Lakeside Freethinkers: Background Info for Upcoming Meeting
Lakeside Freethinkers
First Lloyd will report on Fatima, the student we assist through the Lake Chapala Society. We chose her because we were interested in helping a female student studying science.
Regarding the designated discussion topic "Revolutionary Change", Rhonda will start off by talking about the Mexican Revolution since it is celebrated on November 20th with parades and costumes to commemorate the national uprising that started in 1910.
Rich will give a presentation on the American Revolution and about whether the US was founded on Christian principles.
Of the several different categories of revolutions listed by scholars: political, industrial, social, etc., Lakeside Freethinkers might be interested in the "global revolution” resulting in a move from theism to non-theism (labeled “Nones”: atheists, humanists, freethinkers, agnostics, etc.) from 2010 to 2020. During that period, "Nones" increased by 270 million to number 1.9 billion and become the third largest “religious” grouping at 24% of the global population. According to Pew Research, this is one of the largest changes in history, with the most change being in Asia (China), Europe and North America.
Lloyd's personal move to non-theism came before 2010, which is probably true for most members of our group. We’ve all lived through the period 2010-2020 and likely have observations and opinions to share on whether the transformation has continued, slowed, or reversed, and what changes in society have resulted.
Dab will talk briefly about the stalling of this trend since 2020, so there are now more theists and fewer “Nones”. Lloyd found a Public Research Institute survey of ex-evangelicals that claims the move from evangelical Christians to Nones continued in the US from 2020 to 2023 and that Nones in the US now total about 20.1 million. But I don’t know how that compares to Nones in the US in 2010.
(written by Lloyd) Continue reading below....
• July 21, 2025 PRRI (Public Relations Research Institute)
“In the 2010s, the term “exvangelical” emerged to refer to individuals who have left evangelicalism and who have either chosen to join non-evangelical Christian traditions, embrace non-Christian beliefs, or leave religion entirely. The exvangelical community has gained visibility in recent years as former believers increasingly share their stories. While the reasons exvangelicals left vary, they often cite disappointment with church teachings, particularly the treatment of LGBTQ people.
“Who Are Exvangelicals?PRRI’s 2023 Religious Change survey asked Americans about their current religious affiliation and the religion in which they were raised. In addition, Christians were asked follow-up questions about whether they identify with or were raised as born-again or evangelical Christians. Based on these questions, we can identify those who grew up as evangelicals but no longer identify as such.
“The survey data show that 6% of Americans are exvangelicals. (Since US population was about 335 million in 2023, that means about 20.1 million.) Within that group, women (58%) are more likely than men (42%) to be exvangelical, and are more likely to be between 30-49 years old (33%), followed by those ages 50-64 (26%), ages 18-29 (24%), and seniors ages 65 or older (17%). A majority reside in the South (58%), with roughly one in ten or less living in the West (16%), Midwest (16%), and Northeast (11%). In addition, 14% identify as members of the LGBTQ community.
“Politically, exvangelicals tend to identify more as independents (36%) than as Democrats (30%) or Republicans (22%). They are also more likely to identify as moderate (37%) than liberal (30%) or conservative (29%).
“The majority of exvangelicals identify as white (56%), 23% as Black, 12% as Hispanic, 5% as other race, 3% as AAPI (?), and 1% as multiracial. Religiously, about half of exvangelicals currently identify as religiously unaffiliated (Nones?) (49%), followed by 18% who identify as white mainline/non-evangelical Protestants, 12% as Black Protestants, 11% as non-Christians, 6% as other Protestant of color (including Hispanic Protestants 2%), 3% as white Catholics, and 1% as Latter-day Saints.
“White exvangelicals are twice as likely as white evangelical Protestants to hold a postgraduate degree (22% vs. 10%), while white evangelical Protestants are more likely to have a high school diploma as their highest level of education (42% vs. 32%). Similar proportions of white exvangelicals and white evangelical Protestants have some college experience (26% vs. 30%) or a college degree (20% vs. 18%).
“White exvangelicals are more likely than white evangelical Protestants to identify as Democrats (23% vs. 9%) and independents (35% vs. 23%), as well as liberal (34% vs. 9%) and moderate (31% vs. 22%). In contrast, white evangelical Protestants are almost twice as likely as white exvangelicals to identify as Republican (59% vs. 33%) and conservative (67% vs. 34%).
“Why Unaffiliated White Exvangelicals Left Their Faith TraditionPRRI finds that a strong majority of unaffiliated white exvangelicals cite no longer believing in their religion’s teachings as the primary reason they disaffiliated (80%). This is followed by 58% who point to negative religious teachings about or treatment of gay and lesbian people. Additionally, half say their religion was harmful to their mental health (51%). Around one-third say their church became too focused on politics (32%), their family was never particularly religious (30%), or they left due to clergy sexual abuse scandals (29%)….White exvangelicals are also more than 10 percentage points more likely than other white unaffiliated Americans to cite negative religious teachings about or treatment of gay and lesbian people as a reason for leaving their religion (58% vs. 47%).
“What Exvangelicals BelieveWhite exvangelicals are significantly more likely than white evangelical Protestants and all Americans to support LGBTQ and abortion rights. Solid majorities of white exvangelicals favor nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people (83%), support same-sex marriage (80%), and believe abortion should be legal (79%). Additionally, six in ten oppose allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ people on religious grounds (60%). In contrast, support among white evangelical Protestants is substantially lower: only 36% favor same-sex marriage, 32% oppose religiously based service refusals, and just 27% support the legality of abortion. The only issue where a majority of white evangelical Protestants express support is for LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections (54%).”