World religions. Рахимбергенова М.Х. - 69 стр.

PA R T V I                                                                                                                Religious Information
                                                                                           Census of Religious Groups in the U.S.
                           RELIGION IN AMERICA
                                                                                           Source : 1987 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.
      In most western societies, modernization has been accompanied by a
                                                                                           The 1987 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches reported a total
marked decline in religious observance. America, in contrast, has remained un-
                                                                                      of 142 926 363 members of religious groups in the U.S. – 59,3 percent of the
usually religious. Church buildings representing an astonishing variety of faiths
                                                                                      population; membership fell half a percent from the previous year.
line residential streets, outnumbering even the gas stations. Sunday morning
                                                                                           Comparisons of membership statistics from group to group are not neces-
traffic is typically congested as people drive to Sunday School and church.
                                                                                      sarily meaningful. Membership definitions vary e.g Roman Catholics count
Most bookstores have an entire section of religious books and report a tremen-
                                                                                      members from infancy, but some Protestant groups count only “adult" mem-
dous volume of sales of books about Christianity and Christian living. Bibles
                                                                                      bers, usually 13 years or older; some groups compile data carefully, but others
continue to be the nation’s best-selling books.
                                                                                      estimate; not all groups report annually.
      Religiousness is conspicuous. Billboards, T-shirts, and bumper stickers
                                                                                           The number of churches appear in parenthess. Asterisk (*) indicates church
bear messages such as “Jesus Saves”. There are even a few Disneyland-type
                                                                                      declines to publish membership figures; (**) indicates figures date from 1977
tourist parks, such as South Carolina’s “Heritage USA”, devoted entirely to re-
                                                                                      or earlier.
ligious themes. These visible reminders of America’s religious activity are ac-
companied by impressive statistics:
                                                                                               Group                                                                               Members
         • More than nine out of ten Americans say they believe in God;               Adventist Christian Ch. (368) ............................................................... 28,830
         • One third claim they are born-again Christians;                            Primitive Advent Christian Ch. (10) ...........................................................546
         • More than four out of ten attend church or synagogue at least once a       Seventh-day Adventists (4 009) .......................................................... 651,954
            week;
                                                                                      American Rescue Workers (20) ..............................................................2,700
         • Two thirds are members of a local church or synagogue.                     Anglican Orthodox Church (40)..............................................................6,000
      Interest in religion is high even among young people, whose religious ac-
                                                                                      Baha’l Faith (1,650) ........................................................................... 100,000
tivity has typically been less regular than that of their parents and grandparents.
A Gallup poll indicates that young Americans are far more religious than their        Baptist churches:
counterparts in most other countries. About 41 percent of America’s young peo-          Amer. Baptist Assn. (1,641) ............................................................ 225,000
ple feel that religion should be “very important” in life, a percentage far greater     Amer. Baptist Chs. in U.S.A. (5,814)............................................ 1,559,683
than in Australia, Britain, France, Japan, Sweden, and West Germany.                    Baptist General Conference (753).................................................... 132,546
      Although the Constitution declares the separation of Church and State, re-        Baptist Missionary Assn. of America (1 367) ................................... 227,720
ligion has always pervaded American political life. The motto of the seal of the        Conservative Baptist Assn. of America (1,140) ................................ 225,000
United States carries the biblical words, “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to         Duck River (and Kindred) Assn. of Baptists (85).............................. **8,632
God”. When the pledge of allegiance to the American flag is recited, the two            Free Will Baptists (2,548) ............................................................... 217,838
words “under God” receive emphasis. American currency bears the inscription             Gen. Assn. of Regular Baptist Chs. (1,571) ...................................... 300,839
“In God We Trust”.                                                                      Natl. Baptist Convention of America (11,398)............................**2,668,799
      Almost all American presidents have claimed affiliation with an estab-            Natl. Baptist Convention, USA (26,000) ....................................**5,500,000
lished church. During inaugural ceremonies, U.S. presidents take their oath of          Natl. Primitive Baptist Convention (606) ..................................... **250,000
office on the Bible. Every session of Congress opens with a prayer. Politicians
                                                                                        No. Amer. Baptist Conference (258).................................................. 42,863
frequently make reference to God and the Bible in their speeches. Religion is
                                                                                        Seventh Day Baptist General Conference (60)......................................5,008
bound to have an influence on politics in a society where so many people value
religion.                                                                               Southern Baptist Convention (36,898) .........................................14,477,364
                                                                                      Brethren (German Baptists):
                                                                                        Brethren Ch. (Ashland, Ohio) (122)................................................... 14,229
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