Christianity is set to become a minority faith in the US as soon as 2060 as millions embrace secularism, study reveals. In its ‘Reorganized Religion’ study, Pew Research Centre reveals the number of U.S. adults identifying as Christian has dropped from 90% in the 1990s to 64% now, and will likely decrease into a minority faith over the coming decades. The findings show the share of Christians is set to fall to as low as 35% by 2070. The decline is due to Christians switching to ‘nones’ – a secular mishmash of atheists, agnostics and those with no religious identity – which is set to grow from about 30% nowadays to as much as 52% by 2070. The percentage of other adherents of faith, such as Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists is set to double in share mostly driven by immigration, the study also revealed.
According to the study, damaging sex abuse scandals and cover-ups in the Catholic, Southern Baptist, Mormon and other churches are seeing people drift away from Christianity across much of the developed world. Christians often being among the most outspoken critics of progressive policies on gay marriage and abortion are other reasons why people are turning away from the faith. Bob Smietana, the author of ‘Reorganized Religion’, said Christianity’s decline may imperil “faith-based institutions that play a central part in community life’, which, he added, could be ‘weakened or disappear”. They would include the “food pantries at churches, the robust faith-based disaster relief” efforts that assist the needy in the U.S. and abroad, Smetana wrote on social media. Such Christian charities as Catholic Relief Services and the Salvation Army assist millions in the U.S. and beyond, arranging everything from food parcels to adoption schemes.
Source: Premier Christian News
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