Decline of religion

[Ahriman]

Since the old way of outright insulting people wasn't working out, pagans had to refine their technique, they had to find a way to be more clever and subtle with their shit talking.

Do you really equate insults and shit talking with violence?!?

In a way, I think insults and shit talking can be considered a form of violence, when perceived by the recipient as a personal attack.

[The Grand Nudger]

-and now you see...the violence inherent...in the system.

[Fake Messiah]

As pastors age, majority struggle to find mature young Christian successors

As American pastors continue to skew older, with an average age of 52, a majority now say it is becoming increasingly difficult to find mature young Christians willing to do their jobs as they prepare to retire, data from a new Barna study shows.

Researchers found that some 75% of the pastors in the study at least somewhat agree with the statement that "It is becoming harder to find mature young Christians who want to be pastors."

With only 16% of pastors currently aged 40 or younger, Barna noted that American churches are likely to face a real succession crisis if the issue is not addressed.

The study comes as data from an October 2021 Barna survey suggested that nearly four out of 10 pastors (38%) said they are "seriously considering" leaving full-time ministry, which was a significant increase from the 29% of pastors who reported feeling this way several months earlier in January 2021.

As the world was still reeling from the pandemic in 2022, some Christian denominations, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, reported that they were already in the throes of a succession crisis with a national shortage of "at least 600" pastors.

Last May, when The Christian Post interviewed Nancy Rupe, an office administrator at Atonement Lutheran Church in Billing Heights, Montana, who is now retired, the church, which has more than 260 active members, had been waiting eight months to be assigned a new pastor.

Even though a majority of pastors are concerned about finding successors for their ministries, Barna noted that 79% of respondents also agree that "churches aren't rising to their responsibilities to train up the next generation of Christian leaders." It's not, however, out of a lack of desire to do so but competition from what they consider more pressing ministry priorities.

When asked if he was worried about Christianity in America, Chaddick said he believes the country is in a "post-Christian era" but doesn't necessarily see it as a bad thing.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/pasto...ssors.html

[Lek]

It's funny that in this country where we are free to worship, people are leaving the churches in droves. In China where they are persecuted and forced to worship underground the church is growing in
leaps and bounds. China is supposed to have the world's largest number of Christians by the year 2050. It seems that when religions are persecuted that is when they grow the most.

[Fireball]

It's funny that in this country where we are free to worship, people are leaving the churches in droves. In China where they are persecuted and forced to worship underground the church is growing in
leaps and bounds. China is supposed to have the world's largest number of Christians by the year 2050. It seems that when religions are persecuted that is when they grow the most.

Supposed to? Got some hard facts?

[Lek]

It's funny that in this country where we are free to worship, people are leaving the churches in droves. In China where they are persecuted and forced to worship underground the church is growing in
leaps and bounds. China is supposed to have the world's largest number of Christians by the year 2050. It seems that when religions are persecuted that is when they grow the most.

Supposed to? Got some hard facts?

https://www.movements.net/blog/2015/05/2...china.html

[Fake Messiah]

It's funny that in this country where we are free to worship, people are leaving the churches in droves. In China where they are persecuted and forced to worship underground the church is growing in
leaps and bounds.

And that is why priests and pastors lie to people that they are being persecuted even in countries where they are not. Like that woke culture, gays, trans, Rock and Roll, immigrants, and whatnot are persecuting them. Heck, Catholicism comes already with a bunch of invented people who were persecuted and even died for Christianity.

[Fireball]

Supposed to? Got some hard facts?

https://www.movements.net/blog/2015/05/2...china.html

Dig that extrapolation. 

[MarcusA]

Dawkins does nothing for me. Can not the upsurge in religiosity around the world be attributed to his type? Reason is the enemy of faith, said Martin Luther. And he was a filthy peasant as Nietzsche said. It is not that religion is irrational. It is illogical.

[LinuxGal]

It's funny that in this country where we are free to worship, people are leaving the churches in droves. In China where they are persecuted and forced to worship underground the church is growing in
leaps and bounds. China is supposed to have the world's largest number of Christians by the year 2050. It seems that when religions are persecuted that is when they grow the most.

According to Pew Research there are 246 million Christians in the United States and 67 million Christians in China.  Only a fraction of Chinese Christians, perhaps a third, are in "house churches" that would experience the growth stimulus of state persecution you claim (state-sanctioned churches would not experience such persecution, presumably). Also Christians make up about the same portion of the world’s population today (32%) as they did a century ago (35%) and China's population is now declining. Meanwhile, over the last century, the proportion of Americans who are Christian has only declined from 90% to 80%. Taken all together, I do not see how China can surpass the US in number of Christian adherents in only a little more than a quarter century.

https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-conten...rt-web.pdf