Zeenews Bureau
Washington: A new survey has revealed that US nationals are fast turning away from religion, even as the Catholic Church has got its new leader, Pope Francis I from Latin America.
The survey found that one in five Americans has no religious preference.
Compared to the 1990 General Social Survey, the percentage of Americans who chose "no religious preference" option in the 2012 survey was double. The percentage was four times higher than recorded in the 1972 survey - the first time such an exercise was undertaken.
A point to be noted is that while 20 percent Americans declared "no religious preference", only 3 percent of them actually admitted to being "atheists".
"This continues a trend of Americans disavowing a specific religious affiliation that has accelerated greatly since 1990," Mike Hout, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement.
First Published: Thursday, March 14, 2013, 14:31