Hard Hitting NY Times Coverage of Religion

Just came across this NY Times article talking about a recent religious studies compilation report by the University of Chicago and the National Opinion Research Center.  The report doesn't contain any new information but attempts to correlate data from a large set of previous studies done on religion.  Some of the "recent data" is from 1997 others from 2007, so it's important to double check their assumptions.

The biggest revelation for the NY Times was America and the world isn't so hating of religion after all.  Furthermore higher academic achievement or working in a scientific field does not statistically correlate to a lower belief in God.

Here are some more fun facts:

• 92% of Americans believe in God
• 90% of Americans believe God is important in their lives
• 61% of Americans feel God's presence on most days
• 48.3% contribute money to a religious organization
• 47% of Americans attend church at least once a month
• 6 out of 10 Americans pray every day (78% pray at least once a week)
• More than 50% of the people in the following countries do not belong to a religious organization: France, Great Britain, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia

Of course despite all this positive data towards believing the NY Times concludes with "The reports suggests that when it comes to tracking religious change, there is a strong case for suspending belief. "  Even in the face of raw data they still refuse to believe their views aren't aligned with most of America.