Study Shows One-in-Six Americans Are Baptist

I didn't realize that there are so many Baptists in the USA. The Pew Forum has found, however, that about 17% of our country claims to be Baptist. The chart below helps us see how the numbers break down (click directly on the image to make it larger).


To read the full article, click here.

"Evangelical Protestant" Atheists?

The Pew Forum recently posted the above chart. The above information indicates that 5% of Americans do not believe in God or any universal spirit. Of this 5% of the overall population, the chart shows how they identify themselves.

It is interesting that only 39% identify themselves as atheistic or agnostic. Those folks at least seem to be honest about it.

It appears to me that the 35% who label themselves as "Nothing in Particular" just want the whole issue to go away.

What I really do not understand is those who refer to themselves as "Christian," but who do not believe in God. In particular, what is with the 2% who refer to themselves as "Evangelical Protestant"? If an Evangelical does not believe in God, then what does he believe in?

My only guess about the reason for "Evangelical Protestant" Atheists is that these folks are referring to their heritage as opposed to what they believe. Maybe they were raised in an Evangelical home, but have since rejected the existence of God. They possibly don't want to take the full step of embracing atheism or agnosticism (the only honest thing to do), and instead want to remain in the middle.

Bizarre.

Survey Compares How Liberals and Conservatives Differ on Matters of Faith

Click here to read the results from a new Barna Group Survey that compares political liberals and conservatives in faith matters.

The numbers from the survey are interesting, but also somewhat predictable. For example,

"Liberals are also far less likely than conservatives to strongly believe each of the following:

• their religious faith is very important in their life (54% of liberals vs. 82% of conservatives);
• a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by doing good deeds or being a good person (23% vs. 37%);
• their faith is becoming an increasingly important moral guide in their life (38% vs. 70%);
• the church they currently attend is very important in helping them find direction and fulfillment in life (37% vs. 62%);
• their primary purpose in life is to love God with all their heart, mind, strength and soul (43% vs. 76%);
• Jesus Christ did not commit sins during His time on earth (33% vs. 55%)."