Posts by AndersonsInfo

14

Watchtower Bible And Tract Society Urging Town Of Ramapo To Act On Its Application In Timely Manner

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://rcbizjournal.com/2022/03/22/watchtower-urging-ramapo-to-act-on-its-application/?fbclid=iwar2akhf6eq1rrmhihrz4fqdqmf99l_jmkh7pcx70p6olunqfrvuspomer-e. by tina traster.

march 22, 2022. over the past eight months, the watchtower bible and tract society has reviewed public and other comments on its proposed development for 155 sterling mine road in ramapo and has revised its plans.. on monday, the applicant was prepared to present its feis (final environmental impact statement) and hoped the ramapo town board would accept its submission as “final,” to move on to review by the rockland county planning department.. instead, the board deferred making decisions, seemingly because they did not have enough time to review some newly submitted documents by the activist group rosa.. “we’re asking the board to take action on the ‘feis’,” said attorney ira emanuel.

“if you don’t like it, change it.

AndersonsInfo

Regarding the question, "Who is ROSA?" see:

https://rosa4rockland.org/rosa-101/

14

Watchtower Bible And Tract Society Urging Town Of Ramapo To Act On Its Application In Timely Manner

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://rcbizjournal.com/2022/03/22/watchtower-urging-ramapo-to-act-on-its-application/?fbclid=iwar2akhf6eq1rrmhihrz4fqdqmf99l_jmkh7pcx70p6olunqfrvuspomer-e. by tina traster.

march 22, 2022. over the past eight months, the watchtower bible and tract society has reviewed public and other comments on its proposed development for 155 sterling mine road in ramapo and has revised its plans.. on monday, the applicant was prepared to present its feis (final environmental impact statement) and hoped the ramapo town board would accept its submission as “final,” to move on to review by the rockland county planning department.. instead, the board deferred making decisions, seemingly because they did not have enough time to review some newly submitted documents by the activist group rosa.. “we’re asking the board to take action on the ‘feis’,” said attorney ira emanuel.

“if you don’t like it, change it.

AndersonsInfo

https://rcbizjournal.com/2022/03/22/watchtower-urging-ramapo-to-act-on-its-application/?fbclid=IwAR2AkHf6Eq1RRMhIHRz4fqDqmf99l_JmkH7Pcx70p6OLUnqFrvUspomer-E

By Tina Traster

March 22, 2022

Over the past eight months, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has reviewed public and other comments on its proposed development for 155 Sterling Mine Road in Ramapo and has revised its plans.

On Monday, the applicant was prepared to present its FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement) and hoped the Ramapo Town Board would accept its submission as “final,” to move on to review by the Rockland County Planning Department.

Instead, the board deferred making decisions, seemingly because they did not have enough time to review some newly submitted documents by the activist group ROSA.

“We’re asking the board to take action on the ‘FEIS’,” said Attorney Ira Emanuel. “If you don’t like it, change it. Do it. We want to move the process forward. We need finality.”

The project architect echoed Emanuel’s frustrations.

“We’ve put in 600-man hours for this review,” said Keith Cady, the project’s architect. “We hope we’ve addressed all the issues. We want to move forward to respond to questions.”

The town will hold another public hearing Wednesday, March 23, to consider acceptance of the FEIS.

The 1.7 million square-foot project, known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, is slated for 155 Sterling Mine Road in largely Ramapo and partly in Tuxedo in Orange County. Of the 249 acres, 242 are located in Ramapo; the balance is in Tuxedo.

The religious order, known as the Worldwide Order of Special Full Time Servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses, is hoping to build an A/V production center with audio and video production studios and facilities to support operations of the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The facilities include offices, maintenance and set production workshops, and a central chilled/hot water plant with geothermal heat recovery system. Accommodations for resident staff include 645 residential units (545 one-bedroom and 100 studio units), dining/assembly spaces, recreation/wellness/fitness facilities, and a clinic.

