A new Pew Research Center poll indicates a sharp decline in the percentage of Americans who affiliate themselves with the Christian faith. The decline accompanies an increase in the share of Americans who don’t identify with any religion at all. Today, more than one-fifth choose not to affiliate with any established religion.
Some might think that’s a sad trend because of the important role that established religion has played in the formation of American society, even before we became a nation. Growing up without a religious following in my family, I often envied the children around me who talked about the churches or synagogues they attended. They seemed to have so much conviction, so much of an anchor at times when I personally felt adrift. Religion does serve an important purpose in society.
But it’s not an exclusive purpose, nor does religion fill a gap that can’t be filled elsewhere. We Americans have long believed that religion and faith was what gave us grounding and established the strong moral and ethical base that made our society great. But more and more, Americans are finding that they can raise their children to be solid, ethical, upstanding and high-performing individuals without necessarily being attached to religious belief. … [visit site to read more]
