According to a survey recently reported in The Charlotte Observer, the entire nation is declining in a way aside from the obvious economic downturn … we’re losing our faith as well.

The Observer reports that every state in the U.S. saw lower results in those who claim a religion. The question on everyone's mind - why?

In order to obtain answers, this reporter distributed a 10-question survey via the Internet to willing participants. Students at Concord High and at the University of South Carolina were also interviewed on their religious or unaffiliated beliefs to see if there was a correlation between the nation's decline and a decline of a local nature.

Five students between the ages of 15 and 21 were interviewed personally. All five came from a Protestant background, but only one student still maintained that family's religious beliefs. Four out of five students interviewed indentified themselves as agnostic; that is, they neither support nor deny the existence of a higher spiritual power. The same four also marked “never attend religious services” on their respective surveys.

Senior Rachel Lewallen was asked what she felt contributed to the recent decline in citizens who claim a religion.

"Speaking from the non-religious perspective," said Lewallen, "I feel that my decision to be a "non-believer" was mostly affected by scientific research that contradicts a lot of Christian teachings."  

A question on the survey asked, "What has contributed the most to your decision to actively participate in a religion or remain unaffiliated?" "Science" was among the options given for students to check off, as well as “the media”, “influence of family and friends”, and “reading the Bible or other religious material.”

Natalie Watson, a junior at USC, has been an agnostic since age 5 after experiencing a traumatic event. 

“I distinctly remember praying as a child, and I wondered how a truly caring God could ignore those prayers,” Watson said of her agnosticism. 

She also added, "I believe that it is impossible to know anything about God, including whether or not there is such a thing, and that the very impossibility of knowing is what makes whatever is holy become holy.” 

Watson has taken several classes on religion, including three at CHS. She is now a religions minor at her university despite her non-affiliation. Watson was also the only non-religious interviewee who claimed to have read the entire Bible.

While those interviewed presented good points as to why they felt religious affiliation was on a downward trend, there are likely many other reasons for the decline.

One factor that may be contributing to the non-affiliation of citizens is that people simply do not have the time to attend religious services. Being inactive in the religious community, people do not feel they have the right and/or need to associate themselves with any particular movement. The cause for this lack of time to explore religion ranges from prior work duties to busy family schedules. 

It is no surprise that more and more focus is put on family and personal time outside of professional schedules when so much energy is put into working long hours to struggle through tough economic times.

Also, as the United States is a nation that is becoming more and more liberally aligned, people are sometimes unnerved by what they consider “archaic” religious traditions and held beliefs. Some citizens believe that acts of intolerance condoned by churches, such as persecution of homosexuals, is unwarranted by today’s standards and do not want to associate themselves with a group that holds these views.

Certain religious communities, most notably Evangelical Christian groups, get a lot of bad press due to their ardent proselytism towards uninterested parties. The fanaticism that is reported by the media winds up turning many on-the-fencers away. Even though these fervent groups normally represent a very small section of the religious groups available to U.S. citizens, they are the most frequently covered by TV and radio.