Does the Pope have a speech-writer? I do not know, but I suspect so – and more than one. Given the Pope’s schedule, it is difficult to imagine that he sits at a laptop writing his own lectures and pronouncements. If a speechwriter did write the lecture that Pope Benedict gave in Regensburg on September 12, he should be fired.

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As the survey itself indicates, most who have changed their religious affiliation have done so within Christianity, changing from one denomination to another.

The percentage may be even greater among people who are commonly known as “progressive” Christians. My experience as a lecturer in all regions of the United States suggests this. Most of my audiences are progressive Christians (or they wouldn’t come to hear me). I often ask my audiences, “How many of you are in the same denomination that you grew up in?” The average: 40 percent. Over half – around 60 percent - have changed their denominational affiliation.

I think this is healthy. It suggests that many people have moved beyond their socialization within a particular form of Christianity to a thoughtful (and sometimes agonizing) re-assessment of what it means to be Christian.

And I suspect that most of these have moved from a more conventional and conservative form of Christianity to a more progressive form. This is encouraging.