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cbayer

(146,218 posts)
Fri Jun 20, 2014, 10:01 AM Jun 2014

As More Latinos Drop Religion, Should GOP Be Extra Worried?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/06/19/323393292/as-more-latinos-drop-religion-should-gop-be-extra-worried

by SEAN BRASWELL
June 19, 2014 1:08 PM ET
partner content from Ozy.com


Catching up with a national trend, more Hispanics say they are not affiliated with a particular religion — a shift that could make the gap between Latinos and Republicans even wider.i
iStockphoto


A big deal has been made about the Republican Party's so-called Hispanic problem during recent U.S. election cycles. But there's another group — largely white and male — that has also struggled to increase the number of Latinos in its ranks: America's religiously unaffiliated. Until recently, that is.

The number of Hispanic American "nones" — those who say they have no particular religion or are atheist or agnostic — is growing at a clip that would make GOP operatives green with envy. According to the Pew Research Center's 2013 National Survey of Latinos and Religion, 18 percent of Hispanics are not affiliated with any religion.

Put differently, almost 1 in 5 Hispanics now says he has no religious affiliation, more than the approximately 1 in 6 who identifies as Republican (many of whom are Cuban-Americans).

And the ranks of the Hispanic nones are growing quickly — nearly doubling from 10 percent in 2010, with the most pronounced jump occurring among younger Latinos. A whopping 31 percent of those ages 18-29 say they are religiously unaffiliated, about two-thirds the number of those who say they are Catholic (45 percent).

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DetlefK

(16,423 posts)
1. No. Atheism is no positive attribute in US-politics.
Fri Jun 20, 2014, 10:23 AM
Jun 2014

People might vote against you if you are an outspoken atheist, but being atheist does not translate into a specific political preference.

All atheists are liberals and therefore vote democratic?
Penn Jillette is a libertarian, capitalist atheist.

 

Goblinmonger

(22,340 posts)
2. Nobody is claiming all atheists are liberal
Fri Jun 20, 2014, 10:42 AM
Jun 2014

but atheists certainly trend left. And that link is from a conservative atheists trying to make the case he isn't a small minority, so those are probably the best numbers for his argument.

 

Hestia

(3,818 posts)
3. Maybe true in 2016 but not in the future - as more people are/become none or other
Fri Jun 20, 2014, 11:28 AM
Jun 2014

it's not going to a difference what church you go to but what you really stand for and explaining the way you voted against children, women, et al. The Church of Hate cannot hold onto power much longer - evil destroys, the light creates.

DetlefK

(16,423 posts)
4. There's this misconception that we atheists don't have morals.
Fri Jun 20, 2014, 11:48 AM
Jun 2014

The difference between us and believers is that they get their set of morals delivered to them. We have to pick, steal, forge or innovate our own morals and if anything goes wrong, the responsibility is on us.

As long as people don't understand that atheism is about us determining our own lives, that it's about us humans being responsible, that's it's about us humans having a choice whether we fill this world with love or hate, that's as long as atheism will be regarded as a stigma.


There's an atheist joke:
Next time a believer asks you "If you don't believe in hell, what is holding you back from committing murder?" lean over to him and whisper in his ear "Nothing. Nothing is holding me back."

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
7. There's this misconception that believers have their morals delivered to them,
Fri Jun 20, 2014, 01:03 PM
Jun 2014

and that they don't have to search their own minds and souls to develop their unique set of ethics.

While they may use some of their religious beliefs for guidance, most are not spoon feed something they swell whole.

Believers also determine their own lives, are responsible and make a choice how they interact with the world.

Lumping all believers into the same box is no better than lumping all atheists in the same box.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
6. Demographically atheists/agnostics are much more likely to be liberal/progressive
Fri Jun 20, 2014, 12:51 PM
Jun 2014

democrats than any other group, though certainly not all are.

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