A growing number of Americans today have no religious inclinations, with more millennials not recognizing the existence of religion. Worship and religion for the millennials are something new to them. However, it is important to note that the non-religious nature of the United States is not an upcoming trend but something that has existed for thousands of years. It is consistent with the religious culture in the US. Three reasons support this argument. First, as stated non-religious nature of the US is a historical phenomenon. Fischer’s book, American freethinker, portrays the historical rise and glorification of secularism throughout American history. The founding Figures in American history, such as Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin, were notoriously known for their non-religious inclinations and disregard for organized religion. Modern-day Americans have borrowed their current non-religious behaviors from such persons (Campbell 87). This explains why currently, so many Americans proudly identify themselves as spiritual and non-religious. They only believe a supreme being controls the world and hence do not identify with any organized religious groups such as Christianity, Islam or Buddhism religions. Historical happening such as slavery practiced by the United States shows American non believe in God’s teachings and non-religious self, which has been growing over the years and is large with us today.
Americans have been known for their individualistic ideologies throughout American history. These ideologies have carried forward to the contemporary world and have influenced the growth of the non-religious united states. The right to religion is taken very seriously in the United States. Americans believe that every citizen has the right to choose whether to be religious or not and every individual should respect their choices (Campbell 87). Organized religious groups have hence been declining in their number of followership since they are expected not to try and influence American society but rather respect their induvial rights and freedoms. Indeed, as America continues to have numerous cultures, different organized religions have been coming up; however, a symmetrical increase has also happened in the number of non-religious people.
The American views on rationality have persistently contributed to the current statistical data on non-religious Americans. Throughout history, Americans have been known to have rational thinking styles. This has therefore collided with religious thinking, which expects people to rely on their God to resolve their issues. Religion asserts that people should always rely on their God for everything. The millennial generation is increasingly non-religious due to their rational thinking (Campbell 87). The millennials increasing interaction with technology has greatly facilitated their young generations’ rational thinking. They can use technological advancements to resolve numerous world problems and their own problems. The American education system encourages millennials to focus on problem-solving and critical thinking skills as the most important aspects to help them deal with the contemporary world. For the younger generation, having such a background becomes difficult to tell them to believe in a supernatural being to resolve their issues. In contrast, they have been accustomed to critical thinking and technological use in problem-solving.
A 2022 Washington Post article by Michelle titled American secularism is growing and growing more complicated displays the growing number of secularism in the united states. More Americans are increasingly becoming non-religious. The article states that more Americans do not recognize the church’s role and religious traditions. The article cites the book Secular Surge, published in 2021 which states that the religion decline in the United States is attributed to the modern-day rational way of thinking (Michelle 2). This article showcases the rational historical thinking of Americans and how this has shaped the rise of non-religious people over the years.
A 2021 article by the Guardian titled ‘ I only know one god- and that’s me: non-believers on the meaning of life’ by Harriet Sherwood asserts that more people across the world have increasingly become non-religious. The article states that there has been a 9% increase in non-religious believers in the united states from 2009-2022. Further, the article states that Britain has nearly half its population non-religious. It equally highlights the stigma of being non-religious worldwide (Harriet 1). The article states that the need for proof of God and the belief that God is just another character put in biblical stories and does not exist are some of the things that drive so many people in the modern day to have no religious inclinations. The mention of stigmatization in this article showcases how historical aspects of discrimination have fueled the non-religious American culture since the more people discriminated against atheists, the more they created awareness about it, which has significantly grown.
In essence, the non-religion concept is an interesting, controversial topic in the United States. American historical culture of individualism and rational thing since the day of the founding fathers have significantly continued to the increasing non-religious America. As organized religion develops historically, so do non-religious groups. They both differ in their core values and motivations to worship and believe.
Religious unaffiliations describe non-religious inclinations. Currently, there has been a rise in religious unaffiliations across the world. In the united states, this topic is hotly contested, with various arguing it is morally okay not to belong to any religious affiliation. In contrast, others depict this as moral decay in American society. There are several causes of the rise of religious unaffiliation in the United States (Maya 2). The first reason is the increased exposure to other cultures and traditions. Information access in the modern-day world has been made possible through social media. As people learn about other religious traditions from what they previously believed in, they slowly start questioning whether God exists, especially when the different religions across the world conflict in views on certain things.
Secondly, the rise of religious unaffliation has been caused by the changing social landscape in the United States. So many things have changed in American society, such as the rise of LGBTQ. The church’s support of it has led many believers to think that having no religious affiliation is better than being affiliated with religions that do not observe traditions. Pope Francis of the catholic church recently stated that catholic priests are allowed to marry, which is non-compliant worth the traditions of Christian Catholics. This will ultimately cause a shift in people choosing non-affiliated any religion (Maya 2). Thirdly, religious unaffiliation has been caused by the politicization of religion. In the united states, politicians use religion to appeal to their audiences whenever they search for votes. This has led many people to think that traditional organized religions have lost their core values. In essence, exposure to other cultures, increased changes in the social landscape and an increase in the politicization of religion has led to the rise of religious unaffliation among young peers. A 2021 article published in the Guardian by Maya titled More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, a new study finds showcases the rise in religious unaffiliations in the united states. The article states that more people have associated with no religions (Maya 2). According to this article, 30% of adult Americans have declared to belong to no organized religion.
The growth of the non-religious United States is significant in characterizing the country. Some scholars argue that religious unaffiliations show that a country is highly diversified and inclusive. In contrast, others argue that such a country will eventually have an explosive division between religious and non-religious groups. Ultimately, stating whether non-religion is a good or bad moral concept is difficult since it offers advantages and disadvantages. Its advantages include the sense of inclusivity it brights to society. In contrast, the negatives include that it leads to the loss of religious values and consequently causes moral decay.
Works Cited
Campbell, David E. “The perils of politicized religion.” Daedalus 149.3 (2020): 87-104.
Fischer, Kirsten. American Freethinker: Elihu Palmer and the Struggle for Religious Freedom in the New Nation. The University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020.
Michelle Boorstein. American secularism is growing — and growing more complicated, 2022.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/01/14/secularism-atheism-religion-nones/
Maya Yang. More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, a new study finds, 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/15/us-religious-affiliation-study-results
write