One in five Americans has no religion

When I am asked why I decided to become a Chaplain, this is pretty much one of the biggest reasons. Talking to veterans and their families it becomes apparent that most of them do not attend church. Most of the people I know don't go and they were turned away more than decided they didn't want to. Too many ended up not getting what they needed from the clergy they were listening to. Even more had bad role models. Instead of finding another church where they would find a place that "fit" their beliefs, they walked away from the institution but did not walk away from God.

Survey: One in five Americans has no religion
Editor's note: CNN recently won four first-place reporting awards from the Religion
Newswriters Association.
By Dan Merica
CNN

Washington (CNN) – The fastest growing "religious" group in America is made up of people with no religion at all, according to a Pew survey showing that one in five Americans is not affiliated with any religion.

The number of these Americans has grown by 25% just in the past five years, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

The survey found that the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing even faster among younger Americans.

Thirty-three million Americans now have no religious affiliation, with 13 million in that group identifying as either atheist or agnostic, according to the new survey.

Pew found that those who are religiously unaffiliated are strikingly less religious than the public at large. They attend church infrequently, if at all, are largely not seeking out religion and say that the lack of it in their lives is of little importance.

And yet Pew found that 68% of the religiously unaffiliated say they believe in God, while 37% describe themselves as “spiritual” but not “religious.” One in five said that they even pray every day.
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