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Panich52

(5,829 posts)
Mon May 18, 2015, 09:18 AM May 2015

Unaffiliated and Underrepresented; Congress more Christian than constituents

NYT

President Obama is a Christian (despite the fact that most Republicans apparently still believe that his “deep down” beliefs are Muslim, according to one poll conducted last year.)

In fact, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, there have only been four “religiously unaffiliated heads of state in American history,” the last being Rutherford B. Hayes, who left office in 1881. This, however, does not mean that they did not believe in God.

Perhaps the most famous unaffiliated president was Abraham Lincoln, who wrote in 1846:

“That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular.”

Now it is almost unconscionable to think of a president who didn’t believe in God. In fact, a poll last year by the Pew Research Center found that not believing in God was the most negative trait a presidential candidate could have among a variety of options, even more negative than having an extramarital affair.

Furthermore, in the House and Senate at the beginning of this session of Congress, 92 percent of members were Christian, 5 percent were Jewish, 0.4 percent each were Buddhist and Muslim and just 0.2 percent were unaffiliated. For those doing the math, that leaves only one member unaffiliated: Representative Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona.

But how long can this overrepresentation of Christianity and underrepresentation of the unaffiliated last in government? According to a Pew report released last week, “The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing.” In fact, the percentage of adults who “describe themselves as Christians has dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years,” from 78.4 percent in 2007 to 70.6 percent in 2014.

But the report also found, “Over the same period, the percentage of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated — describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular’ — has jumped more than six points, from 16.1 percent to 22.8 percent.” Much of the change comes from younger people. According to the report, “About a third of older millennials (adults currently in their late 20s and early 30s) now say they have no religion, up nine percentage points among this cohort since 2007, when the same group was between ages 18 and 26.”

This begs the question: How much longer will this be thought of as a strictly Christian nation (if it ever really was one) with an overwhelming Christian government?

More
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/opinion/charles-blow-unaffiliated-and-underrepresented.html?referrer=

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Strange question in that last paragraph I posted, considering the only ones who think this is/ever was a 'Christian nation' are radical RW Christians. Oh, and pandering politicians (& their media hacks) who seek their votes.

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Unaffiliated and Underrepresented; Congress more Christian than constituents (Original Post) Panich52 May 2015 OP
Another look... yallerdawg May 2015 #1
No wonder the evangelicals are using far mongering to fire up base Panich52 May 2015 #2

yallerdawg

(16,104 posts)
1. Another look...
Mon May 18, 2015, 09:53 AM
May 2015
These numbers are about more than what Americans believe and how they worship, they also have big potential political impacts. Why? That young, growing group of unaffiliateds, is overwhelming Democratic in its voting habits.

In 2012, they gave 70% of their vote to Barack Obama according to exit polls and that was up from figures in the 2000 and 2004 exit polls, when 61% and 64% of those voters went Democratic in those presidential campaigns respectively. Of the big four faith groups unaffiliateds are, by far, the most reliably Democratic.

More at: http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/nerdscreen-rise-religiously-unaffiliated-n360216

Panich52

(5,829 posts)
2. No wonder the evangelicals are using far mongering to fire up base
Tue May 19, 2015, 11:36 AM
May 2015

Yet the tactic is probably one reason for the exodus.

Looks like threats towards the 'godless' will be with us for quite a while. Bible thumpers have tenacity of snapping turtles. Once they've got a target, difficult for them to let go.

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