Open for Explanations

My guess is Christianity is a cultural heritage for many of these people, and they are reluctant to let go of the label Christian, even if they’ve long since rejected what it describes.

They might like Christian morals, which really is a very relativist notion of love your enemies, forgive others, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, etc. However, the absence of God, doesn’t make you hold to closely to these standards, so it’s very lax and non-demanding. In other words, you can love how it sounds and live it out how you choose. It’s a non-binding Christianity that I think is entirely, yes, cultural.

I’m not sure of the explanation but apparently it’s obvious in real life, not just the poll numbers. My (non-Catholic) wife routinely asks me why Catholics continue to get married, baptized, etc., in the Church if they aren’t going to attend Mass and don’t believe in the Church teachings. She dreads the Holidays (Easter and Christmas) because of what she calls the TAYs (Twice a year). I don’t have a good answer for her.

It goes something like this: Christ taught love. I agree with that. I’m a Christian.

I broadly agree with Mike… too many people (including Christians) reduce Christianity to moralism, which allows them to dispense with other “ancillary” aspects of the faith.