American Religion or Religinone?
GOPOPRO
What percent of Americans identify their religious preference as having no religion?
How accurate was your weak prediction?
What most surprised you about this data?
How surprising would this data be to the average Americans?
Describe the trend since 1948 in Americans who identify their religious preference a “none”?
What is your best explanation for that trend?
In what way has that trend had the biggest impact on American politics?
Explain whether this trend is good news for America.
Use the data from the chart to make a claim that can be substantiated (backed up) by the data:
A student named Wolfgang looked at this data and said to his class that “America is clearly becoming a less Christian nation.” Explain whether you agree with Wolfgang.
If current trends continue, in what year will non-religious Americans be the largest “religious” group (plurality)?
The Democratic presidential candidate who is most outspoken about his religion, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, is gay. How confusing is that to most Americans?
Do you think most religious Americans will vote for Pete Buttigieg because he, like them, is so religious?
POTUS Trump is clearly a non-religious person, yet many Christians are extremely devoted to his presidency. How do you explain that?
Describe the impact you think religion will have on the 2020 election.
Would it be fair to describe a very devoted non-religious female who lived in a non-religious convent as a “none-nun”?
What state do you think is the least religious?*
How do you think a state’s religiosity relates to its political affiliation?*
Around the time of the Revolutionary War only 17 percent of the total American population belonged to a church congregation. How surprising is that information?
Visual Extension*
Learning Extension
Read the Pew Report on America’s Changing Religious Landscape
Action Extension
Share any of the data on American religion on social media and describe the reaction in class or online.
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