The number of religiously unaffiliated Americans continues to grow at a rapid pace. “In the last five …show more content…
“About seven-in-ten people who describe themselves as unaffiliated are under age 50 (72%), compared with 56% of the general public as a whole.” Atheists and agnostics are particularly younger in comparison with other religious groups. “About three-in-ten of the religiously unaffiliated have at least a college degree (31%),” and annual family income among the unaffiliated roughly matches that of the general public. Atheists and agnostics are higher on these socioeconomic measures. “Fully 44% of atheists and agnostics have at least a college degree,” and “about 38% of atheists and agnostics have an annual family income of at least $75,000, compared with 29% of the general public.” Such as in times of economic success, religion is less prominent, but in times of economic distress, religion is heightened. People pray more, in hopes that God won’t stress them out and will help them. Males tend to dominate the unaffiliated population. Atheists and agnostics are more likely to be male than female and those who define their religion as “nothing in particular” are more evenly divided: “53% are men, and 47% are women.” Women are more likely to affiliate themselves with religion. The religiously unaffiliated are somewhat more concentrated in the Western U.S. and less concentrated in the South. The south is known as the “Bible Belt,” in which socially conservative Evangelical Protestantism plays a strong role in society and politics, and Christian church attendance is generally higher than the nation’s