Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

God Is Not Next
Thursday, January 11, 2007

Pew has just done it's new survey of "Generation Next," defined as Americans who grew up in the shadow of 9-11, or 18-25 year olds. Among the headlines, two-thirds feel their generation in unique (natch) and a majority say their main goal is "getting rich." (Thirty-six percent have tattoos, down from 40% for 26-40 year olds.)

Even given that vast majorities think binge drinking, casual sex, and illegal drug use are rampant in their generation, the news on God is striking.

1) 20% of Nexters say they have no religious affiliation, twice the number (11%) who said the same in the late 1980's. 11% of those over 25 fall into the same category, consistent with other surveys I've seen.

2) Protestants are suffering the most. 44% define themselves as Protestants, down 15% since the late 1980's. 25% define themselves as Catholic, down 14%. Jews remain constant at 2% of the population.

3) 63% believe in evolution over creationism, more than 20 percentage points higher than those older than 61.

Is Generation Next the next-to-last for the notion of America as the most religious nation in the world?

Labels: Religion in America

Posted by B Feiler at 10:02 PM
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