[*] Since 1957, the percentage of the
adult population that expresses no religious preference has nearly quadrupled
from 3 percent of the U.S. population (Statistical Abstract, 1992, p.
58) to 11 percent in 1990. Church and synagogue attendance has been cut from
nearly 50 percent of the population to two-fifths. The enforcement of bans on
retailing on Sundays, of gambling, and the rapid increase in non-traditional
family arrangements all suggests a decline in religiosity. On the other hand,
Gallup polls show that a belief in life after death has ranged from a low of
about 64 percent of the population in 1936 (Cantril, 1951, p. 310) to 77
percent in recent decades (Gallup Poll Monthly, July 1991, p. 52).