米成人、「無宗教」が３割　キリスト教徒減少

【ニューヨークＡＦＰ＝時事】キリスト教徒が多数を占める米国で、「無宗教」と答えた成人が２００７年の１６％から２９％に増えたことが、米調査機関ピュー・リサーチ・センターの調査で分かった。（写真は資料写真）
　調査は今年５～８月、米国内の成人約４０００人を対象に実施された。ピュー・リサーチ・センターは０７年から、無神論や不可知論、特定の信仰は持たないなど「無宗教」だとする人の調査を行っている。
　それによると、自身はキリスト教徒だと答えた人の割合は０７年の７８％から２１年には６３％と大幅に低下した。
　キリスト教徒と無宗教の比率は０７年は５対１だったが、２１年には２対１になった。また、世俗化の傾向はプロテスタントで強く、カトリックの人口は比較的堅調に推移している。
　同センターは２０１９年に、特に若い世代で「無宗教」の増加が目立つと指摘していた。
　同センターはキリスト教徒減少の理由は挙げていない。欧米諸国ではキリスト教徒の割合が大幅に低下している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/12/16-10:49）

The number of Americans who identify as non-religious is soaring in the profoundly Christian United States, according to a Pew Research Center study published Tuesday.
Some 29 percent of American adults are now religiously unaffiliated -- up from 16 percent 14 years ago -- the survey found.
America is home to a powerful, socially conservative Christian right-wing political faction and Christianity remains the overwhelmingly dominant religion in the country.
But the religion is declining markedly, the Pew results showed.
Seventy-eight percent of US adults identified as Christian in 2007. Now, some 63 percent do, according to the research.
In 2007, Pew began tracking religious nones -- people who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular.
Then, Christians outnumbered nones by almost five-to-one. Today it is closer to two-to-one, the researchers said.
Pew's researchers did not give reasons for the trend, but it is in line with the wider decline in Christianity across the West.
In 2019, the center said the growth of religious nones in America was particularly evident among younger people.
Pew's latest survey found that the secular shift was concentrated amongst Protestant communities, with the Catholic share of the population holding relatively steady in recent years.
Some 60 percent of Protestants described themselves as born-again or evangelical Christian, Pew said.
White evangelical Christians are among former president Donald Trump's most ardent supporters, with 84 percent of the group voting for him in last year's election, Pew said previously.
Researchers quizzed almost 4,000 respondents between May and August this year for the survey released Tuesday.