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To pre-empt a lot of comments in this thread: The decline of religiosity is a global trend, strongly correlated with economic development. The US has historica

To pre-empt a lot of comments in this thread: The decline of religiosity is a global trend, strongly correlated with economic development. The US has historically been an outlier and remains unusually religious. The relevant question isn't really why religion is declining in the US, but why it hasn't declined sooner. Claims that the decline in religiosity are related to increases in crime or social problems are not strongly supported by the evidence; there is not a consistent relationship between religiosity and criminality or wellbeing. https://news.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-poorest-nations.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-worl... https://web.archive.org/web/20131021065544/http://www.wingia.com/web/files/news/14/file/14.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20131021065544/http://www.wingia... https://sci-hub.tw/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00247.x https://sci-hub.tw/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00247.x

diego_moita 7y ago
> The relevant question isn't really why religion is declining in the US, but why it hasn't declined sooner. I believe the reason is that religion has been very different in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. Few countries have the great variety of religious denominations the U.S. has and the relative peace between said religions. But I agree with your perspective.
deftnerd 7y ago
> The relevant question isn't really why religion is declining in the US, but why it hasn't declined sooner. It's possible that religion is treating the symptom of another problem. Assuming someone religious attends an organized function related to that religion, it's making them part of a community and might be helping them feel less lonely. 2018 study shows that half of Americans feel lonely. [1], but a similar kind of study on people in europe surveying if people had anyone to ask for help or discuss personal matters has a much smaller amount [2] The European study indicates that income inequality has an effect on social isolation, with the lowest incomes having twice the amount of isolation. The income inequality in America is even more pronounced, and geographically, many of the areas with the highest levels of religious beliefs seem (on a map) to line up pretty well with levels of poverty and income inequality. Usual disclaimer about correlation/causation and everything... But perhaps economic conditions that cause people to tend to be socially isolated are being self-treated by pursuit of religious groups because the community it gathers results in a decrease in the isolation symptom? [1] https://fortune.com/2018/05/01/americans-lonely-cigna-study/ https://fortune.com/2018/05/01/americans-lonely-cigna-study/ [2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20170628-1 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/D...

diego_moita 7y ago

> The relevant question isn't really why religion is declining in the US, but why it hasn't declined sooner. I believe the reason is that religion has been very different in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. Few countries have the great variety of religious denominations the U.S. has and the relative peace between said religions. But I agree with your perspective.

deftnerd 7y ago

> The relevant question isn't really why religion is declining in the US, but why it hasn't declined sooner. It's possible that religion is treating the symptom of another problem. Assuming someone religious attends an organized function related to that religion, it's making them part of a community and might be helping them feel less lonely. 2018 study shows that half of Americans feel lonely. [1], but a similar kind of study on people in europe surveying if people had anyone to ask for help or discuss personal matters has a much smaller amount [2] The European study indicates that income inequality has an effect on social isolation, with the lowest incomes having twice the amount of isolation. The income inequality in America is even more pronounced, and geographically, many of the areas with the highest levels of religious beliefs seem (on a map) to line up pretty well with levels of poverty and income inequality. Usual disclaimer about correlation/causation and everything... But perhaps economic conditions that cause people to tend to be socially isolated are being self-treated by pursuit of religious groups because the community it gathers results in a decrease in the isolation symptom? [1] https://fortune.com/2018/05/01/americans-lonely-cigna-study/ https://fortune.com/2018/05/01/americans-lonely-cigna-study/ [2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20170628-1 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/D...