Religious Trends

“The United States Department of Defense, in its quest for diversity in military chaplaincy, has announced an increase in the recognized religions list…. it has officially recognized Humanism.” WRN

“[T]he real number of American atheists may be as high as 26 percent, according to psychologists Will Gervais and Maxine Najle.” RNS

“Government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion increased in 2015 for the first time in three years, according to Pew Research Center’s latest annual study on global restrictions on religion.”

“[R]esearch by Barna, commissioned by the American Bible Society on Bible reading habits showed an overall growing positive attitude towards the Bible among Americans.” World Religion News

“Barna has released a report on the first of a two-part exploration of faith and spirituality outside the church, looking at the ‘fascinating segment of the American population who, as the saying goes, love Jesus but not the church.’”

“Many Christians are turning to apps and memes to express their faith instead of churches – and it’s raising intriguing questions about the future of the world’s largest religion.” BBC News

“In the United States … women are more likely than men to say religion is “very important’ in their lives (60% vs. 47%)… American women also are more likely than American men to say they pray daily (64% vs. 47%) and attend religious services at least once a week (40% vs.

“Mississippi, Alabama and other Southern states are among the most highly religious states in the nation, while New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine in New England are among the least devout, according to some of the key measures used to determine levels of religiosity in the Pew Research Center’s most recent Religious Landscape Study.” How Religious is Your State?

God ranks high in New Year’s resolutions

American Bible Society: “Sixty-nine percent of teens believe the Bible contains everything one needs to know to live a meaningful life; 89 percent of teens believe the Bible is a sacred text; and 44 percent of teens believe the Bible has too little influence in society” CPost