No Big Surprise

New poll.

Same old results.

This time it's titled "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey 2008" conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

"The poll asked people what faith they were raised in and what they currently follow. Based on the answers, the fastest-growing religious category is 'unaffiliated.'" This would include atheists, agnostics and "nothing in particular."

It goes on to say that "In fact, many Americans are simply unclear about the religious group to which they belong."

I get the former. I mean, if you say you're an atheist or an agnostic, at least you've made a conscious choice. Well, I guess that even if those are your "default" choices, you at least know where you stand.

But I'm usually fascinated by folks who are "unclear."

I don't know. I've always been okay with the idea of God. Even as a little kid it seemed reasonable, even the most likely conclusion, that there was a God of some type out there. I'd seen the difference between the sky and a house. I'd seen the moon and pictures of mountains and stood at the Gulf of Mexico.

Now, don't get me wrong. The developmental process of discovering Who that God is has taken a lifetime. It continues...but in college I dedicated myself to the task of discovery. Seemed to me that majoring in Religion would at least get me focused on knowing what I believed and why I believed it. The fact that this choice allowed me to substitute philosophy courses for math courses was merely a bonus.

Some religious belief systems I was able to dismiss out-of-hand. Early on in the process, certain religions were dismissed. I still am fascinated by how much I don't know about my own choice of religious affiliation. But I know why I chose it.

And, maybe the reality that I'd been highly involved in Christian circles kept me from an outright objective pursuit. But I think I used (and continue to use) logical thought. I continue to believe...even when there are days I want to chuck it all and there seems to be little of the truth of what Scripture says should be true in my life and in the lives of those around me. I remain convinced that there are legitimate reasons to believe that Christ was precisely Who He said He was and that He rose from the dead.

I've got friends, family, and, yes, former students who no longer believe that to be true. But they know where they stand, man.

I simply fail to understand how folks can simply be "unclear."

Particularly on something so integral to our very lives and how our time here is lived out.