Baylor Survey

Today, I've been looking at the information that's come out of the Baylor University Survey of Religion: "American Piety in the 21st Century." It's fascinating stuff. It's got some really interesting content that I must say is not that surprising. For instance, Americans are not getting less religious. Secularism is not encroaching. The church is not being flushed down the toilet. So the next time you hear a preacher bemoan the secular state of America, ask her...er, I mean, him...to back it up.

Another not-so-suprising finding: Americans care less and less about denominational affiliation. The researchers were surprised to note that many of the persons surveyed claimed to not be connected to a church type and/or claimed not to be religious, but then were able to write down the name and address of the church they attend. The guys at Baylor say this points up a major weakness in past survey tools which have concluded with higher rates of secularism; those past researchers have not adequately accounted for non-denominational, independent, and nominally denominational churches.

There's more stuff there, too, including the "Four Gods" in which Americans believe. Now that demands some theological reflection...