The project also includes a Visitors Center, which would welcome the public to the campus and offer Bible-related exhibits as well as exhibits on the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The proposal would rezone the portion of the project site within the Town of Ramapo to a new MU-3 Mixed-Use Zoning District to permit the applicant to develop an integrated residential and commercial campus.

The Ramapo portion of the project site was previously subdivided into 293 lots for the “Sterling Mine Road Active Adult Community,” which was commonly known as the “Lorterdan Project.” No physical improvements were made to the property following the subdivision approval.

However, the proposal requires an amendment to Ramapo’s 2004 Comprehensive Plan to remove references to the former Lorterdan development because it is not consistent with the previous Lorterdan plan and the zoning recommendations that would have implemented that development.

In response to concerns over the scope of the project, the applicant has proposed building heights up to 75 feet in exchange for designating half of the acreage as preserved open space. Currently, the proposed MU3 district allows for building heights up to 45 feet. The applicant said that because of the topography, 75 feet buildings would appear smaller than the 45-foot buildings.

The applicant is also seeking inclusion of a “Conceptual Development Special Permit (CDSP)” which would ensure that the concept isn’t fundamentally altered from its original plan when the final site approval is completed. Essentially such a permit plan would limit the planning board’s powers.

Also, Watchtower is hoping to sweeten its application by asking the town to only allow MU-3 uses in parcels that exceed 200 acres. This would preclude a subdivision of its site, which the applicant presumably views as an incentive to the town.

The religious order purchased the land in 2009 for $11.5 million.

The project site is heavily forested with native tree growth and large granite bedrock outcroppings and wetlands, according to DEIS. Of the 249-acre site, approximately 9.3 acres (3.7 percent) are wetlands and approximately 12 acres (4.8 percent) are bedrock outcroppings.

Following the May 26 public hearing, the applicant acquired a .15-acre easement in the Town of Tuxedo to improve access to the project site. At the request of the Tuxedo Planning Board and the Orange County Department of Public Works, and as part of a separate project, Watchtower will abandon the existing dirt driveway that provides direct access to the site and construct a four-way intersection with Eagle Valley Road, Sterlington Road, and Sterling Mine Road. Access to the site would be gained via an easement from Sterlington Road, which also provides access to the existing Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate and St. Joseph’s Adult Care Home.

The town will consider necessary changes to the Comprehensive Plan and the Watchtower’s proposed zoning amendments at an April 27 public hearing.

16

Article: Jehovah's Witnesses elders guilty of failure to report sexual abuse of 6-year-old girl

by AndersonsInfo in

mchenry county, woodstock, il .

northwest herald, shaw local news.

breaking news - read below full article - (article was blocked unless the reader has a subscription.

AndersonsInfo

McHenry County, Woodstock, IL

Northwest Herald, Shaw Local News

BREAKING NEWS - READ BELOW FULL ARTICLE - (Article was blocked unless the reader has a subscription. However, we were able to find a way to bypass the block.)

https://www.shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/news/2022/03/19/jehovahs-witnesses-elders-guilty-of-failure-to-report-sexual-abuse-of-6-year-old-child-mchenry-county-judge/?fbclid=IwAR0XZJhmyUQzwEp7L7FZTnmUyKTk5RlRe_ZqG77y-jZiaUvR0J_44CilNOA

HERE'S THE FULL ARTICLE IN SHAW LOCAL NEWS:

Jehovah’s Witnesses elders guilty of failing to report sexual abuse of a 6-year-old child: McHenry County judge

Elders face up to one year of jail time at sentencing March 25

By Amanda Marrazzo

March 18, 2022 at 9:19 pm CDT

McHenry County State's Attorney's Office prosecutor Ashur Youash speaks during a hearing for defendants Colin Scott, left, and Michael Penkava, center, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, at the Michael J. Sullivan Judicial Center in Woodstock. (Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local)

A McHenry County judge ruled Friday that two Jehovah’s Witnesses elders are guilty of “knowingly and willingly” failing to report to authorities in 2006 that a 6-year-old child in their church was being sexually assaulted by a congregant.

Not reporting the sexual abuse permitted the abuse to go on for another 12 years.

