Two different surveys, one showing evangelicals gaining ground but just barely, while the other shows them losing ground but just barely. All while being the most organized and well funded. Look at their media and outreach empires. They do so much just to stay in place. Meanwhile, the nones are growing faster than any other demographic, when all we really have are facts.
This bodes well for the future. That so many will simply follow the facts that are quietly stated and rejecting the lies shouted from bullhorns is a positive trend. This is why they are so intent on theocracy, to be able to force the facts into hiding so that people stop seeing their lies for what they are.
This is a topic we've talked about before. Shoot, it's something that evangelicals have already commented on, while utterly failing to realize just WHY they're bleeding out.
The fact is that the word is out: religion is a LIE. That simple statement has grown enormous traction in the years since 9/11/2001, and it has grown even more potent with the increased popularity of the internet and the spreading of that message on social media. For perhaps the first time in its history, religion is playing defense, and it doesn't like that very much.
The real danger here as I see it is that, as people leave religion, what remains is more concentrated, more angry, and far more dangerous. Add that to the most recent decisions of the Supreme Court, and you have a mix that is volatile to the point where it resembles a social analog of nitroglycerin.
Which doesn't change the fact that we as atheists need to be public, need to be OUT, and need to stand for our values in the face of all that ... because the alternative is intolerable.
I feel it's pretty clear that the internet has a lot to do with where the switching lands. When I was a kid there were all sorts of opportunities for the friends of friends to invite teens to churches. It made for a great place to meet others for the purpose of expanding one's pool of people they know. Now, we can talk to people all over the world, no church necessary. Additionally, kids raised without a particular church or had been to several like me were ripe for looking at other churches. Now I think teens are more likely to weigh the options themselves before being drawn into a church simply because a friend was. It's no wonder Evangelicals want to keep their kids away from the internet.
I am skeptical about these surveys, because a lot of people seem to assume that "unaffiliated" is the same as "no religion". I suspect that a lot of these unaffiliated people continue, at some level, to believe but just without the structure of an established church.
I was once asked to participate in a survey about religion, and one of the first questions was, "Do you believe in God?" When I asked the questioner which deity she was referring to, I was told, "I'll put that sown as a 'yes'", without bothering to determine whether I might be a member of a nonbiblical and possibly polytheistic faith. I hung up on the caller.
It's experiences like that which lead me to question all these polls and surveys since, whether by design or by omission. they tend to skew in favor of biblical religions in general and Christianity in particular. I suspect that if one of these surveys were done at a convention of atheists the results would still show a number of "believers" in the group.
There is a disturbing trend of people leaving the church. And it is all your fault. People need to know that their loving God will hate them and burn them forever if they don't choose to use their freewill exactly how He wants them to. And if they leave the church, where else are they going to hear this loving message of eternal damnation? The laundromat? Home depot? No. The church is the only place and people are leaving it. And it is all your fault.
But luckily you can do something about this. Just stop being so fabulous. Be boring. Be plain. If kids see a glamorous drag queen in 10 inch heels reading fun children stories at the local library of course they are going to leave the leave the church. But how about instead of the 10 inch heels, you were some comfortable flats. And maybe instead of reading a fun children's book, how about Ayn Rand. That way instead of learning about the fun of self-expression, they can leave about the evils of empathy. That will make them feel even more at home in church. So please, teh gays, just stop being so damned fabulous, before you get us all damned.
Since we can speculate about the reasons for the huge spike in Catholic flight, it would seem that the Southern Baptist Convention would have similar numbers for the same reasons.
I'd be interested to know the trends for other major religions like Islam and Hinduism. Not interested enough to look it up, but still interested. It's nice to see the decline, but the outsized influence is still problematic, how long do people think it will take for Christianity to *not* be a given in the US? I'm in my 40s and don't expect any major shifts in my lifetime.
"The unaffiliated number is growing". You watch. The shifty, crafty, wiley, christians will try to find a way to develop that group and make/call them christians so they can make money off of them. I used to think I would be a christian again some day but they have become TOO VILE for that to happen. And they are VILE whether they are in the USA or in Russia. But of course I am a non christian now due to the evidence/lack of evidence and the Holy Babble.
This article was recently used by our good friend Ben Shapiro as an “interesting study” on his podcast to insinuate that being Christian makes you successful.
With that in mind, even though the data in Hemant’s article is what we like to hear, I take the conclusions with a grain of salt. Burge isn’t doing studies, not academically sound studies anyway, he’s simply interpreting this data, with a bit more than a hint of agenda. He’s not discussing how the data was collected, what questions were asked or other important details. I think the article I mentioned is claiming that religion is a luxury for middle and upper class folks rather than the poor it’s supposed to be focused on, and Shapiro interpreted that article the way he wanted to understand it - more of a tool for success. Shapiro is also the one implying this was a fully academic study rather than an educated blog.
When you weigh the nearly infinite number of things in which it is possible to have faith against non-existent objective evidence, what ever a person believes is almost certainly wrong as a matter of probability. In my view the only acceptable choice is no religion at all, otherwise people are merely trading old nonsense for new.
Two different surveys, one showing evangelicals gaining ground but just barely, while the other shows them losing ground but just barely. All while being the most organized and well funded. Look at their media and outreach empires. They do so much just to stay in place. Meanwhile, the nones are growing faster than any other demographic, when all we really have are facts.
This bodes well for the future. That so many will simply follow the facts that are quietly stated and rejecting the lies shouted from bullhorns is a positive trend. This is why they are so intent on theocracy, to be able to force the facts into hiding so that people stop seeing their lies for what they are.
