By Denise Richardson
A study of religious life in America released Monday paints a numerical landscape of faiths that isn't surprising, several professionals in the field said.
The American Religious Identification Survey said 15 percent of respondents had no religion, up from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990. And the percentage of Christians has declined to 76 percent, from 77 percent and 86 percent, respectively, the data said.
Local clergy and professors said behind the numbers are such factors as more Americans willing to say publicly they have no religious beliefs; weariness with mainline Protestantism; other avenues sought to find and enhance meaning in life; and work and other demands on time.
The number of Americans with no religion rose in every state, the ARIS study said.
Lisle Dalton, assistant professor of religious studies at Hartwick College in Oneonta, said some people who are unaffiliated have theistic beliefs and aren't atheists or agnostics. They are ``believers but not belongers,'' he said.
More Americans are feeling comfortable saying, ``I'm not Christian,'' said Gary Herion, professor of religious studies at Hartwick. ``They don't feel the ghost of their parents or grandparents hovering over them.''
Researchers said mainline Protestants, including Episcopalians, Lutherans and Methodists, was 12.9 percent in 2008, a drop from more than 17 percent in 2001. About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal God of monotheistic faiths.
``The church of Christ is not growing,'' said the Rev. Gary Bonebrake, pastor of Main Street Baptist Church in Oneonta.``It's of deep concern to me.''
Bonebrake said human beings are ``hard wired'' to seek and know God, as a bulb needs to be fitted into an electrical socket to yield light.
``Human beings are made to know God,'' Bonebrake said. ``It's a tragedy that there is a growing number of irreligious people in our county.''
A rising number of irreligious people may the result of liberal teachings of the Bible and of the aggressiveness of the atheist movement, Bonebrake said. Also, churches generally struggle to grow in membership because of an anti-establishment reaction to joining, he said.
At Main Street Baptist Church, about 400 people attend Sunday services, with about 250 to 300 in the morning and 100 to 125 at the evening service, he said. Attendance has grown since he started 14 years ago and resulted in the two services.
Herion said anecdotal evidence indicates mainline Protestants have become weary seeing Christianity in America becoming the agenda of political or secular groups or other special interests. For some, mainline Protestantism has become partisan instead of being an intelligent and creative way to apply Christian values to cultural and moral issues facing the nation.
The issues and topics include homosexuality and the church, abortion, ordination of women, and ``Biblical liberalism'' and creationism, Herion said. Another developing national issue is immigration, he said, and not surprisingly, immigrants from Mexico and other Latino countries have buoyed the numbers of Catholics in the country, particularly in California, Texas and Florida.
``For many people, mainline Christianity in the United States no longer provides a framework of meaning for their lives,'' Herion said. ``For many, it obviously does.''
Herion said the key question is whether mainline Protestants, which are focused on financial losses, are acknowledging that the declining numbers are tied to meeting spiritual needs.
``I don't think we've reached the bottom yet,'' Herion said.
Nationally, Catholics remain largest religious group, with 57 million people, gaining about 11 million followers since 1990, the ARIS study said.
The Albany-based local Diocese recently announced a reorganization that includes stronger ties between some congregations and closure of some churches. Calls to Catholic priests Monday afternoon weren't returned.
The ARIS study by The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points. Later, researchers will look more closely at reasons behind the trends.
Dalton said Oneonta's religious groups reflect ``a decent cross-section'' of the landscape across the nation, with perhaps a little higher number of sceptics because the community is a college town.
Church attendance and religious observance has risen and fallen over time, said the Rev. Harry Myers, a United Church of Christ minister for 52 years. Currently, people are struggling to put food on the table, he said, and don't feel a need to be part of organizations _ religious or secular.
Myers said 10 years ago, when he started as part-time minister for the Laurens Presbyterian Church, attendance on Sunday was 10 to 20 people. That number is about double now, he said, a development generated from having a regular clergy instead of substitute ministers. But the Laurens church and community are small, he said.
