The Nutters Are Declining Rapidly

[Mister Agenda]

It shouldn't take that long for the majority of the country to be religiously unaffiliated. Almost certainly in our great, great, grandchildren's time. The percentage of disaffiliation in the Silent Generation (my parent's generation, I'm 53) was about 9%. It was 16% for the Boomers, over 20% for Generation X, and almost 30% for Millenials. The great grandchildren of the Silent Generation have triple their religious disaffiliation. That might not happen again, but double seems to be xomething reasonable to expect.

[Homeless Nutter]

It would only take a few "lean" years for religion to come roaring back. Religions thrive on misery. Steady technological progress, increasing quality of life, as well as political and social liberties are what makes them decline.

I don't want to appear pessimistic, but considering problems we're going to have to deal with in the near future - global warming, over-population, growing disproportion in wealth, between rich and poor, fanatical governments, radicalization of Islam, the list goes on - it appears, that for a long while at least there will be enough poor, uneducated and desperate people for religions to prey upon...

[Strider]

"Though the U.S. is still a Christian-majority country, Cox mused, how much longer will it remain so and what might be on the horizon?"

What's on the horizon? Better fucking days. I just hope I live to see the day when Christians are a minority in the U.S. I doubt it will happen in my lifetime though.

[Minimalist]

Your mistake there is not recognizing that that each individual sect is a minority right now. And they despise each other.

As Celsus wrote in the 2d century:

"Christians, needless to say, utterly detest one another; they slander each other constantly with the vilest forms of abuse, and cannot come to any sort of agreement in their teaching. Each sect brands its own, fills the head of its own with deceitful nonsense...".

And that was long before there were mormons, or JWs or any of those other protestant fucktards.

[Norman Humann]

Well, if the US becomes less religious there are two reactions possible from Poland. Either it will follow or it will get a righteous catholic boner and shove good old catholic values even harder down the throats of our children.

There is a noticeable trend among young people to step away from the church, which is the first step of turning away from religion altogether, but something tells me that in our aging society, those old narrow minded pricks won't be having a secular majority.

I don't want to be too pessimistic, though. There definitely is some progress happening, it's only a question of time before the world rids itself from religion, but it will take some time. I don't expect it to happen in my lifetime.

[AFTT47]

I've been following this a long time and it's definitely encouraging. I don't know how accurate the absolute numbers are but the trend is definitely going our way. I agree with Homeless Nutter that we could easily see a religious resurgence for any number of reasons but I think it will only be a speed bump if it happens. With the internet, there is unprecedented communication and sharing of ideas and thoughts and that environment is antithetical to religion. The religious right sure hasn't helped themselves either. They started getting negative media attention with the televangelist scandals of 1980s and it's continued on since then - lunatics like Fred Phelps, the pedophile priests, Islamic terrorism, etc.

[Jenny A]

I don't know, dear.

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Lots of old bastards and empty seats. What's the tipping point where it isn't worth turning on the lights any more?

I love the idea of the church just slowly dying out due to the natural deaths of the participants. But, my experience is that it's a particular kind of church that's dying in that way. It's the old mainstream moderate churches. There are many churches full of young people. They are the bat-shit crazy millennialists. So while we are seeing a decline in church goes, we are seeing a rise in the number of crazy church goers.

[AFTT47]

Your mistake there is not recognizing that that each individual sect is a minority right now. And they despise each other.

IMHO, that is why the US never devolved into a Christian version of the Taliban. If it weren't for the fact that Christianity is so fractured, they could have crippled or outright eliminated church-state separation through constitutional amendments. But Madison's words remained persuasive: "Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?"

[Mr Greene]

I don't know, dear.

Lots of old bastards and empty seats. What's the tipping point where it isn't worth turning on the lights any more?

Based on how it's going here in the UK the point of no return is when average age of the person in the pew = average life expectancy.
Currently the UK is about a 6-7 year gap between the 2 figures and churches are closing left right & centre.

[Angrboda]

Lots of old bastards and empty seats. What's the tipping point where it isn't worth turning on the lights any more?

I love the idea of the church just slowly dying out due to the natural deaths of the participants. But, my experience is that it's a particular kind of church that's dying in that way. It's the old mainstream moderate churches. There are many churches full of young people. They are the bat-shit crazy millennialists. So while we are seeing a decline in church goes, we are seeing a rise in the number of crazy church goers.

A good book on the subject is Shopping For God which tells the story of how, while old mainstream denominations are waning, the mega-church phenomenon is booming.