The article is a misrepresentation, apparently "believe in a higher power or God" has risen somewhat. This is different from excitement about organized religion, which seems to be less of a thing, not more.
1. Admit you are a sinner, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10-12, 1 John 1:10, James 2:10
2. Realize the penalty for sin, which is death, hell, and eternal separation from God - Revelation 21:8, Romans 6:23, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Corinthians 6:9, James 1:15
3. Believe that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to pay for your sin - 1 John 2:2, Acts 16:30-31, Acts 3:19, Acts 10:43 Romans 5:8, 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 2:24, John 3:16, John 10:28, John 6:47, John 11:26, 1 Timothy 1:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 6:11
4. Trust Jesus Christ alone as your savior, nothing else - Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 4:11-12, Romans 11:6, Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 7:21-23
Pray this prayer:
"Dear Jesus Christ, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve to go to hell, but I believe you died on the cross for me and rose again. Please save me right now and give me eternal life. I'm only trusting in you Jesus, Amen."
And if you believed this in your heart, you're now saved and have the Holy Spirit. First of all, rejoice because you've passed from death to life through the power of Jesus Christ and he will NEVER leave nor forsake you, no matter what. This is why "Gospel" means "good news". You have absolute freedom, and power over death through Jesus. The Holy Spirit will guide you into more understanding as you read the scripture, but you should first focus on knowing the person of Jesus. Jesus is also in the Old Testament symbolically and literally.
The important thing to note is that Christianity is not just doing good things, about turning your life around, etc. Christianity is first about believing the promise of God and His finished work on the cross, and then those good works can follow (but they don't have to, some are saved without works - Romans 4:5). We don't do work for Jesus or become obedient to him because we must to be saved, we do it out of love because we ARE saved.
And once you're saved, you're saved. There is no bad deed you could do to lose it, because there was no good deed you could do to earn it. Jesus says he will never leave nor forsake you, and he means it, and his promises are good forever and always.
Why do I deserve to go to hell? My life was and continues to be pretty boring: as a child I went to school, I did my homework and got good grades, later I went to college, and later still I got a Ph.D.. Then I got a job, I got married, got kids. I continue to go to work, I get paid, pay my taxes (if you prefer, "I render unto Caesar what's due to Caesar"). I don't steal or con people. I don't cheat on my wife. I don't take Lord's name in vain, because I don't swear in general. I honor may parents. I don't observe the Sabbath, I don't even know if it's supposed to be on Saturday on Sunday. I don't worship idols, either 2D or 3D, because I'm an atheist.
Why exactly am I supposed to go to hell?
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” - James 2:10
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." - Revelation 21:8
"The thought of foolishness is sin: And the scorner is an abomination to men." - Proverbs 24:9
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." - Isaiah 64:6
I don't know about you, but I've BEEN unbelieving in my past, I've lied and sometimes still do, and I've thought foolishness and still do. So I've transgressed God's law, but it has been forgiven of me because I accepted God's plan of salvation, which is faith in Jesus Christ through His substitutionary death on the cross and bodily resurrection.
If you never broke God's law, you'd never die and you would completely earn your salvation. It's impossible for us, but it was possible for Jesus because he was God and born to a virgin, therefore he was fully man and fully God. His work on the cross makes it possible to be born again in this life, with his same duality (having our flesh and our spirit), and the promise that we will one day receive a new body without sin.
The point is, God is so entirely holy that we cannot be reconciled by anything that we do with our bodies, or "works". Faith is required to receive the gift Jesus Christ paid for, which is not something we do with our body, it's a spiritual transaction.
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” - 1 Peter 2:24
"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." - Romans 5:18
When we trust in Jesus Christ our sin no longer defines us, and no longer has any power over us, because we've accepted Jesus Christ's atonement for those sins, and all of the sins of our life. We can never defeat sin on this earth, for as long as we have the flesh it has some power over us, and that is the struggle of the Christian life.
I've been fearful, I've been a liar, I sometimes still fear and still lie. But I trust in Jesus, that since through his power he defeated sin and death, and was resurrected, that he can do the same for me. So though I've lied, I'm no longer a liar, though I've feared, I'm no longer fearful. Until you are reconciled to God by belief in Jesus Christ, you are defined by your sin, and punished for your sin after death.
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" - John 11:25
You say this like step 3 is something you can choose to do. I couldn't make myself believe in the resurrection even if I wanted to, in the same way I can't make myself believe in any sort of afterlife, or believe that the sun won't rise tomorrow, or believe that I'm more handsome than Brad Pitt was in his prime.
I'm not ragging on you for your faith, but I've seen a few religious people suggest that belief is a choice and I don't see how belief possibly could be. I at times genuinely and deeply wish I could believe in the resurrection and in a compassionate god... hell right now I have a close family member whose health is degrading and is suffering in a way I feel is undignified and that they don't deserve. I wish so acutely that there was some sort of heaven and that they will be restored and I will be with them again. Even if there wasn't really a heaven I'd feel better right now believing that there was.... that's the rub though. These things are so fundamentally disconnected from my understanding of the world, I quite literally am incapable of believing in them.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6
By praying that prayer earnestly in your heart you commit your soul to Jesus, it's just like the thief next to Jesus on the cross:
"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." - Luke 23:42-43 KJV
And I know it's hard to recognize your sin, and believe in the penalty for sin, without first believing in Jesus. Maybe I shouldn't put them into steps, because it's something that happens all at once. By accepting Jesus you accept the truth of God's word in the Bible, because Jesus is "the word made flesh".
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - John 1:1
I can tell from your paragraph that you are not incapable of believing, so I will pray earnestly for your salvation.
You link the guidelines but I haven't broken a single one in this thread lmao. I admit some other times I've brought up faith may have been off-topic as it relates to the OP, but on topic as it relates to my reply.
The topic of the article is a demographic study. You swerved directly into religious material itself. That's not the same topic at all. It's also flamebait because if you advocate your religious views in this way you will provoke others into advocating their religious views in an equally (let's call it) dedicated way, and off the cliff we will go. This isn't hard to predict.
We have tons of respect for people's religious views but this is a large public internet forum.
Edit: wanted to say, good luck on your journey! And I hope we meet in paradise or Valhalla or whatever you want to call it.