I was thinking about how I’m already sick of Christmas decorations, Christmas music, Christmas movie previews, endless toy commercials for Christmas presents, and all the rest of it, and I wondered just what percentage of Americans actually are Christian…or of other religions. With the help of a website of Composite U.S. Demographics, here’s what I’ve learned:
Christians make up 76.5% of the U.S. population.
24.5% are Catholic.
12% are Baptist.
5.6% are Southern Baptist.
4.6% are Lutheran.
2.9% are Methodist (United Methodist Church).
2.7% are Presbeterian.
2.1% are Pentacostal.
1.93% are Mormon.
1.7% are Episcopalian.
.7% are Non-denominational.
.6% are Jehovah’s Witnesses.
.55% are Menonites.
Meanwhile, outside the Christian faith…
1.3% are Jewish.
.87% are Buddhist.
.5% are Muslim.
.5% are agnostic.
.4% are athiest
.36% are Hindu.
.3% are Unitarian.
.28% are Neo-pagan.
.05% are Baha’i.
This lets me know why we see so much Christmas everywhere, why the Religious Right can take up so much space without even people who disagree with their extremism objecting, and many other things about life in the U.S. of A.
Yet, there is another category I found on this site. Did you know that a whopping 13.2% of Americans identify as “non religious”? We don’t outnumber Catholics, but we do outnumber Baptists! (You’d never know that living here in the South, where Baptists have somehow convinced themselves they are the majority denomination in the country.)
The problem regarding Christmas is that we just get lumped together with everyone else who isn’t putting up Christmas decorations, and it's tough to find a way to put up “non religious” decorations that let people know you’re non religious and proud of it.
But hey, what about lights for windows that spell out “Non Religious Decoration”... or "Proud to Be Non Religious"... Think I could make an ebay business out of that?
3 comments:
To my mind, the "religious right" (an oxymoron in this country, they are neither religious or right) has made the word Christian, a dirty word. I can understand the frustration of those who are not "religious". Certainly the vast majority live their lives being the best humans they can be, adhering to moral(another word that has been hijacked to the point of being a perjorative) standards that cannot be justifiably attacked as wrong. Christmas has become an industry, a making making propistion that strips it of any value. If money can be made of it's opposite, I'd say go for it. The themes that my parents taught me of Christmas, peace, goodwill, brotherhood, are so sorely lacking in those that claim leadership that anything that brings joy, creates employment, and betters peoples lives is a good thing. And it has the added benefit of pissing off those who claim moral superiority. Happy non religious holiday to you too!
Sounds like we are on the same wavelength these days. Check out my last LiveJournal blog on a similar subject...
oh jeez, the baptist rule our tiny town of kyle texas -- the church is the largest building in town and they have one of those billboards that they fill with subtly offensive moral plattitudes. It drives me nuts. And the shit they put up there in order to get people to oppose gay marriage was just straight up hateful. I write a little about it on my blog:
http://fluffydollars.blogspot.com/2005/11/marriage-schmarriage-down-aisle-to-so.html
Anyway, I love your blog. I will be back!
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