The ruling follows two years of hearings and a bench trial before McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt in a case stemming from the 2019 conviction of Arturo Hernandez-Pedraza.

Hernandez-Pedraza, 44, a church congregant, was convicted of sexual assault and other crimes related to the girl’s ongoing sexual abuse. Neither police nor the Department of Children and Family Services were notified until the victim was 18 years old, when she told church elders that the abuse continued.

The girl endured countless sexual assaults and death threats by her abuser throughout her childhood, according to trial testimony. Hernandez-Pedraza is serving 45 years in prison.

On Friday, the church elders, Michael Penkava, 72, and Colin Scott, 88, were found guilty of Class A criminal misdemeanor for violating provisions of the state’s mandatory reporter law. They each face up to one year in jail when sentenced March 25.

Defense attorneys argued that the elders were not mandated reporters. They maintained that Hernandez-Pedraza’s confession, as well as statements made by the child and another church member, were protected under clergy-penitent privilege.

Anything they heard related to the child’s abuse fell under the protection of the confessional process, in the same way a confession made inside a confessional booth in the Roman Catholic Church would, defense attorneys maintained. Gerhardt considered the child’s and the other church member’s statements in his ruling but not the confession made by Hernandez-Pedraza.

Rather than call authorities, Penkava, as he was trained to do as a church elder, said he sought the advice of attorneys at the Jehovah’s Witnesses world headquarters in New York. The abuse was handled through “spiritual guidance,” as was directed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses attorneys.

Scott, who participated in the bench trial via Zoom and did not testify, was part of the three-person judicial committee formed the day after Penkava learned of the abuse. His attorney, Terry Ekl, said he was not part of the decision to not call police.

Scott became involved in the days that followed and participated in “spiritual guidance.”

Under questioning Friday by McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally, Penkava testified that he made the phone call to headquarters but did not know who he spoke to or what their qualifications were as an attorney. But, he said, this person advised that he was not required to report the abuse and he trusted that advice, he said.

In closing arguments, Kenneally said under Illinois law Penkava and Scott are mandated reporters despite their claims they are not.

This case is the reason for which the statute was written, “to stop this in 2006,” Kenneally said.

It was “extremely irresponsible” of Penkava to take advice regarding the protection of a 6-year-old child from someone over the phone, in another state, not even knowing who he was talking to or what their qualifications were, Kenneally said.

“It was ignorance born out of carelessness, their own recklessness and stupidity,” Kenneally said.

If they decide to put themselves in charge of the well-being of a 6-year-old child, “then they better act responsibly,” he said.

“The purpose of the clergy-penitent [privilege] is to shield the flock and not protect the devil,” Kenneally said, adding that what they did protected Hernandez-Pedraza.

The girl and the other church member “already paid the price for [Penkava and Scott] not following the law; now it’s their turn,” Kenneally said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Ashur Youash said the elders knew the girl was an abused child and their defense “went from privilege to bad legal advice.”

He said the mandatory reporting statute is not to protect the church but “to protect a child, to protect an abused child. How absurd would it be to allow a church to cloak itself and avoid state law?” Youash said.

In his ruling, Gerhardt said Penkava’s testimony “was not credible” and ruled that the elders are considered mandated reporters.

“The defendants had an obligation to report [the abuse] whether or not clergy-penitent privilege trumped that,” Gerhardt said. “The defendants chose not to contact DCFS knowingly and willingly.”

8

Article: Judge: Jehovah’s Witness Parodies Are Fair Use. Watch Tower: So What?

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://torrentfreak.com/judge-jehovahs-witness-parodies-are-fair-use-watch-tower-so-what-220220/.

february 21, 2022 by andy maxwell.

in 2018, watch tower filed for a dmca subpoena that would've required youtube to hand over the identity of an animator who parodied the religious group in his videos.

