and the earth (58%), while more than a third classify themselves as “spiritual” but not “religious” (37%), and one-in-five (21%) say they pray every day. In addition, most religiously unaffiliated Americans think that churches and other religious institutions benefit society by strengthening community bonds and aiding the poor.

Gah, this stuff worries me.

[polarbuddha101]

However, a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted jointly with the PBS television program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, finds that many of the country’s 46 million unaffiliated adults are religious or spiritual in some way. Two-thirds of them say they believe in God (68%). More than half say they often feel a deep connection with nature and the earth (58%), while more than a third classify themselves as “spiritual” but not “religious” (37%), and one-in-five (21%) say they pray every day. In addition, most religiously unaffiliated Americans think that churches and other religious institutions benefit society by strengthening community bonds and aiding the poor.

Gah, this stuff worries me.

Why? How so?

[LonesomeYogurt]

Why? How so?

I hate to do this, but rather than restate myself, here's a little essay I wrote regarding what I dislike so much about the concept of "spiritual, not religious": http://thisbodyisacorpse.wordpress.com/ ... religious/

[polarbuddha101]

Why? How so?

I hate to do this, but rather than restate myself, here's a little essay I wrote regarding what I dislike so much about the concept of "spiritual, not religious": http://thisbodyisacorpse.wordpress.com/ ... religious/

Oh, now I get it. I read that post of yours a while ago actually and I agree with your sentiments. But I actually even dislike the term spiritual in general as well because it immediately brings to mind doctrines of self, soul, spirit as well as wishy washy contemporary relativist approaches to religious teachings. I don't want to live a spiritual life, but a dhammic one, a life attuned to reality, natural law, the Basic Pattern, the way things really are, full of wisdom as opposed to strange esoteric ideas of True Self like those found in yoga. Anyway, that's my own rant on the word but thanks for clarifying.

[LonesomeYogurt]

Oh, now I get it. I read that post of yours a while ago actually and I agree with your sentiments. But I actually even dislike the term spiritual in general as well because it immediately brings to mind doctrines of self, soul, spirit as well as wishy washy contemporary relativist approaches to religious teachings. I don't want to live a spiritual life, but a dhammic one, a life attuned to reality, natural law, the Basic Pattern, the way things really are, full of wisdom as opposed to strange esoteric ideas of True Self like those found in yoga. Anyway, that's my own rant on the word but thanks for clarifying.

I totally agree; the Dhamma is about getting rid of the self, and the vague "spiritual" practices indulged in by the new generation on "nones" are by and large going in the exact opposite direction of self-affirmation and expansion.

[daverupa]

the Dhamma is about getting rid of the self

Well, this might amount to annihilationism, so take care...

[alan]

Better to have "nones" than religious fanatics. Overall, I'd say this is a positive change.

[Benjamin]

On a somewhat related note, there's an essay by Sam Harris (the famous Atheist) on "Killing the Buddha", i.e ridding Buddhism of its 'religious' aspects. The only reason I'm even bothering to mention it is due to the fact that he's been meditating for a long time, and I've always found him to be the least hot headed of the Atheist "celebrities".

http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text ... he-buddha/





In regards to the supposed rising atheism of the country, I can say that as a college student I don't doubt its accuracy at least among my generation. The students here (Kent State) that go to church weekly seem to do it out of habit, and keep their business to themselves. In other words, I see much less evangelizing. However, the vast majority I've met seem wholly uninterested in anything "religious".

[polarbuddha101]

On a somewhat related note, there's an essay by Sam Harris (the famous Atheist) on "Killing the Buddha", i.e ridding Buddhism of its 'religious' aspects. The only reason I'm even bothering to mention it is due to the fact that he's been meditating for a long time, and I've always found him to be the least hot headed of the Atheist "celebrities".

http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text ... he-buddha/

I actually started a topic here on that article a while ago when I was more atheistic and less buddhist. Just thought I'd post it in case you wanted to read it.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=12160

Also, I found that when I was raised as a christian I noticed more christians and when I became an atheist I stopped noticing religious people for the most part and found myself living in an atheistic world.

[m0rl0ck]

Why? How so?

I hate to do this, but rather than restate myself, here's a little essay I wrote regarding what I dislike so much about the concept of "spiritual, not religious": http://thisbodyisacorpse.wordpress.com/ ... religious/

With those kinds of things you really have to know how the question is phrased and who is asking. For instance are you:

1. Catholic
2. Protestant
3. Spiritual but not religious.



This chart for instance speaks volumes about the assumptions of those doing the survey and their aims: