Another topic that is covered in What Americans Really Believe. The conclusions reached by the Baylor Surveys are worth paying attention to. 

First, in the 1940s through the 1980s about 6-7% of Americans said they were irreligious. But in the 1990s that number shifted to 11-12%. What happened? Did America become less religious?

Second, one third of the irreligious are atheists, which is a number we’ve already seen in this blog: atheists are not changing that much in overall percent of Americans. Another third believe in a higher power or a cosmic force, or in other words, have shifted in the direction of New Age religious ideas. Leading to an interesting result, which we’ll get to after the jump.

Here’s a basic breakdown of Americans: 11% are certain of God; 6% say they believe with some doubts; 2% sometimes believe in God; 36% in a higher power or cosmic source; 31% don’t believe in anything beyond the physical world; 14% have no opinion.

The irreligious with atheists removed, though, reported this:

16% believed Jesus is Son of God; 24% think he was a prophet among many others; 25% an extraordinary person; 14% prob existed but not special; 7% fictional. 14% no opinion.

The irreligious do religious things: ever attend church (20%), ever pray (56%), pray several times per week (32%).

Wildly it seems to me, 42% of the irreligious believe in heaven wile 50% believe in angels and 33% believe in Satan. 

Here’s the conclusion: “irreligious” means not no religious ideas or practices but not a part of organized religion. The irreligious are not hard core secularists or empiricist-only people.