AndersonsInfo

https://torrentfreak.com/judge-jehovahs-witness-parodies-are-fair-use-watch-tower-so-what-220220/

February 21, 2022 by Andy Maxwell

In 2018, Watch Tower filed for a DMCA subpoena that would've required YouTube to hand over the identity of an animator who parodied the religious group in his videos. When that stalled, Watch Tower filed a copyright lawsuit. Citing fair use, a judge has now ruled that the subpoena will not be granted. Surprisingly, Watch Tower is pressing ahead with its copyright lawsuit regardless.

Depending on opinion, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the supervising body and publisher for the Jehovah’s Witness religious group, either doesn’t like criticism, dislikes copyright infringement, or hates both.

Since cracking down on the former is all but impossible, Watch Tower keeps an eye out for people who criticize the religion by leveraging its own copyrighted material, such as videos or songs, against it.

This means that opposing opinions become somewhat of a footnote when the group launches copyright infringement action. Read More:

https://torrentfreak.com/judge-jehovahs-witness-parodies-are-fair-use-watch-tower-so-what-220220/

18

Article to discuss or argue over: Buddha, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammed: Larger-than-life historic figures or largely legends?

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

i've posted a link to an article that contains important food for thought.

as we search for information to free our minds and hearts of cult-like thinking which entails being able to critically think, we need to ponder research that is available to help us to make important decisions.

we need to allow ourselves to consider other possibilities, something that jw’s are discouraged from doing.

AndersonsInfo

I've posted a link to an article that contains important food for thought. As we search for information to free our minds and hearts of cult-like thinking which entails being able to critically think, we need to ponder research that is available to help us to make important decisions. We need to allow ourselves to consider other possibilities, something that JW’s are discouraged from doing. Life is an adventure, not just a journey. There’s so much to learn, so much to think about and just when we settle on an idea, etc., something more on the subject pops up and reevaluation begins again. That’s the exciting part of being FREE from mind manipulation by anyone. “You are the master of your destiny”

Please understand that in no way am I endeavoring to influence the reader to accept or deny religion, but only to broaden out our worldview. However, as we continue our still-healing journey, we should always acknowledge individual variation that is typical of all humankind and be respectful of others with a view to doing our best to make the world a better or nicer place to live in.

https://www.alternet.org/2021/12/did-jesus-exist/

Article: How the pandemic in France has led to an explosion in number of sectss

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://www.thelocal.fr/20211201/france-gives-e1m-to-anti-cults-watchdog-after-huge-increase-in-sects-during-pandemic/.

the french government has increased its budget to monitor cults by tenfold after at least 500 religious sects considered potentially dangerous sprung up during the pandemic.. for almost 30 years the french government has had a watchdog dedicated to monitoring religious cults, but now its budget has been increased tenfold to €1 million a year over years about pandemic-related sects.. speaking on franceinfo in april, citizenship minister marlène schiappa said that the pandemic had led to the emergence of some 500 sectes (religious cults) that could pose a danger to society.. in french, culte refers to a religion.

a secte or dérive secte (literally a ‘sectarian aberration’) is a more official way to refer to a cult in the english sense of the word.

AndersonsInfo

https://www.thelocal.fr/20211201/france-gives-e1m-to-anti-cults-watchdog-after-huge-increase-in-sects-during-pandemic/

The French government has increased its budget to monitor cults by tenfold after at least 500 religious sects considered potentially dangerous sprung up during the pandemic.

For almost 30 years the French government has had a watchdog dedicated to monitoring religious cults, but now its budget has been increased tenfold to €1 million a year over years about pandemic-related sects.

Speaking on FranceInfo in April, citizenship minister Marlène Schiappa said that the pandemic had led to the emergence of some 500 sectes (religious cults) that could pose a danger to society.

In French, culte refers to a religion. A secte or dérive secte (literally a ‘sectarian aberration’) is a more official way to refer to a cult in the English sense of the word.

“You have new gurus who are using the pandemic to preach practices of ‘well-being'”, she said, but are really practicing “psychological subjugation and efforts to take money and goods.”

“Women are disproportionately targeted by cults because there is sexual predation too and because they are more likely to be in precarious situations.”

She also revealed that yoga and meditation groups are fastest-growing methods by which people are being lured into cult activity.

