What do you believe when it comes to God?  Do you belong to or attend a church, synagogue or temple — if so, which one?  Please post a comment below right now and tell us.  Let’s do our own little survey, to go along with the results of a major academic study on religions, beliefs and practices that just came out.  This column is all about putting faith and beliefs into action, particularly when it comes to heath.  It would be fascinating to know if this is the way you worship – via the Internet, online and how you also worship and conduct your life, in a framework of religion or not.

We hear recently that Americans are claiming fewer ties to organized religion, and more people saying they have no religion at all.  Yet, many people still believe in God – they just aren’t worshiping in churches as much.  Is that true for you?

There’s a big study of religion in America that has been studying trends in religious practice for the last decade or so, the “American Religious Identification Survey” from the Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut – take a look here.  The program surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through November of 2008.   Christians are declining, particularly Protestants especially Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, to 76% from 86% in 1990, to 77% in 2001.  Catholics are still the biggest group, but their ranks are declining too.

People who identify themselves as “no religion” are on the rise to 15%, growing from 14.2 % in 2001 and 8.2 % in 1990.  This is a definite trend.  Ariela Keysar, a co-researcher of the survey said, “Many people thought our 2001 finding was an anomaly. We now know it wasn’t. The ‘Nones’ are the only group to have grown in every state of the Union.”

Those Americans who claim they are “non-denominational,” mostly attending mega-churches, increased from 0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year.  Pentecostals and Mormons remained about the same, while Jews and Muslims decreased a bit.

Interesting to me personally, are those who say they worship a “Higher Power,” who ranked as 12% of the American population surveyed in this report.  These are people who are “spiritual;” who find and believe in a non-deistic, God-centered or personal monotheistic approach similar to that found in organized religion.  (I am Christian, and belong to and attend church but not consistently, but also study and find value in most all religions, fyi.  That figures, as I am a doctor of theology.)

Also interesting, and I quote, “only 1.6 percent of Americans call themselves atheist or agnostic. But based on stated beliefs, 12 percent are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unsure), while 12 percent more are deistic (believe in a higher power but not a personal God). The number of outright atheists has nearly doubled since 2001, from 900 thousand to 1.6 million. Twenty-seven percent of Americans do not expect a religious funeral at their death. Adherents of New Religious movements, including Wiccans and self-described pagans, have grown faster this decade than in the 1990s.”

Where do you stand with God, or without?  Do you go to church or belong to any organized religion?  Let’s hear from you, please, because you are important.  We’ll look at the results of our “Dr. Norris Chumley Satisfied Life” community soon.