Religion and Ethics Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: bluehillside Retd. on December 15, 2021, 06:40:52 PM

Title: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: bluehillside Retd. on December 15, 2021, 06:40:52 PM
"About 30% of adults do not have a religious affiliation, six percentage points higher than it was five years ago".

Some encouraging news for a change from the US of A...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/15/us-religious-affiliation-study-results

Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 20, 2021, 10:58:24 PM
"About 30% of adults do not have a religious affiliation, six percentage points higher than
Of which Lawrence Krauss comprises 10% and Sam Harris a further 7%.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: SusanDoris on December 21, 2021, 06:48:03 AM
Of which Lawrence Krauss comprises 10% and Sam Harris a further 7%.
That sounds to me like a very trivial reply. Do you think that the finding is so trivial? Such steps away from unscientific, totally unsuported religious claims is an important step forward.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Sebastian Toe on December 21, 2021, 10:07:51 AM
Of which Lawrence Krauss comprises 10% and Sam Harris a further 7%.
...beeaking news....recent evidence has been found that Vlad has shifted 62% further away from being humorous.





(Waits to see if the '..before it wears off' joke is dragged out in response, yet again!) ::)
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: jeremyp on December 22, 2021, 11:24:24 AM
...beeaking news....recent evidence has been found that Vlad has shifted 62% further away from being humorous.





(Waits to see if the '..before it wears off' joke is dragged out in response, yet again!) ::)

You'd think regression to the mean would make him more humorous.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 22, 2021, 02:22:15 PM
That sounds to me like a very trivial reply. Do you think that the finding is so trivial? Such steps away from unscientific, totally unsuported religious claims is an important step forward.
The idea that people are flocking to science from religion is delusional. First of all because, as the atheist Stephen J Gould pointed out they are different domains of human activity and secondly because they, like some of their governments are no longer following the science. Sadly, I think apatheism is antiintellectual full stop.

And thirdly, the rank scientism your posts embody is now passay.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 22, 2021, 02:27:06 PM
...beeaking news....recent evidence has been found that Vlad has shifted 62% further away from being humorous.





(Waits to see if the '..before it wears off' joke is dragged out in response, yet again!) ::)
That depends in large part on Mr Gervais' current engagements.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: ProfessorDavey on December 22, 2021, 06:07:25 PM
The idea that people are flocking to science from religion is delusional. First of all because, as the atheist Stephen J Gould pointed out they are different domains of human activity and secondly because they, like some of their governments are no longer following the science. Sadly, I think apatheism is antiintellectual full stop.

And thirdly, the rank scientism your posts embody is now passay.
Even though your post is largely incoherent waffle, you are correct that this shift away from religion is probably not about people 'flocking to science'. I suspect the reason is rather similar to why religiosity is declining in the UK. It isn't about people flocking anywhere, indeed it doesn't require a single person to shift from being religious to non-religious. It is all about the differences in religiosity between generations and old people (the most religious generation) dying and being replaced by young people who are much less religious, and won't get any more religious as they get older.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 23, 2021, 08:18:05 AM
Even though your post is largely incoherent waffle, you are correct that this shift away from religion is probably not about people 'flocking to science'. I suspect the reason is rather similar to why religiosity is declining in the UK. It isn't about people flocking anywhere, indeed it doesn't require a single person to shift from being religious to non-religious. It is all about the differences in religiosity between generations and old people (the most religious generation) dying and being replaced by young people who are much less religious, and won't get any more religious as they get older.
This is all about argumentum ad populum, isn't it.
At the end of the day you cannot make people intellectually, emotionally or spiritually involved in either science or Christianity and on both counts they are are becoming less so.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: ProfessorDavey on December 23, 2021, 10:12:36 AM
This is all about argumentum ad populum, isn't it.
I am making no such point. And argumentum ad populum is a claim that something is right just because it is popular. I made no such claim. What I did do is provide an explanation for why there has been a reduction in people in the USA claiming religious affiliation, I made no suggest that it means that religion is wrong or is right, still less any claim that god exists or does not exist.

Stop misrepresenting me Vlad.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: ProfessorDavey on December 23, 2021, 10:17:37 AM
At the end of the day you cannot make people intellectually, emotionally or spiritually involved in either science or Christianity and on both counts they are are becoming less so.
There is clearly evidence from the USA, and indeed the UK and virtually all similar countries that the populations, overall are becoming less involved in christianity. I've tried to explain why, and likely it does not involve individual people turning away from christianity once they've reached adulthood in any great numbers. It is all to do with generational replacement (and why, leaving aside immigration, we can be very confident in predicting the trends for decades to come).

