Is the Decline of Religion a Media Myth?
WASHINGTON — Distinguished scholars from Baylor University on Tuesday decried the myth that religion is on the decline in America and argued that it's actually growing and is stronger than ever.
Professors from Baylor University's Institute for Religion Studies in Waco, Texas, participated in a panel discussion at the National Press Club focusing on the "secularization myth," where they lambasted the media's spin on various surveys which has led many to believe that irreligion is on the rise in the United States.
Even though surveys have found there to be a rise in individuals who don't identify with a particular religion or denomination ("nones") and a decline in church membership for many Mainline denominations, the panelists agreed that those results don't mean that religion is on its deathbed or that atheism is on the rise.
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Byron Johnson, a professor of social sciences and the founding director of the Institute for Religion Studies, explained that survey results are often misrepresented in the media. He quoted a study done by Pew Research, which found that 44 percent of Americans have left the particular faith affiliation in which they were raised.
Although the Pew result is indicative of the fact that many Americans have converted to other congregations and denominations from which they grew up in, Johnson explained that some news outlets reported on how 44 percent of Americans have left their faith altogether.
