Ä Area: Atheist & State/Church seperation Info ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Msg#: 90 Date: 09-18-96 02:21
From: Christopher Baker Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: AANEWS #160 Part 1 of 2
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[part 1 of 2]
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 13:05:50 -0700
from: AMERICAN.ATHEISTS@listserv.direct.net
Subject: [Atheist] AANEWS for September 17, 1996
Sender: owner-aanews@listserv.direct.net
Reply-To: aanews@listserv.atheists.org,
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A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
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nnnnnnnnnn AANEWS nnnnnnnnnn
#160 uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 9/17/96
http://www.atheists.org
In This Issue...
* More Bad News For Churches
* Update: No Action Yet On Prayer Amendment
* TheistWatch: Miss America On "Mission From God"?
* Such A Deal! Our Great Membership Offer!
* About This List...
AMERICANS LEAVING CHURCHES IN RECORD NUMBERS
Despite high-profile political activism by religious groups across
the political spectrum, the American people continue to abandon
denominations in record numbers, according to yet another survey.
A study by Barna Research Group of California shows that church
attendance has been slipping steadily for five years, and now sunk to
its lowest level in two decades. 37% of adults 18 or over who were
polled said that they attended church; the reported figure in 1991
stood at 49%. The Barna study noted "Increasingly, we are seeing
Christian churches lose entire segments of the population; men,
singles, empty nesters...and people who were raised in mainline
Protestant churches."
But the news gets worse for religious leaders, at least according
to university researcher Penny Long Marler, who told Newhouse News
Service that "actual church attendance is only about half of that
indicated by telephone polls." That would place the real number of
churchgoers closer to only about 19% of the population.
The Barna research also suggests that, in Marler's words, "Clearly
something has been fishy about the (church attendance) polling." The
biggest culprit may be the Gallup organization, which for years has
released polls showing that church attendance was remaining steady.
But Greg Carrison of Newhouse writes: "With the increasing population,
a steady 43% church attendance should have resulted in a massive
influx of people for the nation's churches." Marler notes glibly
"That's clearly not been the case." Another Barna investigator, Dave
Kinnaman, suggested that the 1991 peak figure involved several
factors, including the Gulf War, worries about the economy and even
the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
"These types of issues formed a climate conducive to church
attendance," Kinnaman said. He also cited the popularity of "mega-
churches" which boast huge denominations and provide a "seeker
sensitive" environment complete with day-care, bowling leagues,
personal counselling and other consumer services. Kinnaman added that
"even that model may have lost some of its novelty appeal."
Researchers agree that there has been a substantial erosion of
support for traditional, institutional religions.
What's going on?
One indication may be found in the fact that for decades, religious
denominations have inflated their membership figures. In her book
"Freedom Under Siege," Madalyn O'Hair chronicled the history of how
church membership in the United States was measured. She added that
in 1974, when her book was first published, "there are more than 77
million Americans who are not church members and who have never gone
to any church, anywhere, at any time. Religious leaders call these
people 'the unchurched.' In total, there are about 112.3 million
Americans who currently do not attend church at all." Surveys
attempting to gauge church attendance have proven to be notoriously
unreliable at times. O'Hair notes the first attempt in 1906 by the
Bureau of the Census, saying that the agency "...began to encounter
problems. There was a lack of accurate and complete lists, since
churches that had become dead of dormant were still carried on the
rolls..."
Many churches, including the Roman Catholic religion, base
membership figures on questionable statistics such as baptismal
records. While the Vatican now claims over 60 million believers in
the United States, other trends -- declining enrollment for the
priesthood, closing of entire parishes for lack of funds and members
-- suggest this number may be exaggerated . O'Hair noted that
"Churches continue to list among their memberships more people than
could possibly be accommodated in the church buildings."
While traditional, organized religion seems to be faced with an
eroding support base, that does not mean that the culture is awash in
secularism and the acceptance of Reason. So-called "new religions",
including cultish spiritual groups, are reportedly enjoying a comeback
on university campuses. The Christian Science Monitor recently noted
that "The move toward religion on college campuses is broad-based and
includes everything from Judaism to New Age to Buddhism..." Observers
note that this trend emphasizes "spirituality" rather than
institutionalized religious belief and ritual. There are also
considerable social, economic and cultural factors which can still
stimulate religious interest and participation. They include:
* The creation of a "religious marketplace" where "spiritually
hungry" consumers pick-and-choose belief systems less on doctrinal
authority than on a sense of "what right for them."
* A growth in religion based partially on ethnic or political
identity. The Monitor pointed to Cornell University which "offered
its first major in religious studies three years ago and has seen a
growing number of ethnic religious groups set up on campus." Islam is
perhaps the obvious manifestation in this trend, appealing to growing
numbers of blacks. Mainstream Christian black religious leaders see
themselves in a growing, problematic relationship with often more
militant Muslim groups, including Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.
* Interest in pseudo-science and crank "spirituality" or "eastern
religions" may be a surrogate for more traditional religious belief.
Considerable numbers of Americans believe in the existence of devils,
angels and UFO's; often, those beliefs reflect a hodge-podge of new
age tenets and orthodox religion.
* "Basically this generation is Biblically illiterate," one campus
minister told The Monitor.
* A quest for "spirituality" has become intertwined with other
cultural developments, including personal searches for identity, self-
actualization and fulfillment. Twelve step, "recovery" and self-help
movements have become increasingly religious or "spiritual."
**
Late Breaking News...
PRAYER AMENDMENT NOT ON JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SCHEDULE
AANEWS has just learned that any possible floor vote or other
legislative action on the Religious Freedom Amendment is NOT slated
for tomorrow. That Amendment would permit so-called "student led" or
"student initiated" prayer in public schools and also legitimize a
wide range of religious activity now currently prohibited by the
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Amendment -- a
centerpiece in the agenda of the Christian Coalition and other allied
groups -- would effectively "gut" the Establishment Clause and rulings
such as Lemon v. Kurtman.
First Amendment activists have been puzzled ever since it was
learned last week that the Amendment -- once "fast tracked" in order
to force a floor vote before the November election -- was suddenly
being shelved until the next congressional session. Several pieces of
legislation, among them the Defense of Marriage Act and a Defense
Department authorization bill rider which would ban "pornography" from
being sold at U.S. military bases, were being hastily brought to the
floor so that incumbent Senators and Representatives would go "on
record." These votes are expected to be included in the 50 million-
plus "voters guides" slated for distribution in late October by the
Christian Coalition, through its network of 60,000 to 100,000
"participating" churches. When it was learned last week that the
Amendment had been suddenly shelved, there were indications that new
pressure would be put on House Speaker Newt Gingrich to again re-
activate the legislation. Gingrich met with Coalition Director Ralph
Reed over the weekend, and addressed the group's annual "Road To
Victory" Conference in Washington, D.C. There is still no indication
one way or another on the fate of the Religious Freedom Amendment,
however. We'll keep you posted as we learn more.
***
THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS
A recent study about the habits of American hotel users suggested
(to us, anyway) that religious belief does not necessarily correlate
with ethical behavior such as not stealing. According to the London
Times, about 16% of the bibles placed in hotels by groups like the
Gideon organization, end up being stolen after one year. That would
be a clear violation of the Eight Commandment, which admonishes people
''Thou shall not steal."
The Gideons have an ingenious explanation for this, however,
insisting that "the reason so many vanished may be because readers
became engrossed in them." In addition, 23% of hotel guests told a
Fodor's Travel Publications survey that the read the bible during
their stay. Theft of bibles lags considerably behind the pilfering of
other items, though, like hotel soap and bottled lotions (31%).
**
[end part 1 of 2]
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