The United States may no longer be a white, Christian country.
Based on research from Robert P. Jones, author of The End of White Christian America, The Atlantic published a video that shows how theres been a decline in Americans who identify as white Christians in the last decade.
His research shows that while 67 percent of Americans 65 years old or older identify as white Christians, only about 29 percent of people 18 to 29 feel the same.
More so, Jones' research shows that about 1 in 4 Americans today identify as religiously unaffiliated, a significant jump from the 1 in 10 who felt the same in the '90s.
According to Jones, Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential run demonstrates how the lack of Christians have affected our nation. Though Romney had a significant amount of white evangelicals voting for him, it wasnt enough to put him over the top so he could win the presidency. Jones said it was because there had been a decline over the years in that religious group who would have voted for him.
But, the author pontificates that if Romney ran in 2004, there would have been enough white Christians in the country that could have secured him the White House.
This trend has created something of a backlash, as Americans struggle to figure out their identity. Is America a Christian nation as weve often thought, or is it a country defined by its diversity?
People fight like that when they are losing a sense of place, a sense of belonging, and a sense of the country that they understand and love, Jones said. How do they re-engage in public life when they cant be the majority?
Find out more in the video here.
Based on research from Robert P. Jones, author of The End of White Christian America, The Atlantic published a video that shows how theres been a decline in Americans who identify as white Christians in the last decade.
His research shows that while 67 percent of Americans 65 years old or older identify as white Christians, only about 29 percent of people 18 to 29 feel the same.
More so, Jones' research shows that about 1 in 4 Americans today identify as religiously unaffiliated, a significant jump from the 1 in 10 who felt the same in the '90s.
According to Jones, Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential run demonstrates how the lack of Christians have affected our nation. Though Romney had a significant amount of white evangelicals voting for him, it wasnt enough to put him over the top so he could win the presidency. Jones said it was because there had been a decline over the years in that religious group who would have voted for him.
But, the author pontificates that if Romney ran in 2004, there would have been enough white Christians in the country that could have secured him the White House.
This trend has created something of a backlash, as Americans struggle to figure out their identity. Is America a Christian nation as weve often thought, or is it a country defined by its diversity?
People fight like that when they are losing a sense of place, a sense of belonging, and a sense of the country that they understand and love, Jones said. How do they re-engage in public life when they cant be the majority?
Find out more in the video here.