READ MORE - Click on the link above to read this:

The most recent nationwide report from Miviludes, published in July, revealed a number of findings.

The organization recognized Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientologists, Neo-Shamans, some evangelist protestant groups, some Christian groups, a selection of Christian and Islamic groups, mediums, personal development specialists, multi-level marketers, and even alternative medicine practitioners as belonging to sects.

1

Article: Kyrgyzstan is expected to ban JW's publications as extremist

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://religionnews.com/2021/11/30/kyrgyzstan-is-expected-to-ban-jehovahs-witnesses-publications-as-extremist/?fbclid=iwar0p40txja65lzrc9oqskgxrahdughtk8q9lzow3cyhopvqg-0nvg425rwg.

the ban would mark the first time that the country has taken an official stance against the religious group.. (rns) — kyrgyzstan is expected to ban 13 jehovah’s witnesses publications on thursday (dec. 2) for extremism, marking the first time the country has taken an official stance against the religious group since the former soviet republic granted the church national registration in 1998. .

jarrod lopes, spokesperson for jehovah’s witnesses, said the move echoes the tactics employed against the group in russia, kyrgyzstan’s historic ally.

AndersonsInfo

https://religionnews.com/2021/11/30/kyrgyzstan-is-expected-to-ban-jehovahs-witnesses-publications-as-extremist/?fbclid=IwAR0p40tXJA65lzRC9OqSkgxRaHDUghTK8q9Lzow3cyhoPvqG-0NVg425rwg

The ban would mark the first time that the country has taken an official stance against the religious group.

(RNS) — Kyrgyzstan is expected to ban 13 Jehovah’s Witnesses publications on Thursday (Dec. 2) for extremism, marking the first time the country has taken an official stance against the religious group since the former Soviet republic granted the church national registration in 1998.

Jarrod Lopes, spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said the move echoes the tactics employed against the group in Russia, Kyrgyzstan’s historic ally. According to Lopes, the Russian government, which has put several dozen Jehovah’s Witnesses on trial for proselytizing, often takes a first step of declaring any religious group’s literature as extremist before declaring group members extremist themselves.

“Kyrgyzstan is simply following Russia’s model of repression — ban the Witnesses’ literature with the ultimate goal of banning their organization,” said Lopes, who noted that Russia has more than 60 cases pending at the European Court of Human Rights concerning Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Criminal court case in The Netherlands against shunning - possible jail time for WT leaders

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/q5bgg5/criminal_court_case_in_the_netherlands_against/.

"ex witnesses open attack on traumatizing shunning policy".

this follows on the successful court case in belgium against shunning.. since this is a criminal case, the wt leaders could end up in jail in the netherlands.. multiple articles tomorrow on this topic by renowned dutch newspaper trouw.. https://www.trouw.nl/a-b51d237a.

AndersonsInfo

Newspaper article Trouw:

The community of Jehovah's Witnesses is also known as the 'Watchtower Society'.Image Kwennie Cheng

After a successful lawsuit in Belgium, a group of Dutch Jehovah's Witnesses is now also fighting the 'discriminatory' exclusion policy. "It's a social death sentence."

Rianne Oosterom en Marinde van der Breggen10 October 2021, 15:27

A group of thirty ex-Jehovah's Witnesses wants the judiciary to intervene in what they consider to be 'dehumanizing' exclusion policy of the religious organization. They want to force a criminal investigation into the elaboration of this policy by means of a collective declaration of incitement to discrimination and hatred.

Anyone who is expelled or resigns from the organization, which has 30,000 members in the Netherlands, will be 'declared socially dead', as the ex-members call it. Witnesses are encouraged to avoid contact with disfellowshipped persons, according to articles on their own website. As a result, they lose all their friends and family. This is also known as 'shunning'.

Because the Witnesses have to avoid “the world,” the people who leave often have virtually no network, says promoter Henri Dahlem. Ignoring ex-members has traumatic consequences, he says. According to him, there is also internal hateful talk about them. "Some ex-members aren't even allowed to see their children anymore."

