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TechnoratiA humanist group released a report disputing the results of Baylor University's 2008 Religion Survey, arguing that it is atheism, not religiosity, that is on the rise in America.
The report on Monday by the Council for Secular Humanism calls into question survey findings published by Baylor's Institute of Studies of Religion in its book What America Really Believes.
In particular, the humanist group takes issue with the chapter entitled, “Atheism: The Godless Revolution That Never Happened," in which Baylor researchers observed that the percentage of atheists have remained unchanged at 4 percent over the past 63 years. The chapter also reveals survey findings that show two-thirds of those who claimed "no religion" did express some belief in God.
Dr. Rodney Starke, lead researcher of the Baylor survey and author of the book, suggested in the chapter on atheism that those who claimed to be "irreligious" were simply "unchurched." The Baylor Survey found that Americans who claimed to be irreligious exhibited religious behavior with a majority praying, around a third of them professing belief in Satan, hell and demons, and around half believing in angels and ghosts.
Gregory S. Paul, author of the CSH report, disagrees with the Baylor results.
He argues that the survey has failed to document large numbers of Americans who are in the middle. Some who are not "convinced atheists" but fall into categories of nontheism, such as those who are self-described agnostics or "spiritual but not religious," should also be counted toward the number of Americans who disbelieve in God, suggests Paul.
"Baylor's methods largely ignore these doubters, making nonbelief appear less prevalent in society than it truly is. The Baylor team treats almost any deviation from strict atheism as a sign of religiosity," contends Paul, a freelance paleontologist.
"Doing so falsely maximizes the apparent level of faith," he says.
Paul said that if the Baylor survey had included key findings of major polling organizations such as Gallup, Harris, and Pew, it would have found an increasing secularization of American society.
"Religious belief and activity in America are trending downward in so many ways that it is simply untenable to pretend that the nation is growing more religious," says Paul.
He further suggests in his CSH report that the Baylor team defended a false contention that religious belief is on the rise. He also charges Stark for improperly evaluating the data based upon his beliefs.
Not so, says Baylor University, which responded to the CSH report on Tuesday.
Jill Scoggins, a spokeswoman for Baylor University, told The Christian Post on Tuesday the survey was not done "with an end in mind" but with a genuine interest on the religious attitudes of Americans.
"I know it's hard to understand that a Christian university doesn't have an agenda but we don't," she said.
Scoggins emphasized that Baylor's Institute of Studies of Religion had the survey independently conducted by the Gallup Organization to ensure the professionalism and validity of the results.
"We aren't going to skew data," she said. "We're just as interested in finding out what American religious attitudes are."
Baylor University also sent The Christian Post its official statement on the matter.
The statement reads: "The Institute and its faculty continue to stand by the validity of the survey’s methodology and analysis. A total of 1,648 adults chosen randomly from across the country answered more than 350 items in the survey, which was conducted by the Gallup Organization in the fall of 2007. Continue >>
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