You have made a claim that people are becoming less involved in science. Evidence please. And of course I doubt many people were ever emotionally or spiritually involved in science anyhow. But nonetheless, can you provide evidence please that people are becoming less intellectually involved in science.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 23, 2021, 11:48:06 AM
There is clearly evidence from the USA, and indeed the UK and virtually all similar countries that the populations, overall are becoming less involved in christianity. I've tried to explain why, and likely it does not involve individual people turning away from christianity once they've reached adulthood in any great numbers. It is all to do with generational replacement (and why, leaving aside immigration, we can be very confident in predicting the trends for decades to come).

You have made a claim that people are becoming less involved in science. Evidence please. And of course I doubt many people were ever emotionally or spiritually involved in science anyhow. But nonetheless, can you provide evidence please that people are becoming less intellectually involved in science.
Certainly the growth of the antivax and antimask movement in the UK, the abandonment of science to new atheism by the likes of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: ProfessorDavey on December 23, 2021, 12:04:53 PM
Certainly the growth of the antivax and antimask movement in the UK, the abandonment of science to new atheism by the likes of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.
Yet more non-sense Vlad. Growth implies two, or more, comparable data points that can be compared. I have no idea (and nor do your) whether had there been a pandemic in, for example 2011 whether there would have been greater or less people refusing to get a vaccine.

Actually the levels of trust in science and scientists has undoubtedly risen during the pandemic, but I don't think you can draw broader conclusions from incredibly unusual and crisis circumstances.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 23, 2021, 12:17:01 PM
Yet more non-sense Vlad. Growth implies two, or more, comparable data points that can be compared. I have no idea (and nor do your) whether had there been a pandemic in, for example 2011 whether there would have been greater or less people refusing to get a vaccine.

Actually the levels of trust in science and scientists has undoubtedly risen during the pandemic, but I don't think you can draw broader conclusions from incredibly unusual and crisis circumstances.
Lessexpenditure in science in terms of UK GDP..
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Aruntraveller on December 23, 2021, 12:19:53 PM
Lessexpenditure in science in terms of UK GDP..

Wouldn't that be the fault of the C of E. You know the Conservative party at prayer.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 23, 2021, 01:00:29 PM
Wouldn't that be the fault of the C of E. You know the Conservative party at prayer.
What in an increasingly secular society?
I suggest that England's natural party of Government is more Eton than Eden.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: ProfessorDavey on December 23, 2021, 02:38:09 PM
Lessexpenditure in science in terms of UK GDP..
In what way is that relevant to a claim that people (i.e. the general public) are becoming less involved in science or that people have less trust in science or scientists.

Oh, I'll answer it for you - it doesn't.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: ProfessorDavey on December 23, 2021, 02:39:47 PM
I suggest that England's natural party of Government is more Eton than Eden.
You do realise that Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, senior bishop and principal leader of the CofE is ... err ... an old Etonian.

Had that slipped your mind Vlad?
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 23, 2021, 03:07:21 PM
You do realise that Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, senior bishop and principal leader of the CofE is ... err ... an old Etonian.

Had that slipped your mind Vlad?
Justin Welby is a twat.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: ProfessorDavey on December 23, 2021, 06:14:31 PM
Justin Welby is a twat.
And yet you have regularly supported him being automatically given a seat in the House of Lords for no other reason than his position within a completely different organisation. There are no other people who gain their seats in the Lords automatically  through appointment to a position in a completely separate organisation. Oops, my mistake, there are 25 others - all bishops of the CofE.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 23, 2021, 07:16:21 PM
And yet you have regularly supported him being automatically given a seat in the House of Lords for no other reason than his position within a completely different organisation. There are no other people who gain their seats in the Lords automatically  through appointment to a position in a completely separate organisation. Oops, my mistake, there are 25 others - all bishops of the CofE.
Regarding Welby..........You can't win 'em all.
Like some Christians in the eighties I wasn't opposed to disestablishment, but along came the New Atheists and reports that members of smaller religious groups felt the arrangement to be a bit of a bulwark against active secularism and antireligionism and so I sympathise with that. I know you guys think your the good guys but you make people uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: jeremyp on December 24, 2021, 09:00:49 AM
This is all about argumentum ad populum, isn't it.

This isn't about non religion being right because it is popular, it is about religion being unpopular because it is wrong.
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Walt Zingmatilder on December 24, 2021, 10:21:19 AM
This isn't about non religion being right because it is popular, it is about religion being unpopular because it is wrong.

I still make that an argumentum ad populum Jeremy.Have you hit the Liquers early?9⅝
Title: Re: More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds
Post by: Steve H on January 08, 2022, 05:56:14 PM
So what? Is truth decided by a popular vote now?