Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

A PEW Research report caught my attention the other day when it said this:  “After years of decline, the share of Christians in U.S. has stabilized.”

I put the word “Christian” in italics because, as I will note later in this blog, the definition of the word is uncertain.  So is what the word “evangelical” means, as it also was used in the PEW study.

On this confusion, here is what the magazine Christianity Today wrote:

“The term evangelical has long provoked arguments among social scientists, historians, and lay people.  It first appeared in English as an adjective that meant ‘of the gospel.’  

“The first group of people to claim evangelical as a noun was the Evangelical Voluntary Church Association in England in the 1830s. It fought for the separation of church and state.  A subsequent group, the Evangelical Alliance, organized in the following decade to fight for the rights of free churches — groups called ‘non-conformist,’ ‘dissenting,’ and then ‘evangelical.’

“In the U.S., 100 years later, the evangelist Billy Graham started using the word as a term for people who supported his ministry.  Evangelical was so broad it could include Baptists and Presbyterians but also Episcopalians and Wesleyans, and Dutch Reformed and Stone-Campbell groups, not to mention Lutherans, Pentecostals, Anabaptists, and Black churches.

“Everyone kind of knew what it meant—something to do with the gospel — and no one had too strong of an association with the word.”

For me, evangelical refers to a group that is genuinely committed to God.

With that, back to the PEW study.  As reported by the Washington Post, the study “also found that the share of those who are ‘religiously unaffiliated’ has leveled off.”

Here is how the reporter, Emily Gustin, started her story:

“The Religious Landscape Study, which was first conducted in 2007, paints a picture of America that is more secular, particularly among young people, and remains a place where religious views closely align with politics.  And for the first time in the PEW study, more liberals are unaffiliated with a religion than identify as Christian.”

As a reader of this study, it is important first to understand something about the source, PEW, as well as its methods for conducting the study.

Here is what PEW says about itself:

“For more than 75 years, PEW has used data to address the challenges of a changing world by illuminating issues, creating common ground, and advancing ambitious strategies that lead to tangible progress.”

There may be a bit of bias in that language, but, at the same time, PEW has earned credibility for its reporting, which is based on surveying to go beyond itself to find out what the “public” thinks.  In other words, it does support one side or the other side – or for that matter any side.  It reports what survey respondents say; so it is just the facts of those responses.

As for the study, it is considered the most comprehensive look at religion in the United States, with more than 36,000 people filling out a 116-question survey in all 50 states.  Results shows significant evangelical variety diversity — racially, politically, economically, and even in terms of religious practice.

I choose to subscribe to PEW reports because they often serve to amplify my thinking.

So, based on its “Religious Landscape Study,” here are some of the key findings.

• The decline in Christianity has slowed

Overall, 62 per cent of Americans call themselves Christian, a figure that has been roughly stable over the past five years, but is down from 71 per cent in 2014 and 78 per cent in 2007. In the latest poll, 40 per cent of U.S. adults identify as Protestants, 19 per cent as Catholics and 3 per cent as “other” Christians.

• More Americans identify with a religion other than Christianity

Seven per cent of Americans identify with a religion other than Christianity, up from 5 per cent in 2007.  Similar to previous PEW surveys, 1.7 per cent of Americans identify as Jewish.

At the same time, more Americans now identify as Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu.

• Most Americans are spiritual

Almost 9 in 10 Americans believe that people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body, according to PEW.  Seven in 10 believe in heaven, hell or both.  More than 8 in 10 believe in God or a universal spirit.

• Religion and politics closely align

Generally, the more religious someone is, the more likely they are to identify or lean toward the Republican Party and express conservative opinions.  Less-religious people are more likely to identify or lean toward the Democrat Party and express liberal opinions.

• A liberal shift away from Christianity

Among self-described liberals, 37 per cent identify as Christian, down from 62 per cent in 2007, a 25-point shift.  Meanwhile, the share of liberals who identify with no religion increased to 51 per cent in 2024, up from 27 per cent in 2007.

• Immigrants are mostly Christian

Fifty-eight percent of Americans born outside the country are Christian, as are 63 per cent of those born in the country.  Both shares are down from 2007 and 2014.

• Women are more religious than men

U.S. women have long been more likely to identify with religion than men, and to say they pray daily and believe in a God.  But the gap is narrowing.  “In every age group,” the report says, “women are at least as religious as men, and in many [generations], women are significantly more religious than men.”

Now, from me, not PEW, it would be possible to argue with this study for a couple reasons.

As I wrote above, words such as “Christian” may have various meanings for those who were surveyed.  In some cases, certain folks may believe they are Christian because they live in America.  But, for me, being a “Christian” means that you have a personal relationship with God through what Christ has done for you.

In other words, real and very personal.  So, who knows if PEW’s use of the word “Christian” means what I believe it means.

Second, it’s often difficult for any reputable outfit, in this case PEW, to test “religious issues” using surveying and polling.  Often, those who are asked to respond are not sure they want to do so or they may not respond forthrightly.  This is true these for all kinds of polls, political and otherwise.

Still, despite the potential problems, this latest PEW report provides food for thought – and I am still thinking.