Ask Americans what their religion is, and nearly 1 in 3 say this -- none. That’s according to the U.S. adults surveyed by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. “And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church,” he recalled.

Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades.

“Most religions are there to control people and get money from them,” said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. “I can’t buy into that,” he said.

  • paddirn@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    I don’t mind people going to Church and practicing their religion, as long as they stay in their lanes and they’re not trying to force their religious beliefs on everybody else. Trying to better yourself and your community is great, there’s a ton of really nice people out there who go to Church and are just all around good people. It’s all the assholes that think their belief trumps everyone else’s rights that need to eat shit.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      Not minding your own business is pretty much why Europeans settled North America…

      The Pilgrims love to say they escaped persecution, but really they were far right extremists who were all pissed off most of Europe wouldn’t follow their strict rules.

      So they came to America and started pumping out as many kids as possible. With the goal to become the majority so they could force everyone to follow their rules.

      We’re worse off because there’s no more “empty” land to send them all too. If we ever colonize another planet, it’s 100% going to be extremists overwhelmingly signing up to go first. Until then, we’re stuck with them.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
        0·
        2 years ago

        None of my family were pilgrims. I don’t think you can just ignore the tens of millions of immigrants from Europe who weren’t pilgrims

        • vonbaronhans@midwest.social
          0·
          2 years ago

          I think their point is that the pilgrims set the cultural precedents for what would later become America, to which later immigrants would be beholden.

          I don’t know how true that is, but I think “protestant work ethic” is at least one example of that sort of thing.