By Scott Clement, The Washington Post, 3/6/15.
American religion is on the ropes, but it has a prayer.
A record-low share of Americans attend church regularly, affiliate with a religious faith and see themselves as religious, according to a major survey released this week.
The findings from the 2014 General Social Survey mark a continuation of a decades-long departure from the pews along with a growing share who profess loyalty to no religion at all. But whatever Americans’ hang-ups with weekend services and denominational ties, they haven’t stopped praying on their own.
Fully 57 percent of respondents said they pray at least once a day, little different from 54 percent in 1983, when the question was first asked on the survey. Three-quarters of respondents said they pray at least once a week, while 1 in 4 pray less often or never.
The national survey is the broadest study of religious attitudes in the United States. It has been conducted at least every two years since 1972 by NORC at the University of Chicago…
