Americans think religion is losing influence in America, and they aren’t happy about it.
According to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of Americans feel that religion is losing its influence in daily life, which is up 5 percent from a similar survey in 2010.
But American’s don’t like this trend. In fact, 49 percent of people want religion to have more of an influence in politics, the Pew poll found. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, 75 percent of people think it would be positive for religion to have more of an influence in America’s daily life.
Why is America losing its religion? A lot of reasons, but the biggest part is the country’s secularization. Education and the Internet seem to be causing a drop in religious affiliation, making the country as a whole less tied to belief, a survey from the University of Chicago found.
Since so many Americans are interested in keeping religion’s influence in the country, believers may face a slew of questions from secularists who try and understand what it means to be faithful and religious in modern America.
Here are 50 questions that a nonbeliever may ask a believer to try and understand religion a bit more.
1. What religion do you believe in?
2. Do you believe in God or another deity?
3. When did you choose your faith?
4. What is your idea of what God looks like?
5. Is there a heaven?
6. Is there a hell?
7. What does heaven look like?
8. What does hell look like?
9. Why should someone start believing in God?
10. What should a believer do before they die?
11. Does your past play a role when joining a religion?
12. Does someone need to attend church to be spiritual?
13. What’s the difference between being spiritual and being religious?
14. Did you have to change your life before you started following a religion?
15. How often does someone need to say “amen?”
16. Should someone start attending a church if he or she doesn't believe in God?
17. Can someone believe in God but not attend church?
18. Should someone read a Bible before he or she starts believing in a religion?
19. What’s the best part of going to church?
20. What benefits can someone get from going to church?
21. What benefits does religion have?
22. Is it better for someone to follow religion on his or her own, or involve the family, too?
23. Should someone learn about other religions before deciding on one?
24. Should someone attend a religious service from multiple faiths before picking a religion?
25. What do people learn about religion in school?
26. What misconceptions are there about faith?
27. If there’s one God, why are there more than 4,000 religions?
28. What’s the difference between a pastor, priest or preacher?
29. What religious lingo should someone know before joining a religion?
30. Who are some famous people from throughout history who were religious?
31. What’s the coolest story from the Bible?
32. What’s the most influential story from the Bible?
33. Are there ways to follow faith on a smartphone?
34. Is the Bible figurative or literal?
35. Are the characters in the Bible figurative or literal?
36. What’s the main message to take away from the Bible?
37. How important is it that someone learns specific prayers?
38. What’s your favorite prayer?
39. What version of the Bible should a new believer read?
40. Why do you believe in something you can’t see?
41. What should someone do if he or she is confronted about faith?
42. Why do bad things happen to good people?
43. What’s the difference between reincarnation and resurrection?
44. Does God answer prayers?
45. What can millennials get out of religion?
46. How do you know when God is answering prayers?
47. There’s a lot of bad news on TV every day. The world is in chaos. How can there be a God?
48. What’s the best thing about being a believer?
49. How does God and religion really help you get through tough times?
50. Where does someone read religious news?
Email: hscribner@deseretdigital.com
Twitter: @herbscribner