{"id":20958,"date":"2015-03-20T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-03-20T10:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=20958"},"modified":"2015-03-19T20:25:30","modified_gmt":"2015-03-20T00:25:30","slug":"the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/","title":{"rendered":"The unchurched and non-religious still pray"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people\u2013including the non-religious\u2013are still praying.\u00a0 In fact, 57% of Americans say they pray every day, and 75% pray once a week or more.\u00a0 This would seem to indicate a shift away from corporate religion to privatized religion.\u00a0 See details after the jump.<\/p>\n

Question:\u00a0 From a Christian perspective, is the persistence of prayer, even as church attendance declines, a good thing, in the sense of better than nothing, or a sign of spiritual sensibility despite it all?\u00a0 Or, as Joe Carter argues<\/a>, is it a bad thing?<\/p>\n

From Americans continue to pray even as religious practices wither, survey finds \u2013 The Washington Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

A record-low share of Americans attend church regularly, affiliate with a religious faith and see themselves as religious, according to a major survey released this week. . . .<\/p>\n

Fully 57\u2009percent of respondents said they pray at least once a day, little different from 54\u2009percent in 1983, when the question was first asked on the survey. Three-quarters of respondents said they pray at least once a week, while 1 in 4 pray less often or never. . . .<\/p>\n

The stability of prayer contrasts sharply with erosion on other measures of religious commitment. Since 2006, the percentage of people describing themselves as \u201cvery\u201d or \u201cmoderately\u201d religious has declined eight percentage points, from 62\u2009percent to 54\u2009percent. The share affiliating with a particular faith has fallen from over 90\u2009percent in the 1980s and 1990s to 79\u2009percent in 2014. Just over 4 in 10 report attending worship services at least once a month, down roughly 10 points from three decades ago. All are record lows.<\/p>\n

The resilience of prayer reflects a broader shift in Americans\u2019 understanding of religion, according to Christian Smith, a professor of sociology who leads the University of Notre Dame\u2019s Center for the Study of Religion and Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cReligion is gradually becoming more personal, private, subjective in practice,\u201d and \u201cless public, institutional and shared,\u201d Smith said. \u201cPeople still believe religious things and practice religion \u2018in their heads,\u2019 as in prayer, but are less institutionally connected and engage in fewer public, institution-centered observations.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people\u2013including the non-religious\u2013are still praying.\u00a0 In fact, 57% of Americans say they pray every day, and 75% pray once a week or more.\u00a0 This would seem to indicate a shift away from corporate religion to privatized religion.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,42],"tags":[148,1775],"class_list":["post-20958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religions","category-social-science","tag-american-religious-beliefs","tag-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nThe unchurched and non-religious still pray<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people--including the non-religious--are still\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The unchurched and non-religious still pray\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people--including the non-religious--are still\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-20T10:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-20T00:25:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/\",\"name\":\"The unchurched and non-religious still pray\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-20T10:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-20T00:25:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people--including the non-religious--are still\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The unchurched and non-religious still pray\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The unchurched and non-religious still pray","description":"Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people--including the non-religious--are still","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The unchurched and non-religious still pray","og_description":"Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people--including the non-religious--are still","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2015-03-20T10:00:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-03-20T00:25:30+00:00","author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/","name":"The unchurched and non-religious still pray","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-20T10:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-20T00:25:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"Church attendance and other marks of religious observance are in decline, but a new study has found that people--including the non-religious--are still","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2015\/03\/the-unchurched-and-non-religious-still-pray\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The unchurched and non-religious still pray"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}