Conventional wisdom says the U.S. is an unusually religious developed country. This New York Times article reports survey results from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life which examine the current state of religion in the U.S.
Key findings include high levels of religious tolerance and a rapidly growing group of people unaffiliated with any church. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that fully 1/4 of Americans are no longer affiliated with the faith of their childhood, having changed churches or become unaffiliated.
The oddest finding is that substantial numbers of self-identified atheists and agnostics believe in God. I can imagine agnostics believing in a God who does not want to be worshipped, but what is up with the 20% of atheists who believe in God? That is like vegetarians eating meat or teetotallers drinking booze.
Come November these clueless people will get to vote just like you will, scary isn't it?
