ARIS 2008 Report: Part IC - Behavior
Behavior is the third "B" in the triangle of religiosity together with belonging and belief. Table 6 reveals new and
unique data, only available only in the 2008 survey, on the extent of religious rituals, practices, or sacraments
of Americans relating to those life cycle events that have been the traditional preserve of most religions. The
proportion of adults who have undergone a religious initiation of some kind is reduced somewhat by the large
number of Baptists in the American population who delay baptism into the adult years. However, for most people
this was a decision made by their parents so the statistics (given the median age of the adult population) really
reflect religious practice in an earlier generation, that is to say on average around 1960.
The religious marriage question relates to a more recent and personal decision by the actual respondents but it
is probably also a negotiated decision with the spouse. Nevertheless there is a significant minority, 30 percent of
married couples, that has rejected a religious marriage ceremony. It is the final question that relates to expectation
of a religious funeral which is probably the most revealing of social trends today. Funerals and interments are
important if one has personal concerns about salvation and the immortality of the soul. It appears that over one-
fourth of contemporary Americans are unconcerned with such religious ideas. Overall the trend in Table 6 though
not definitive does suggest a slight erosion of participation in religious rituals over their own life cycles by our
2008 respondents.
The findings and patterns shown in Tables 1-6 that relate to current patterns of religious belonging, belief
and behavior seem to show a high degree of correlation. They reveal that the United States in 2008 can be
characterized as a country with a Christian majority population but with a growing non-religious or irreligious
minority. The growing non-religious minority reduces the traditional societal role of congregations and places
of worship in family celebrations of life-cycle events. Forestalling of religious rites of passage, such as marriage,
and the lowering expectations on religious funeral services, could have long lasting consequences for religious