Are you an atheist if you believe that the probability that God exists is exactly 42/100?

[Brettongarcia]

30. The big new category of religious belief: "none." Meaning? Maybe: "no religious belief"?

The framing and then interpretation of statistical surveys, is infinitely complex. And not always disinterested. Consider this case.

There are two or three possible meanings for this category of "none"s: 1) those who are Christian, who believe, but have no particular church affiliation or denomination (Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, etc.) Or 2) those with some vague religious leanings ... but who not only do not claim any particular Christian denomination, but claim no particular religion - i.e. Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Mithraism - at all. Or it might mean, to many respondents ,3) persons with no religion; none at all.

The survey MAY have tried to specify which; or may not have. Or may have specified ... but in fine print, that respondents ignored.

However? The general sense of the "none"s as they are now called? Is that they are at best vaguely religious; with no specific affiliation. And are very close to say ... agnostics.

By the way? There are many, many interested religious parties working successfully, to control PEW. And then to frame and interpret the PEW questionaires and data. I have not found PEW entirely reliable in the past. See readers' comments on PEW results on say church attendance, in journals like First Things.

When looking at stats in general? When listing to people allegedly proving things with numbers? Always remember a few famous, cautionary quotes: "Figures don't lie ... but liars can figure." Or remember Disraeli condemning, in order of awfulness: "Lies, damn lies, and statistics."

Its hard to get any good statistics; PEW is only fair at best. But my sense of the state of religion in the US, from my viewpoint here on groundlevel, is that those of very weak or "no" religious affiliation ... are increasing. Rapidly.

Last figure I heard - was that about 10% of the US population would now be considered atheist (1%) or agnostic (9%).