Americans Switch Faiths Early and Often

One of the false arguments that the Christianists and professional Christian crowd use to justify discrimination against LGBT is that they say that sexual orientation is a choice and not an immutable attribute of an individual compared to say race. If that argument justifies leaving gays with no anti-discrimination protections, then it increasingly looks as if religion should cease to be a protected class since religion is clearly NOT an immutable characteristic and is something that can be freely changed based on several new surveys that underscore this fact. Specifically, a new report issued by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life makes it clear that Homo haters James Dobson, Tony Perkins, et al , best be careful in terms of what pretenses they use to justify their opposition to hate crimes laws and other laws that would give LGBT Americans full equality under the laws. The survey also has some less than good news for the Roman Catholic Church as well. Here are some highlights from the Sacramento Bee that describe the ease and frequency with which Americans change religious affiliation:

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The U.S. is a nation of religious drifters, with about half of adults restlessly switching faith affiliation at least once during their lives, a new survey has found. And the reasons behind all the swapping depend greatly on whether one grows up kneeling at Roman Catholic Mass, praying in a Protestant pew or occupied with nonreligious pursuits, according to a report issued Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

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While Catholics are more likely to leave the church because they stopped believing its teachings, many Protestants are driven to trade one Protestant denomination or affiliation for another because of changed life circumstances, the survey found. The ranks of those unaffiliated with any religion, meanwhile, are growing not so much because of a lack of religious belief but because of disenchantment with religious leaders and institutions.

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The report estimates that between 47 percent and 59 percent of U.S. adults have changed affiliation at least once. Most described just gradually drifting away from their childhood faith. "This shows a sort of religion a la carte and how pervasive it is," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion. "In some ways, it's an indictment of organized Christianity. It suggests there's a big open door for newcomers, but a wide back door where people are leaving."

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The survey found that Catholicism has suffered the greatest net loss in all the religion switching. Nearly six in ten former Catholics who are now unaffiliated say they left Catholicism due to dissatisfaction with Catholic teachings on abortion and homosexuality. About half cited concerns about Catholic teachings on birth control and roughly four in ten named unhappiness with Catholicism's treatment of women. Converts to evangelicalism were more likely to cite their belief that Catholicism didn't take the Bible literally enough, while mainline Protestants focused more on the treatment of women.