Ask Americans what their religion is, and nearly 1 in 3 say this -- none. That’s according to the U.S. adults surveyed by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. “And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church,” he recalled.

Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades.

“Most religions are there to control people and get money from them,” said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. “I can’t buy into that,” he said.

  • @Syrc
    1•1 year ago

    I know, it’s been really bad from the start, but it’s not meant to be.

    Just because you have a personal view on how the world works it doesn’t mean you have to force it down other people’s throats. You can be religious and just think “God exists, they work like this, this and that”, and act like a normal human being. It’s just that throughout history it’s been used as a tool for enforcing blanket “I know more than you, so you listen to me”.