Dipped below 50%? This is the 21st Century. That number is still way too high. Grown adults have no excuse for continuing to believe in Bronze Age fairy tales in 2023 in the face of the total lack of evidence to support any such beliefs.
It seems to me as though there has become a dichotomy in most western religions and Christianity in particular, between what they SAY and what they DO. We hear about how much Jesus loves us and that "He Gets Us" and all this extraneous flummery. Then we see how they act, particularly toward the most vulnerable among us – the poor, the disempowered, the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities – and we recognize that all they're trying to do is shine us on.
For the last two centuries, the world looked toward "America, America" for inspiration and guidance into the future. Now that seems to be reversing. America looks to Europe for enlightenment and emancipation from the darkness and lunacy of religion.
If in America we can resist the Christian Nationalists from bringing us "the love of Jesus" at the barrel of an AR-15 long enough until the believers finally dwindle to an ineffectual minority, then civilization might have a chance.
As Nogodz reminds us below, religious belief is still way too high in England, and that goes double for the US. The damage (mental, physical, and cultural) caused by stateside batshit cray-crays is so extensive that even if churches and church leaders vanished tomorrow, the US, assuming it is able to shed its loonier right-wing element, would be working for the next several generations dealing with religious PTSD, helping abuse survivors, and trying to provide remedial education to children and young adults (the result of the religious right's relentless war on public education.)
Speaking of wars, I also don't see any way of reclaiming all the millions upon millions of military-grade weapons in private hands, by either persuasion or legislation. Gun nuttery goes waaaaaaaaaay beyond religious belief; it's fundamental to a gun nut's core identity. This doesn't even take into account all the ordinary people who have lost loved ones to mass shooters enabled by the US gun fetish. These poor folks will suffer that loss for the rest of their lives.
And what about the health care industry and all the women either killed or left permanently injured by religion's stranglehold on their doctors? What about the trans kids denied the means to live their best lives? What about families who have lost trans or LGBTQ+ loved ones to violence or suicide?
What about all the children systematically raped by religious leaders of every stripe? They need justice to begin with, and assured, effective support during their recovery and healing. That could take years, possibly even their entire lives.
The racism and misogyny so callously and renlentlessly stoked by the right isn't going anywhere soon either. Not that these did not exist before, but the religious right wing has made it infinitely worse and far more dangerous. It will take generations of concerted effort through education and reaching out to get even a few bigots to change their views on "those Other people."
I realize the list is extensive, far too extensive to enumerate everything here, and far too depressing to do more than scratch the surface, but everything I've mentioned can be laid squarely at the feet of christianity.
Christians have mountain upon mountain of crimes against humanity to answer for. The kicker is, I don't think they will ever get so much as a slap on the wrist.
Religion and morality do not exclude each other, but they are far from the same thing. This is in part because religion is so difficult to define, and can mean very different things to different people. I think the majority of all people want the world to be better than it is, regardless of their religion. It's the people who believe the world can only be made better if their particular religion in imposed on everyone, who terrify me.
Sanity is beginning to affect the population. Especially younger folks who are tired of listening to these pompous jackholes rant about sin, Hell, LGBT and all the other crazy hateful bullshit they spew.
Oh, and I'm sure the constant exhortations to give money has something to do with it.
OT: When looking up the Falwell quote, the page contained this gem from the Ghoul of Kolkatta (FB)
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
To my recollection, when nature is silent, some bad shit is about to go down.
Happy Juneteenth, everyone.
*NoGodz waves red/yellow/green flag*
Celebrating the dismantling of a barbaric institution that good Christians in the Confederacy fought so hard to retain.
Dipped below 50%? This is the 21st Century. That number is still way too high. Grown adults have no excuse for continuing to believe in Bronze Age fairy tales in 2023 in the face of the total lack of evidence to support any such beliefs.