Fine for inciting discrimination, hatred and violence

The Dutch ex-Witnesses are inspired by the judgment of the Ghent court earlier this year. He stated that not so much the exclusion itself, but the treatment of ex-members afterwards and the way in which they are talked about is punishable. The organization was fined for inciting discrimination, hatred and violence. The Jehovah's Witnesses appealed, which will be held at the end of November.

Apostates are portrayed in their own publications as children of Satan who try to 'drag' believers with lies. Their names are read aloud at the meetings so members know to ignore them, according to the Belgian verdict, stories from the ex-witnesses, and texts and videos on the Witnesses' website.

The verdict states that apostates are compared to "the plague." In an excerpt from a 2004 Watchtower issue, they are portrayed as predators: “Like a kidnapper who carries an unsuspecting victim away from his family, apostates target trusting members of the congregation and try to get them away. feed from the herd”.

Ignoring after exclusion or departure is a “loving arrangement” according to the organization because it “can bring the wrongdoer to his senses.” In addition, exclusion is a way to keep the community 'clean'. However, members who have left themselves are still regularly approached by elders to try to get them back on the right path.

Biblical Policy

The Dutch board of the Jehovah's Witnesses informs Trouw that this policy is "based on Biblical principles". “All of Jehovah's Witnesses agree to live by those standards . . . Each individual Witness acts according to his or her personal religious conscience in applying the Bible's counsel to limit or terminate association with a disfellowshipped person. ”

The ruling of the Belgian court was a huge relief for the victims there, says the Flemish initiator of that case, Patrick Haeck. It is mainly the recognition of the suffering that, according to him, does them good. Dahlem hopes so too. “If the exclusion that has caused so much suffering is considered punishable, it helps ex-members.”

According to Fokko Oldenhuis, emeritus professor of law and religion at the University of Groningen, the case could have a chance of success. Although he considers a civil procedure, so if the members themselves bring a case, more likely. If it becomes a criminal case, he says it is an "interesting procedure" because *leaders could face fines and even prison terms.

In a response to Trouw, the Dutch board of the Jehovah's Witnesses points to previous lawsuits that show that they have the right to exclude people from their organization. They do not answer the question of what they think about the treatment of ex-members and the fact that some ex-members no longer have contact with their parents or children due to their policy.

Criminal court case in The Netherlands against shunning - possible jail time for WT leaders

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/q5bgg5/criminal_court_case_in_the_netherlands_against/.

"ex witnesses open attack on traumatizing shunning policy".

this follows on the successful court case in belgium against shunning.. since this is a criminal case, the wt leaders could end up in jail in the netherlands.. multiple articles tomorrow on this topic by renowned dutch newspaper trouw.. https://www.trouw.nl/a-b51d237a.

AndersonsInfo

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/q5bgg5/criminal_court_case_in_the_netherlands_against/

"Ex Witnesses open attack on traumatizing shunning policy"

This follows on the successful court case in Belgium against shunning.

Since this is a criminal case, the WT leaders could end up in jail in The Netherlands.

Multiple articles tomorrow on this topic by renowned Dutch newspaper Trouw.

https://www.trouw.nl/a-b51d237a

18

The 2020 Census of American Religion 07.08.2021

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/.

more than one-third of muslims (39%), white mainline protestants (37%), buddhists (37%), and the religiously unaffiliated (36%) have at least a four-year college degree.

another 19% are catholic, 2% are latter-day saint, and less than 1% each are jehovah’s witnesses or orthodox christians.

