Churches are losing the less educated
A recent study reports that white Americans without college degrees
are dropping out of church faster than their more highly educated
counterparts, and researchers are offering several possible
explanations.
The study, by University of Virginia sociologist W.
Bradford Wilcox, found that since the 1970s, white Americans with no
more than a high school diploma have been leaving the pews twice as fast
as other Americans.
Other research has connected higher education
levels with liberal religious belief and less attraction to literal
interpretations of the Bible. People with more education, the theory
goes, may be better able to manage ambiguity and uncertainty in matters
of faith.