It seems to me as though there has become a dichotomy in most western religions and Christianity in particular, between what they SAY and what they DO. We hear about how much Jesus loves us and that "He Gets Us" and all this extraneous flummery. Then we see how they act, particularly toward the most vulnerable among us – the poor, the disempowered, the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities – and we recognize that all they're trying to do is shine us on.
And we're not having any.
According to the fundies, this should make the UK a hellhole of lawlessness. The fact that it is not should give them pause. To bad it won't.
For the last two centuries, the world looked toward "America, America" for inspiration and guidance into the future. Now that seems to be reversing. America looks to Europe for enlightenment and emancipation from the darkness and lunacy of religion.
If in America we can resist the Christian Nationalists from bringing us "the love of Jesus" at the barrel of an AR-15 long enough until the believers finally dwindle to an ineffectual minority, then civilization might have a chance.
As Nogodz reminds us below, religious belief is still way too high in England, and that goes double for the US. The damage (mental, physical, and cultural) caused by stateside batshit cray-crays is so extensive that even if churches and church leaders vanished tomorrow, the US, assuming it is able to shed its loonier right-wing element, would be working for the next several generations dealing with religious PTSD, helping abuse survivors, and trying to provide remedial education to children and young adults (the result of the religious right's relentless war on public education.)
Speaking of wars, I also don't see any way of reclaiming all the millions upon millions of military-grade weapons in private hands, by either persuasion or legislation. Gun nuttery goes waaaaaaaaaay beyond religious belief; it's fundamental to a gun nut's core identity. This doesn't even take into account all the ordinary people who have lost loved ones to mass shooters enabled by the US gun fetish. These poor folks will suffer that loss for the rest of their lives.
And what about the health care industry and all the women either killed or left permanently injured by religion's stranglehold on their doctors? What about the trans kids denied the means to live their best lives? What about families who have lost trans or LGBTQ+ loved ones to violence or suicide?
What about all the children systematically raped by religious leaders of every stripe? They need justice to begin with, and assured, effective support during their recovery and healing. That could take years, possibly even their entire lives.
The racism and misogyny so callously and renlentlessly stoked by the right isn't going anywhere soon either. Not that these did not exist before, but the religious right wing has made it infinitely worse and far more dangerous. It will take generations of concerted effort through education and reaching out to get even a few bigots to change their views on "those Other people."
I realize the list is extensive, far too extensive to enumerate everything here, and far too depressing to do more than scratch the surface, but everything I've mentioned can be laid squarely at the feet of christianity.
Christians have mountain upon mountain of crimes against humanity to answer for. The kicker is, I don't think they will ever get so much as a slap on the wrist.
"...we have failed to spread God’s message of unconditional love to all..."
But your churches do a damn good job of spreading the message that he loves some segments of "all''
a lot more than others.
Religion and morality do not exclude each other, but they are far from the same thing. This is in part because religion is so difficult to define, and can mean very different things to different people. I think the majority of all people want the world to be better than it is, regardless of their religion. It's the people who believe the world can only be made better if their particular religion in imposed on everyone, who terrify me.
Sanity is beginning to affect the population. Especially younger folks who are tired of listening to these pompous jackholes rant about sin, Hell, LGBT and all the other crazy hateful bullshit they spew.
Oh, and I'm sure the constant exhortations to give money has something to do with it.
OT: When looking up the Falwell quote, the page contained this gem from the Ghoul of Kolkatta (FB)
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
To my recollection, when nature is silent, some bad shit is about to go down.
Can we call this societal movement Crexit?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/132363081/teachers-registration-cancelled-for-hysterical-response-to-trans-student
Good!
I knew there was something good about that country besides Helen Mirren, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie and delicious English muffins! *smiles*
The real takeaway from this is...
𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰, 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢!
Haha! Screw you, Charlie! Get a real job and save yourself!
O/T: Hate Group: Drag Is The Left’s Version Of Blackface - Via email from the Family Research Council coming from JoeMyGod
https://www.joemygod.com/2023/06/hate-group-drag-is-the-lefts-version-of-blackface/