Study Indicates Growing Trend Towards "Alternative" Religious Paths in AZ and Throughout US

July 18, 2004

Source: The Arizona Republic

http://www.azcentral.com/families/articles/0718church18.html

On July 18, 2004 The Arizona Republic reported that there exists, "a growing group declaring their freedom from religion, churches and pastors - but not from God. The numbers are so alarming they have clergy scrambling for answers as their congregations walk out church doors looking for spiritual answers elsewhere... A new book on religion and public life calls Arizona one of the least religious states in the nation. Several recent studies also indicate a strong trend away from organized religion, including one by the Glenmary Research Center in Nashville, Tenn., that showed less than 40 percent of Arizonans attend church regularly, compared with just over 50 percent nationally." The article also quotes many statistical sources concerning the growing number of Americans not identified with religious groups.