Gallup Poll Update: Belief in God

The Gallup Poll has released a new analysis of U.S. belief in God. This iteration shows belief in God at 92% overall. It is lower among political liberals, younger respondents, people who live in the Eastern U.S., and those with postgraduate levels of education. The availability of alternative responses also affected rates of belief in the May 2010 data set, in which the 92% figure declines to 80% when respondents are offered the option to say they believe in a universal spirit, which received 12% endorsement.

Non-Religion and Secularity

A new group examining non-religion and secularity is launching their organization's first conference next month at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. A friend an sometimes collaborator of mine, Ryan Cragun at the University of Tampa, is joining Colin Campbell (York) and David Voas (Manchester) as keynote speakers at the conference to be held Friday, December 11th. View their site for details and to join the mailing list.

American Nones

A new report, American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population announces that 15% of the US populace selects "None" when asked about their religious preference. Based on the American Religious Identification Survey, authors Kosmin, Keysar, Cragun and Navarro-Rivera further analyze the ARIS data to uncover the demographic and social characteristics of this group, which has nearly doubled in its presence in the US over the past 18 years. Although they focus on social and demographic characteristics, the report is fascinating. Men are more likely to report "None" than are women, and the nature of their belief also differs, with more men reporting agnosticism and women more likely to report theism. "Nones" are similar to religious believers in terms of economics and several other characteristics. Politically, they are less likely to be republicans and more likely to be independents.

An unanswered question is what factors account for the increase in Nones during the 1990s. Nevertheless, the report is fascinating and deserves to be widely read.

Secularism on College Campuses

Inside Higher Ed has a discussion on the role of religion and secularism on college campuses. The article describes an ongoing study of how secularism has affected four liberal arts colleges when it comes to discussing "life's big questions." The qualitative research suggests that as a college promotes a secular vision, questions of existence become relegated to philosophy, religion and sometimes psychology courses. Read more here.