AndersonsInfo

https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/

The American Religious Landscape in 2020

Seven in ten Americans (70%) identify as Christian, including more than four in ten who identify as white Christian and more than one-quarter who identify as Christian of color. Nearly one in four Americans (23%) are religiously unaffiliated, and 5% identify with non-Christian religions.[1]

(Following are the 7 paragraphs in the article that mention Jehovah’s Witnesses)

The most substantial cultural and political divides are between white Christians and Christians of color. More than four in ten Americans (44%) identify as white Christian, including white evangelical Protestants (14%), white mainline (non-evangelical) Protestants (16%), and white Catholics (12%), as well as small percentages who identify as Latter-day Saint (Mormon), JEHOVAH’S WITNESS, and Orthodox Christian[2]. Christians of color include Hispanic Catholics (8%), Black Protestants (7%), Hispanic Protestants (4%), other Protestants of color (4%), and other Catholics of color (2%)[3]. The rest of religiously affiliated Americans belong to non-Christian groups, including 1% who are Jewish, 1% Muslim, 1% Buddhist, 0.5% Hindu, and 1% who identify with other religions. Religiously unaffiliated Americans comprise those who do not claim any particular religious affiliation (17%) and those who identify as atheist (3%) or agnostic (3%).

White Evangelical Protestants are the Oldest Religious Group

White evangelical Protestants are the oldest religious group in the U.S., with a median age of 56, compared to the median age in the country of 47. White Catholics and Unitarian Universalists have median ages of 54 and 53 years old, respectively. Black Protestants and white mainline Protestants have a median age of 50. All other groups have median ages below 50: JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (49), Jewish Americans (48), Latter-day Saints (47), Orthodox Christians (42), Hispanic Catholics (42), Hispanic Protestants (39), religiously unaffiliated people (38), Buddhists (36), Hindus (36), and Muslims (33). In the youngest groups, one-third of Hindu (33%) and Buddhist (34%) Americans and 42% of Muslim Americans are in the 18–29 age category.

Hindu, Unitarian/Universalist, and Jewish Americans Most Likely to Have College Degrees

Educational attainment varies considerably across religious groups. Majorities of Hindu (67%), Unitarian Universalist (59%), and Jewish (58%) Americans have four-year college degrees or higher. Four in ten or more Orthodox Christians (48%), white Catholics (42%), and Latter-day Saints (40%) also have at least a four-year college degree. More than one-third of Muslims (39%), white mainline Protestants (37%), Buddhists (37%), and the religiously unaffiliated (36%) have at least a four-year college degree. Three in ten white evangelical Protestants (29%) and Black Protestants (29%) hold college degrees, while one in five or less JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (20%), Hispanic Protestants (17%), and Hispanic Catholics (15%) do.

Race/Ethnicity and Religious Affiliation

A large majority (71%) of white Americans identify as Christian. Half (50%) are Protestant, including 23% who identify as evangelical and 27% who are mainline Protestant. Another 19% are Catholic, 2% are Latter-day Saint, and less than 1% each are JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES or Orthodox Christians. Most non-Christian white Americans are religiously unaffiliated (23%), with 2% who are Jewish and less than 1% who are Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or another religion. Compared to 2013, white Americans are slightly less Christian overall (74% in 2013) and more likely to be unaffiliated (22% in 2013).

Black Americans are also mostly Christian (72%). More than six in ten (63%) are Protestant, including 35% who identify as evangelical and 28% who identify as non-evangelical Protestants. Seven percent of Black Americans are Catholic, while 2% are Muslim and 2% are Buddhist, 2% are another religion, and 1% are JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES; less than 1% identify as Latter-day Saint, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, or Hindu. More than one in five (21%) Black Americans are religiously unaffiliated. More Black Americans identified as Christian in 2013 (79%) and fewer said they were religiously unaffiliated (16% in 2013).

Six in ten Native Americans (60%) identify as Christian, mostly comprised of 47% who are Protestant (28% evangelical, 19% non-evangelical). An additional 11% are Catholic, 1% are Latter-day Saint, and 1% are JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES. Two percent identify with another religion, 1% each are Jewish and Muslim, and less than 1% are Hindu and Buddhist. Nearly three in ten Native Americans (28%) are religiously unaffiliated. There have been no substantial shifts in religious affiliation among Native Americans since 2013.

Other Christians make up 7% of the U.S. population as of 2020, comprised of multiracial Christians (2%), AAPI Christians (1%), Native American Christians (1%), Black Catholics (1%), Christians who did not provide a race or ethnicity (1%), JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (0.5%), and Orthodox Christians (0.5%).