This is a topic we've talked about before. Shoot, it's something that evangelicals have already commented on, while utterly failing to realize just WHY they're bleeding out.
The fact is that the word is out: religion is a LIE. That simple statement has grown enormous traction in the years since 9/11/2001, and it has grown even more potent with the increased popularity of the internet and the spreading of that message on social media. For perhaps the first time in its history, religion is playing defense, and it doesn't like that very much.
The real danger here as I see it is that, as people leave religion, what remains is more concentrated, more angry, and far more dangerous. Add that to the most recent decisions of the Supreme Court, and you have a mix that is volatile to the point where it resembles a social analog of nitroglycerin.
Which doesn't change the fact that we as atheists need to be public, need to be OUT, and need to stand for our values in the face of all that ... because the alternative is intolerable.
I feel it's pretty clear that the internet has a lot to do with where the switching lands. When I was a kid there were all sorts of opportunities for the friends of friends to invite teens to churches. It made for a great place to meet others for the purpose of expanding one's pool of people they know. Now, we can talk to people all over the world, no church necessary. Additionally, kids raised without a particular church or had been to several like me were ripe for looking at other churches. Now I think teens are more likely to weigh the options themselves before being drawn into a church simply because a friend was. It's no wonder Evangelicals want to keep their kids away from the internet.
As religion becomes increasingly hateful and regressive, sane and compassionate people will want less and less to do with it.
Maybe we'd all be better off just scrapping religion altogether. It would save a great deal of time and effort in trying to prop it up.
I am skeptical about these surveys, because a lot of people seem to assume that "unaffiliated" is the same as "no religion". I suspect that a lot of these unaffiliated people continue, at some level, to believe but just without the structure of an established church.
I was once asked to participate in a survey about religion, and one of the first questions was, "Do you believe in God?" When I asked the questioner which deity she was referring to, I was told, "I'll put that sown as a 'yes'", without bothering to determine whether I might be a member of a nonbiblical and possibly polytheistic faith. I hung up on the caller.
It's experiences like that which lead me to question all these polls and surveys since, whether by design or by omission. they tend to skew in favor of biblical religions in general and Christianity in particular. I suspect that if one of these surveys were done at a convention of atheists the results would still show a number of "believers" in the group.
Dear LBGTQ+ community,
There is a disturbing trend of people leaving the church. And it is all your fault. People need to know that their loving God will hate them and burn them forever if they don't choose to use their freewill exactly how He wants them to. And if they leave the church, where else are they going to hear this loving message of eternal damnation? The laundromat? Home depot? No. The church is the only place and people are leaving it. And it is all your fault.
But luckily you can do something about this. Just stop being so fabulous. Be boring. Be plain. If kids see a glamorous drag queen in 10 inch heels reading fun children stories at the local library of course they are going to leave the leave the church. But how about instead of the 10 inch heels, you were some comfortable flats. And maybe instead of reading a fun children's book, how about Ayn Rand. That way instead of learning about the fun of self-expression, they can leave about the evils of empathy. That will make them feel even more at home in church. So please, teh gays, just stop being so damned fabulous, before you get us all damned.
Your brother in Christ,
Holytape
HERESY IS FUN https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/358034768_1452666582186366_8240027609759463916_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p843x403&_nc_cat=106&cb=99be929b-59f725be&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=V1uMWIPUSHQAX_r-KdT&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AfDrl8HMqRurZ4Bm8bV4OJ8lHWBvE4kw-qRbU1KLfhm3Hw&oe=64A944E7
Hmm. There are no numbers for the SBC.
Since we can speculate about the reasons for the huge spike in Catholic flight, it would seem that the Southern Baptist Convention would have similar numbers for the same reasons.
I'd be interested to know the trends for other major religions like Islam and Hinduism. Not interested enough to look it up, but still interested. It's nice to see the decline, but the outsized influence is still problematic, how long do people think it will take for Christianity to *not* be a given in the US? I'm in my 40s and don't expect any major shifts in my lifetime.
Off-topic, obviously, but to all who celebrate, have a great 4th of July!
Plugging holes may be a reason they are leaking members.
"The unaffiliated number is growing". You watch. The shifty, crafty, wiley, christians will try to find a way to develop that group and make/call them christians so they can make money off of them. I used to think I would be a christian again some day but they have become TOO VILE for that to happen. And they are VILE whether they are in the USA or in Russia. But of course I am a non christian now due to the evidence/lack of evidence and the Holy Babble.
Here’s another article by Burge from the same data source.
https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/religion-has-become-a-luxury-good
This article was recently used by our good friend Ben Shapiro as an “interesting study” on his podcast to insinuate that being Christian makes you successful.
With that in mind, even though the data in Hemant’s article is what we like to hear, I take the conclusions with a grain of salt. Burge isn’t doing studies, not academically sound studies anyway, he’s simply interpreting this data, with a bit more than a hint of agenda. He’s not discussing how the data was collected, what questions were asked or other important details. I think the article I mentioned is claiming that religion is a luxury for middle and upper class folks rather than the poor it’s supposed to be focused on, and Shapiro interpreted that article the way he wanted to understand it - more of a tool for success. Shapiro is also the one implying this was a fully academic study rather than an educated blog.
When you weigh the nearly infinite number of things in which it is possible to have faith against non-existent objective evidence, what ever a person believes is almost certainly wrong as a matter of probability. In my view the only acceptable choice is no religion at all, otherwise people are merely trading old nonsense for new.
The cross in the photo looks like it is on public land. It should come down.