{"id":21065,"date":"2014-03-14T16:30:21","date_gmt":"2014-03-14T22:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/?p=21065"},"modified":"2014-12-27T09:47:38","modified_gmt":"2014-12-27T16:47:38","slug":"21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"21% of Americans Say Religion is ‘Not That Important’ in Their Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with other polls. The details are pretty much the same as those in previous polls, as well. An NBC news article<\/a> says that \u201cLess religious Americans are more likely to be men, have an income over $75,000, to live in the northeast\u201d and be under 35.<\/p>\n

The only comment I have to make about this is that it\u2019s something to consider as we contemplate how to approach re-converting this culture. Do we start with these \u201cnot that importants,\u201d or do we begin elsewhere?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t claim to have a decisive answer. But my personal opinion, based mainly on years of political campaigning, is that we should begin with our own people. I think the first great need for active conversion is to be found in the pews of our own churches.<\/p>\n

There are over 1 billion Catholics on this planet, and almost all of us are laity. We are the Church. The need to educate, inspire and lead this laity to an active evangelistic fervor is so obvious that I\u2019m not going to waste the words to substantiate it in this brief post.<\/p>\n

I think the place to begin the great work of conversion that is in front of us is our own laity. The question I have is, does the laity have to do the work of converting itself?<\/p>\n

We need leadership.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with other polls. The details are pretty much the same as those in previous polls, as well. An NBC news article says that \u201cLess religious Americans are more likely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,10,5392,134,819,2790,726,4913,5185,5214,5302,1],"tags":[567,5218,6222,821,616,6223],"class_list":["post-21065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-america","category-catholic","category-christian-leadership","category-clergy","category-conversion","category-evangelization","category-following-christ","category-inspiration","category-new-evangelism-2","category-new-evangelization-2","category-post-christian-west","category-uncategorized","tag-catholic-2","tag-catholic-leadership","tag-christian-leadership-2","tag-conversion-2","tag-laity","tag-new-evanglization"],"yoast_head":"\n21% of Americans Say Religion is 'Not That Important' in Their Lives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with\" \/>\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\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"21% of Americans Say Religion is 'Not That Important' in Their Lives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Public Catholic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-14T22:30:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-27T16:47:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rebecca Hamilton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rebecca Hamilton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/\",\"name\":\"21% of Americans Say Religion is 'Not That Important' in Their Lives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-14T22:30:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-27T16:47:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d\"},\"description\":\"According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"21% of Americans Say Religion is ‘Not That Important’ in Their Lives\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/\",\"name\":\"Public Catholic\",\"description\":\"Catholic in the Public Square\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d\",\"name\":\"Rebecca Hamilton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rebecca Hamilton\"},\"description\":\"During her tenure in the Oklahoma Legislature, Rep. Hamilton has been an advocate for human rights, believing that government must support and defend the sanctity of all human lives, from conception to natural death. Representative Hamilton: Authored the original Victim\u2019s Protective Order to protect battered women, Obtained funding for the first statewide program for adult day care and the first statewide program of domestic violence shelters, and she She has also passed legislation to prevent law enforcement officials from publicly posting the private information of rape victims, Rep. Hamilton authored a 2005 law hailed as the most significant piece of pro-life legislation in Oklahoma in 30 years. She also passed the bill outlawing elective abortions in state-funded hospitals She has passed pro life bills requiring informed consent, parental notification, and limiting forced abortions. She also passed a law allowing prosecutors to file criminal charges against anyone who intentionally causes the death of an unborn child by harming the mother. Rep. Hamilton has also authored legislation ensuring taxpayers are not forced to subsidize elective abortions Rep. Hamilton was one of six original co-founders of first rape crisis center in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Democrat has worked to bring a wide range of groups together to fight on the behalf of abused women, including the creation of the Annual Day of Prayer for an End to Violence Against Women at the Oklahoma Capitol. Rep. Hamilton has been married for 30 years to her husband, Rodney, and the couple has two grown sons. She attends St. James Catholic Church, and is a long-time volunteer at Birth Choice of Oklahoma.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/author\/rhamilton\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"21% of Americans Say Religion is 'Not That Important' in Their Lives","description":"According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with","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\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"21% of Americans Say Religion is 'Not That Important' in Their Lives","og_description":"According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/","og_site_name":"Public Catholic","article_published_time":"2014-03-14T22:30:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-27T16:47:38+00:00","author":"Rebecca Hamilton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rebecca Hamilton","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/","name":"21% of Americans Say Religion is 'Not That Important' in Their Lives","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-03-14T22:30:21+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-27T16:47:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d"},"description":"According to a poll by NBC\/WSJ, 21% of Americans say that religion is \u201cnot that important in their lives.\u201d This isn\u2019t a big surprise. It\u2019s consistent with","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2014\/03\/21-of-americans-say-religion-not-that-important-in-their-lives\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"21% of Americans Say Religion is ‘Not That Important’ in Their Lives"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/","name":"Public Catholic","description":"Catholic in the Public Square","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d","name":"Rebecca Hamilton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Rebecca Hamilton"},"description":"During her tenure in the Oklahoma Legislature, Rep. Hamilton has been an advocate for human rights, believing that government must support and defend the sanctity of all human lives, from conception to natural death. Representative Hamilton: Authored the original Victim\u2019s Protective Order to protect battered women, Obtained funding for the first statewide program for adult day care and the first statewide program of domestic violence shelters, and she She has also passed legislation to prevent law enforcement officials from publicly posting the private information of rape victims, Rep. Hamilton authored a 2005 law hailed as the most significant piece of pro-life legislation in Oklahoma in 30 years. She also passed the bill outlawing elective abortions in state-funded hospitals She has passed pro life bills requiring informed consent, parental notification, and limiting forced abortions. She also passed a law allowing prosecutors to file criminal charges against anyone who intentionally causes the death of an unborn child by harming the mother. Rep. Hamilton has also authored legislation ensuring taxpayers are not forced to subsidize elective abortions Rep. Hamilton was one of six original co-founders of first rape crisis center in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Democrat has worked to bring a wide range of groups together to fight on the behalf of abused women, including the creation of the Annual Day of Prayer for an End to Violence Against Women at the Oklahoma Capitol. Rep. Hamilton has been married for 30 years to her husband, Rodney, and the couple has two grown sons. She attends St. James Catholic Church, and is a long-time volunteer at Birth Choice of Oklahoma.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/author\/rhamilton\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21065"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25843,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21065\/revisions\/25843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}