People in the U.S. are leaving and switching faith traditions in large numbers. The idea of "religious churning" is very common in America, according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).
It finds that around one-quarter (26%) of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated, a number that has risen over the last decade and is now the largest single religious group in the U.S. That's similar to what other surveys and polls have also found, including Pew Research.
PRRI found that the number of those who describe themselves as "nothing in particular" has held steady since 2013, but those who identify as atheists have doubled (from 2% to 4%) and those who say they're agnostic has more than doubled (from 2% to 5%).
As for why people leave their religions, PRRI found that about two-thirds (67%) of people who leave a faith tradition say they did so because they simply stopped believing in that religion's teachings.
And nearly half (47%) of respondents who left cited negative teaching about the treatment of LGBTQ people.
Those numbers were especially high with one group in particular.
"Religion's negative teaching about LGBTQ people are driving younger Americans to leave church," Deckman says. "We found that about 60% of Americans who are under the age of 30 who have left religion say they left because of their religious traditions teaching, which is a much higher rate than for older Americans."
The entire Modern Christian religion is built on these doublespeak principles that allow you shape it to whatever you need it to be. God is loving and compassionate but also wrathful, violent, and prone to punishment. God has a just and perfect plan for you, but that requires suffering and pain. God is full of infinite love, but is willing to send you to Hell for eternity. Jesus is the King, but also a mere humble servant.
Love thy neighbor didn't come with exceptions.
Edit: It worth adding "Modern" Christian Religion.
Sounds like an abusive partner.
If going to church makes you a Christian, does going in the garage make you a car? Jesus would throw all christians out as they have turned their back on him.
There's coercive patterns to any kind of authority. It's the whole difference between a leader and a boss. Follow leaders, avoid bosses wherever you can, whether it's in a social community like a religion or a personal relationship.
Thanks to schismatics there are almost as many different Christian perspectives as there are Christians. Protestantism in particular constantly innovates and separates creating a lot of confusion, strife and (based on your comment) vitriol from those who rightfully interpret what they are hearing as word games and manipulation (no matter how well intentioned).
I encourage you to read Orthodox exegesis of scripture. There is some differing theological opinion in some of the writings of the church fathers but the core tenets of Orthodox Christianity are not up for debate and remain unchanged for at least 1200 years.