Decline of Religion in the west

[fredd bear]

Below is TED lecture arguing religion, esp.Christianity is in decline in the 20 odd 'modern' countries.

The argument seems reasonable to me. However, I will need a lot more evidence before being able to take informed position.

I post for interest of members, not to take a shot at our resident apologists.  There is no need, they already expert in collectively shooting themselves in the foot .

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_q...jreload=10

[tackattack]

Thank God, a decline of religion is way past due.

[fredd bear]

Thank God, a decline of religion is way past due.

 
 Don't start celebrating yet.

So far we have an interesting hypothesis. It may be the case, or not. As I said, I will need to see a lot more evidence  before I can reach an informed opinion

[The Valkyrie]

NZ is around 51% non religious.

[fredd bear]

NZ is around 51% non religious.

 Interesting. 

Australia had 30% as of the 2016 census.

I don't trust official census figures.  I think both figures are probably too low.

I've read that people will show themselves as belonging to the religion of their childhood, even if they have not been inside a church since..

The Atheist foundation of Australia has ben running campaigns at census time for people to  indicate 'no religion' if that is the case. 

   In the 2001 census, 70,000 (0.37%) Australians gave  their religion as "Jedi". It is a now an official choice.

[Abaddon_ire]

Well, here in Ireland (a bastion of holy catholicism) the church is in headlong retreat.

When I was a kid there were three priests in every parish. Now there are three parishes per priest. Even those unhappy few are preaching to empty pews.

They must be aware that people have voted with their feet, yet still they persist.

[fredd bear]

Well, here in Ireland (a bastion of holy catholicism) the church is in headlong retreat.

When I was a kid there were three priests in every parish. Now there are three parishes per priest. Even those unhappy few are preaching to empty pews.

They must be aware that people have voted with their feet, yet still they persist.

 I remember reading that in the 1950's, there was one priest to every 200 people in Ireland. Hard to understand the power those bastards had in the community if you are unfamiliar with Irish Catholicism.  I grew up in an Irish Catholic home, Irish priests and Irish nuns. Not something I would wish upon an enemy. I got out of Dodge as soon as I could, at age 18.

Do think you  Ireland is getting any closer to dealing with the other elephant in the room? IE Priests'  defacto wives and children. OR has that been sorted?

[The Grand Nudger]

If modernization causes an irreversible secular effect, then how do we contextualize the wider presence and acceptance of atheism in classical societies than their subsequent regional civilizations?  

If these questions had been asked of classical greece they'd end up getting a range of answers that entirely spoofed the results we see today.  There was little, if any, religious orthodoxy..so the question "what religion do you belong to/how often do you attend church" would have yielded blank stares.  The question of what portion of their society believed in the gods we can't know..but we do know that atheism was significant enough to be both acknowledged and accepted in a way that still eludes some modern nations.  On the notion of it;s importance..we'd likely have gotten an answer of "not very" - as a common theme in classical paganism was that the gods were complete assholes who could rarely, if ever, be pleaded with...and on the offchance that they could be ended up more like an evil genie than a benevolent force....important only insomuch as it was important to keep from being noticed by the gods- for the most part.

This society, in which the ratio of believers to non believers was likely greater than current levels, and in which the heavens were chock full of gods, from which many of our secular notions are derived..was in important ways more secular and accepting than the US is today and was certainly more secular and accepting than the civilizations that arose in the wake of their collapse.

[Drich]

Below is TED lecture arguing religion, esp.Christianity is in decline in the 20 odd 'modern' countries.

The argument seems reasonable to me. However, I will need a lot more evidence before being able to take informed position.

I post for interest of members, not to take a shot at our resident apologists.  There is no need, they already expert in collectively shooting themselves in the foot .

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_q...jreload=10

I don't consider myself religious either. But I love me some God! Love to worship and praise and help clear up any confusion about God that generally is created by religion.. As you pointed out many do not considered themselves religious, maybe it is because those that where have move past the crutch of religion and have graduated into a full blown relationship. Meaning walking away from God and the beginning point of religion is only one of a few reasons people are not checking the 'religious' box anymore.

[Yonadav]

Well, here in Ireland (a bastion of holy catholicism) the church is in headlong retreat.

When I was a kid there were three priests in every parish. Now there are three parishes per priest. Even those unhappy few are preaching to empty pews.

They must be aware that people have voted with their feet, yet still they persist.

I think the power of Catholicism in Ireland was a political anomaly. Catholics were descendants of the indigenous, and Protestants were descendants of the invading oppressors. Religion becomes a lot more important to people under circumstances like that.

In general, I think that religion waxes and wanes. In the US, we went through a period of stronger religious identity during the Cold War in contrast to 'godless communism'.