Studies: Americans lie about skipping church

So 45 percent of Americans surveyed say they attend church every week, but more accurate Time Diary studies reveal that only about 24 percent do.  Unlike Europeans, who are honest about their low church attendance, Americans lie about it, just like they lie about how often they floss and work out.

I'm tempted to put this story in my "cheater nation" file, but on second thought, I think it just shows America's high level of religiosity, not religion.  Just like we're lectured about how flossing and working out are the "right" things to do, people don't do them because they (gasp!) don't feel like it.  But anyway when surveyed, they feel embarrassed and lie about it.  

But things are changing.  (Or going to hell in a hand basket, depending on your point of view.)  One out of five Americans is ready to tell Pew Research that they have no religious denomination.  This segues to my "spiritual not religious" pet peeve, but I'll save that for another day....

What We Say About Our Religion, And What We Do

By Shankar Vedantam and Steve Inskeep

October 24, 2012 | NPR

URL: http://n.pr/QVXNyp