The 20% - Religion in the US is falling and there's a correlation between liberalism and non-belief

[Zadoc]

The 20 percent: Religion Rapidly Declining in America

Excerpts:

ery few years or so a comprehensive study on religion in America is done. This year it was completed by the PEW Research Center. The big headline? One in five Americans, a full 20 percent, are not religious. But are they nonbelievers?

...

Dissecting the numbers tells a tale of an America where the power and influence of religion is in rapid decline, but also of one where people are hesitant to let go of a higher power.

Of the 20 percent, only six percent identify as either atheist or agnostic. Enough has been written about agnostics to conclude that they either don’t exist, or are really agnostic atheists, as are virtually all atheists. It’s a safe bet that a minimum of six percent of the population do not believe in any god whatsoever.

How does six percent stack up?

In the scheme of things, it six percent, as small as it may seem, is a big number, especially since it’s continuing to grow. For instance, compare that to the number of Jewish Americans, which is at 2.2 percent and declining. Despite their small numbers, Americans Jews are a powerful lobby.

...

One set of statistics that isn’t surprising is that when it comes to politics this group trends towards Democrats as opposed to Republicans (75 percent to 23 percent).

...

Anyways, there's more in the article.

[NC_Nurse]

1. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the repulsiveness of the haters that tend to get

most of the attention. If the last decade or so has pulled the mask of sanity and tolerance off a lot of folks....

and yes, I realize that not all religious people are like them, but they sure don't stand up to them very often.

[Skittles]

2. the real percentage is much higher

there are many, many more "in the closet", lest they feel the outrage of their sanctimonious family / friends / community

[cpwm17]

3. People are now exposed to a greater diversity of opinion on the internet.

After a critical mass, religion could start to collapse in the US. It has in other countries.

Perhaps in the future nonbelievers can turn the tables on the believers, and the believers will be the ones afraid to admit to believing in ancient fairy tales.