It is by now an article of faith that spiritual life in these United States has shifted dramatically over the last half century. Those with no self-identified religious affiliation are now larger in number than any single religious group and are around 30% of the US population. Based on that statistic, at first glance it would thus appea…
It is by now an article of faith that spiritual life in these United States has shifted dramatically over the last half century. Those with no self-identified religious affiliation are now larger in number than any single religious group and are around 30% of the US population. Based on that statistic, at first glance it would thus appear that something like 1 in 8 Americans is an atheist. However, only about 4% of of US adults identify as such. The religiously unaffiliated vary in how they self-identify, with only about 17% of religiously unaffiliated people explicitly identifying as “atheist” on surveys. The rest do not reject religion and religious concepts as vigorously as atheists and often look elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment or say they don't make any special effort to seek it. With that as an introduction of sorts, apparently you can also have a choice when it comes to reincarnation. There's your Eastern view which makes it mandatory, with your life's choices (karma) determining what you come back as, while the Western (largely American New Age) says you essentially get to choose.
It is by now an article of faith that spiritual life in these United States has shifted dramatically over the last half century. Those with no self-identified religious affiliation are now larger in number than any single religious group and are around 30% of the US population. Based on that statistic, at first glance it would thus appear that something like 1 in 8 Americans is an atheist. However, only about 4% of of US adults identify as such. The religiously unaffiliated vary in how they self-identify, with only about 17% of religiously unaffiliated people explicitly identifying as “atheist” on surveys. The rest do not reject religion and religious concepts as vigorously as atheists and often look elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment or say they don't make any special effort to seek it. With that as an introduction of sorts, apparently you can also have a choice when it comes to reincarnation. There's your Eastern view which makes it mandatory, with your life's choices (karma) determining what you come back as, while the Western (largely American New Age) says you essentially get to choose.