Decline of religion

[The Grand Nudger]

It's a long recognized law of ceremonial magic. The spells won't work without a legit sorcerer.

[Ahriman]

It's a macron so that you pronounce the word Māori with respect, and not how Christians (missionaries) pronounce it as "savage pagans".

The number of tourists we get who pronounce it 'may-OR-ee' is stunning. Hurts my ears every time I hear it.

Boru

That's how I pronounce it. What's the proper way?

[The Grand Nudger]

Like Maui but with an r.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The number of tourists we get who pronounce it 'may-OR-ee' is stunning. Hurts my ears every time I hear it.

Boru

That's how I pronounce it. What's the proper way?

MAU - ri (ever so slight trill on the ‘r’).

That’s what the macron is for, dolt.

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Atheists have taken over the social activities of the church in Ireland. A smart move ... rather than attempt to dismantle the church they've taken control of it. Atheist women now run things. This is very noticeable in small towns. Maybe Sinead O'Conner's outburst had something to do with it?

Not atheists, but Christians who are not clergy. But look at it this way: the Church could have perhaps had priests if they let women ordain into priesthood, but no. The Catholic Church would rather have laypeople ordain mass and other rites than let women be priests.

Besides, to me this seems like a step forward: why wouldn't laypeople do the rites like funerals and baptisms, or, in other words, why would Christians need people who are better (holier) than the rest, and just do the stuff they need themselves in the family?

For as long as I can remember, the laity have ALWAYS run the social functions of Irish churches. 

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

Switzerland's non-religious population becomes largest group for first time

Switzerland's population with no religious affiliation overtook the Catholic community for the first time in 2022, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) announced Friday.

The FSO said the proportion of the population with no religious affiliation has increased to 34% in the last 50 years, while Catholics and Protestant-Reformed has steadily decreased to 32%.

As recently as 1970, only 1% of the population had no religious affiliation. That proportion rose to 11% by the turn of the millennium to 34%.

Only 16% of those aged 75 and older have no religious affiliation, according to the FSO. Those in the 25 - 34 age group comprised the highest proportion of people with no religious affiliation at 42%.

Overall, more men do not belong to any religion than women. According to the Federal Statistical Office of the Swiss Confederation, BfS, the main reason for abandoning religious affiliation was that they had lost or never had faith.

https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/switze...me-3676587

[Fake Messiah]

Why People Aren’t Religious Anymore: 15 Simple Reasons

1. Science is More Appealing Than Faith

2. Valuing Individualism Over Tradition

3. Wide Access to Diverse Beliefs

4. Secular Humanism is on the Rise

5. Disappointed by Religious Institutions

6. Chasing Material Success

7. Changing Social Values

8. The Need for Evidence

9. Travel Opens Minds

10. Questioning Religious Dogma

11. Education Encourages Questions

12. Celebrity Influence

13. Finding Spirituality Outside Religion

14. Science vs. Religion

15. The Desire for Personal Freedom

https://www.criticalfinancial.com/why-pe...s-anymore/

[Fake Messiah]

'On brink of abyss,' Polish church ignores warning signs

With empty pews and seminaries and its moral authority in free fall, Poland's Catholic church is on the brink of the abyss, a reality analysts say it is choosing to ignore.

Only 71 percent of Poles describe themselves as Catholic, down from 88 percent a decade ago, according to the latest national census, from 2021.

Less than a third of the faithful went to Sunday mass that year, the lowest figure since 1980, according to Poland's Institute for Catholic Church Statistics.

The number of baptisms fell by 40 percent between 2017 and 2022, and families have been taking their children out of religion class in droves, especially in big cities.

Faced with a lack of interest, three seminaries recently closed their doors.

The roughly 200 priests ordained last year were half that of a decade ago, prompting some bishops to recruit priests from Africa to fill the gap.

Among young Poles, the late homegrown Pope John Paul II -- once a beloved national hero whose likeness graces hundreds of statues across the country -- is nothing more than a subject of memes.

"The church has been abandoned by the Catholics themselves," said the former Jesuit, adding that it is "on the brink of the abyss" and its new head guarantees no reform.

The list of the church's failings is long, beginning with the paedophilia scandals and the institution's inability to manage them.

Fourteen bishops have been punished by the Vatican for sexual assault scandals in recent years.

"The matter of sex crimes is not over. It's just the beginning," theologian Zuzanna Radzik told AFP, explaining that cases of harassment at seminaries and religious orders had yet to be examined.

The church's alliance with the former government has also not helped its reputation.

"For years, Poland's bishops blackmailed successive governments in order to obtain gains for the church or themselves," Dudkiewicz said.

They notably backed a massive campaign against "LGBTQ ideology" waged by the previous right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20...ning-signs

[GUBU]

'On brink of abyss,' Polish church ignores warning signs

With empty pews and seminaries and its moral authority in free fall, Poland's Catholic church is on the brink of the abyss, a reality analysts say it is choosing to ignore.

Only 71 percent of Poles describe themselves as Catholic, down from 88 percent a decade ago, according to the latest national census, from 2021.

Less than a third of the faithful went to Sunday mass that year, the lowest figure since 1980, according to Poland's Institute for Catholic Church Statistics.

The number of baptisms fell by 40 percent between 2017 and 2022, and families have been taking their children out of religion class in droves, especially in big cities.

Faced with a lack of interest, three seminaries recently closed their doors.

The roughly 200 priests ordained last year were half that of a decade ago, prompting some bishops to recruit priests from Africa to fill the gap.

Among young Poles, the late homegrown Pope John Paul II -- once a beloved national hero whose likeness graces hundreds of statues across the country -- is nothing more than a subject of memes.

"The church has been abandoned by the Catholics themselves," said the former Jesuit, adding that it is "on the brink of the abyss" and its new head guarantees no reform.

The list of the church's failings is long, beginning with the paedophilia scandals and the institution's inability to manage them.

Fourteen bishops have been punished by the Vatican for sexual assault scandals in recent years.

"The matter of sex crimes is not over. It's just the beginning," theologian Zuzanna Radzik told AFP, explaining that cases of harassment at seminaries and religious orders had yet to be examined.

The church's alliance with the former government has also not helped its reputation.

"For years, Poland's bishops blackmailed successive governments in order to obtain gains for the church or themselves," Dudkiewicz said.

They notably backed a massive campaign against "LGBTQ ideology" waged by the previous right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20...ning-signs

"Ah feck," says the Irish conference of bishops, "where are we going to get our priests from now? We've far too many blacks as is."

[Fake Messiah]

Even Kellyanne Conway, who is a Catholic, complained about how churches are empty of white people and she is stuck with listening to mass in barbaric languages of Asia and Hispanic countries because the only people left attending the Sunday mass are Asians and Hispanics.