Godless Eugene

Going to church on Sunday?

Most people in Eugene won’t.

The Eugene/Springfield metro area ranked as one of the very least religious places in the nation in a 2000 national study by the Glenmary missionary group. Only one in four people in Eugene go to church, half the national average, according to the study. Out of 276 metro areas, Eugene ranked 273 for the lowest percentage of adherents.

Here’s some clips from the Glenmary study:

clipped from www.glenmary.org

Four metros report less than one in
four claimed by the participating groups: Medford, Oregon
(22%), Corvallis, Oregon (23%), Redding, Calif. (24%),
and Eugene, Ore. (24%). (Complete
list available.)

clipped from ext.nazarene.org

273 Eugene 24.5%

Oregon ranked as one of the least religious states in the nation in a Gallop poll released this week. The poll asked, “Is religion an important part of your daily life?” Nationally 65 percent said yes. In Oregon the percentage was 53.

That doesn’t mean they were regular churchgoers. Nationally only 30 percent told Gallup that they go to church at least once a week.

Here’s clips of the Gallup stuff:

clipped from www.gallup.com

Overall, 65% of Americans say religion is an important part of their daily lives

So with so few actually very religious, especially here, what does this mean for all the political God pandering?

Should the Obama inauguration have included at least four official sermons (two at the event, one in the morning and one the next day)?

Should the 4J School Board recite the “under god” pledge at every meeting?

What about all these, national, state and city prayer breakfasts?

What about gay marriage in a state where half don’t consider themselves religious and less than that go to church regularly?

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!