• Le_Wokisme [they/them, undecided]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    6 days ago

    this graph is the share of “christians” attending church. if the “culturally christian” or nominals stop IDing as christian then they aren’t on that graph anymore so the portion of regular church-goers increases.

    • purpleworm [none/use name]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      6 days ago

      You’re misreading it. The base is even stated in the bottom corner, it’s the “whole population”. The percentage is people who meet both criteria, i.e. being self-identified Christians and going to church monthly, which is also what the phrasing at the top suggests. Atheists, Jews, and Buddhists are on the graph in the same grouping as Christians who don’t attend church at least once a month (and anyone who attends a “church” regularly but isn’t Christian, not that there are many of those). The percentage is people who meet the two conditions and everyone else is the remainder. A constant zealot population would only be a larger percentage in terms of the number shown on the graph if the overall “whole population” shrank by more than the zealot population, not if nominal Christians go to church less (which shrinks the percentage shown).

      @CyborgMarx@hexbear.net so I’m not copy/pasting my response.