Many faiths have 'nominals' who live their religion in name only

[SecularMotion]

Researchers call them "mushy Christians" or "survey Christians." A recent story identified them as the "nominals" — people who claim a religious identity but may live it in name only.

In the ongoing parsing of the Pew Research Center's survey of American Jews, Religion News Service's Cathy Lynn Grossman wrote a smart analysis that looked beyond Jews who said they "belong to the tribe" by way of culture and ancestry, not religion.

In examining survey research into other faiths, she found what she called "nominals" among Christians, too.

"They’re proud — but not practicing — Catholics," Grossman wrote. "They’re Protestants who don’t think Jesus is essential to their salvation."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587649/Many-faiths-have-nominals-who-live-their-religion-in-name-only.html

[skepticscott]

1. Yes, there are lots of

middle and upper-middle class white suburban folks in the mainstream denominations who do church more out of habit and the aura of respectability it gives them among their suburban peers (as opposed to being avowed atheists) than anything else. Daddy ushers, mom sings in the choir, they have the obligatory parties for Susie's first communion and Johnny's confirmation, with all of the beaming aunts, uncles and grandparents, but deep down, they don't really believe much if any of the stuff they confess to on Sundays.

[LuvNewcastle]

2. I've known a whole lot of people who claim to be part of certain

denominations but actually have no idea what their church teaches. It cuts across all Christian denominations, for sure. I haven't personally known many Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists, so I can't say much about their believers. But I'd say that somewhere around half of people I've known who claim to be a certain type of Christian are really clueless about it. Being Catholic or Baptist or whatever is just part of their culture, really; it has little effect on how they live their lives or what they actually believe.

[cbayer]

5. But doesn't one's culture impact on how you live your life or what you believe?

Whether you are raised in a church or a certain part of the country or belong to a certain racial/ethnic group has a lot to do with how you develop you own identity and ethic.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. They are all either nominal or simply improvisational

Face it, every last 'Christian' who has attacked gay people in the name of verses in Paul's writings who does not follow Paul's other rules is inconsistent to the point of absurd hypocrisy. Paul says women must not wear clothing that is expensive or highlights beauty, they are forbidden by Paul from speaking in public and are expected to never ask any questions except to their husbands at home. Still, lots of political 'Christian' women will oppose gay rights during public speeches in designer clothing that shows of those gorgeous arms.....and they don't even think about it. 'The Bible is clearly against gays' they say ignoring the fact that the Bible is clearly against Michelle Bachmann having a career in politics, or even speaking in a room with men in it.
No one likes the actual teachings of any of the religions, so they do something else, skip the parts about themselves and pretend the entire religion is about what others have been told to do.
I have never once met a 'Christian' living according to St Paul well enough to have standing to ask others to live by St Paul, but they all insist that Paul's words about others are God's Word. Paul's words about them are 'dated historical materials'.

[cbayer]

4. "Nominal Christian" is also the term used by fundies to describe all christians

who don't ascribe to fundamentalism.

They claim to have the only way, so dismiss anyone who sees things differently than they do.

Here is a link to the article she is referencing:

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/10/01/meet-nominals-drifting-judaism-christianity/

If you look carefully at the data presented there, there is really no evidence that this group is "christian in name only". They just aren't fundamentalists or fit the fundamentalist definition of what a christian is.

[dimbear]

6. There are places in America where you don't sell any used cars if you don't belong to a church.

The way it is.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. About half of the British people who put 'Christian' as their religion in the 2011 census

In a poll taken shortly after the census, that asked what they had put for 'religion' on the census, and then asked those who said 'Christian':

As many as half (50%) do not think of themselves as religious and less than a third (30%) claim to have strong religious beliefs.
...
Only half (54%) of the self-identifying Christians describe their view of God in Christian terms, with the others using the term in the sense of the laws of nature (13%), some form of supernatural intelligence (10%), or whatever caused the universe (9%). Six per cent do not believe in God at all.

Just a third (32%) believe Jesus was physically resurrected, with one in five (18%) not believing in the resurrection even in a spiritual sense; half (49%) do not think of Jesus as the Son of God, with one in twenty-five (4%) doubting he existed at all.

http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/644941-rdfrs-uk-ipsos-mori-poll-1-how-religious-are-uk-christians