US and UK Religion Statictics

[krusty007]

The religion statictics for the United States is a bit confusing. From the most reliable sources, the US claims to be around 80% Christian, but up to 30-40% "No Religion" (Athiest, Agnostic, Secularist, Humanist, ect.). This already excedes the 100% mark, not to mention the others, such as Islam, Hindus, Buddists, Mormons, and so on. What I feel seems to be happening is that people are becoming "Culturally Chrstian", in which they identify with Christianity due to heritage, family, or culture, but do not really believe in God and the Sacred Scripture. I know many people like this. They are Agnostic, but would call themselves a Christian. I am also a bit baffled at statictics for the United Kingdom. The 2001 census claimed about 70% Christian and 20% No religion, however more recent polls claim over twice the amount of No religion. If anyone else has a theory or information please tell me. I'm still confused!

[andremiguel]

Originally Posted by krusty007

The religion statictics for the United States is a bit confusing. From the most reliable sources, the US claims to be around 80% Christian, but up to 30-40% "No Religion" (Athiest, Agnostic, Secularist, Humanist, ect.). This already excedes the 100% mark, not to mention the others, such as Islam, Hindus, Buddists, Mormons, and so on. What I feel seems to be happening is that people are becoming "Culturally Chrstian", in which they identify with Christianity due to heritage, family, or culture, but do not really believe in God and the Sacred Scripture. I know many people like this. They are Agnostic, but would call themselves a Christian. I am also a bit baffled at statictics for the United Kingdom. The 2001 census claimed about 70% Christian and 20% No religion, however more recent polls claim over twice the amount of No religion. If anyone else has a theory or information please tell me. I'm still confused!

Statistics are useful to prove whatever you want to prove.

[lerapt78]

"No religion" doesn't necessarily mean non-Christian. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the people who believe in Christ but do not claim any religious affiliation are the ones that decide they can read and interpret the Bible on their own without following what they consider to be "man-made rules". They say that they are Christian, but non-religious. They like the idea of Christ, but they don't like organized religion, ie; a group of men telling them what to do.

[Kaninchen]

Doesn't it rather depend on the question you ask?

A quick Wiki search came up with this:

"Gallup International indicates that 41% of American citizens report they regularly attend religious services, compared to 15% of French citizens, 10% of UK citizens, and 7.5% of Australian citizens."

A Kaninchen Suburban England Survey suggests that she often seems to know more about what Christians are supposed to believe than many of her 'Christian' compatriots, but she has been arguing the subject on message boards for a decade and a half.

[Santi2]

Originally Posted by Kaninchen

A Kaninchen Suburban England Survey suggests that she often seems to know more about what Christians are supposed to believe than many of her 'Christian' compatriots, but she has been arguing the subject on message boards for a decade and a half.

[stephe1987]

It depends on how the question is asked. A lot of people are "Christians" but they do not follow Jesus's teachings or attend Church regularly. A good percentage of self-identified "Catholics" are not eligible to receive Communion.

On the other hand, there are people who do believe in God, but not organized religion, or they think Jesus was just a great man. These people fall into the "deist" category better than "Christian".

And there usually is a "Christian - other" option for people who cannot decide which denomination to join.

[Ropata]

The survey questions are too broad. The Pew forum surveys are more useful because they focus on actual beliefs rather than descriptors.