Rhetoric Race and Religion
Everyone’s talking about a recent Pew survey allegedly showing that nineteen percent of Americans say “none” when asked about their religious affiliation. As a result, one news outlet declared that “religion is declining” in America. Another (headline) stated that the survey shows “unbelief” is growing. I question the interpretations of the survey (as I question those of most surveys—especially about religion).
There can be little doubt that “religious affiliation” with specific, nameable religious organizations is declining. We are in a trend away from highly visible, structured denominations. Many church goers do not know what “religion” their church is. In part that’s because of confusion about the word “religion.” When confronted with the term, many people immediately imagine a specific denomination—“Catholic,” “Orthodox,” “Lutheran,” “Episcopal,” etc. If they attend a church without such a highly visible denominational affiliation, as many do, they may answer “none” to a question about their “religious affiliation.” They mean “I don’t belong to any specific denomination.”
I was raised with much confusion about religious terms and labels. Our little denomination was “not a denomination but a movement.” Only much later did I come to realize that we were a denomination. “Denomination” was sort of a bad word. Other people belonged to denominations and had “religious affiliation;” we had fellowship energized by the Holy Spirit.
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