Decline of religion

[Nay_Sayer]

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Texas is now forcing the bible on children. So expect to see a rise in the number of extreme evangelicals in a several years

[Fake Messiah]

From 89 parishes to 11: this is how France is reorganizing its parish map to address the shortage of priests

The Church in France is reorganizing its territorial presence to respond to the decline in the number of priests and an increasingly secularized society. The goal is no longer to keep the structure inherited over centuries intact, but to concentrate resources, strengthen small Christian communities, and promote a more itinerant and missionary pastoral approach.

According to the Agencia Fides, this process is especially evident in dioceses such as Reims, where Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort has driven a profound pastoral reform since 2018 under the motto «En camino para la misión».

The Archdiocese of Reims has created new missionary spaces served by teams made up of priests, deacons, and laypeople. The organization of sacramental life has been adapted to the actual possibilities of the available clergy, setting the locations for Sunday Eucharist celebrations based on existing resources.

The case of Reims is not isolated. The Diocese of Arras has recently announced a major pastoral transformation that will reduce its current 89 parishes to just 11.

The goal of this reorganization is to concentrate available resources, reduce travel, and strengthen local life through small Christian fraternities. It is a direct response to the drop in the number of priests and the difficulty of sustaining the old parish network in a context of greatly reduced religious practice.

The transformation of these dioceses reflects a profound historical shift. During the 19th and 20th centuries, France was one of the major driving forces behind Catholic mission in Africa, Asia, and other territories. Today, however, many French bishops consider that the country itself has once again become mission territory.

The expression is not new. Already in 1943, Henri Godin and Yvan Daniel published the celebrated essay La France, pays de mission?, in which they warned about the de-Christianization of broad sectors of French society. Eight decades later, the diagnosis appears to have intensified.

Currently, barely 2 % of the French regularly attend Sunday Mass, although approximately half of the population still identifies as Catholic.

https://infovaticana.com/en/2026/07/06/f...f-priests/

[Mister Agenda]

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Texas is now forcing the bible on children. So expect to see a rise in the number of extreme evangelicals in a several years

I don't know, I think this may backfire in the long run.

[Fake Messiah]

No Clear Evidence Religion Is ‘Bigger and Stronger’ in U.S., Despite Trump Claim

President Donald Trump said at a June faith conference that “religion is back in our country, bigger and stronger than it has been in many, many years” and “it’s going up.” The statement is misleading, as multiple surveys show lower religious affiliation and engagement than in past years — despite a recent rise in the perceived influence of religion in America.

We contacted the White House press office and asked which reports Trump saw that show increases in religious affiliation, beliefs or attendance. We did not receive a response.

On our own, we found little support for the president’s claim.

In late March, Ryan Burge, a political scientist and professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center at the Washington University in St. Louis, posted October survey data showing that the share of Americans who are “nonreligious” dropped 3 percentage points from 34% in 2024, Joe Biden’s last year as president, to 31% in 2025. That was the lowest percentage since 2016, according to his numbers, which he attributed to the Cooperative Election Study, an academic survey partly funded by the National Science Foundation that interviews more than 50,000 U.S. adults.

In addition, in late April, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research published the results of another 2025 poll that surveyed leaders representing 7,453 congregations in the U.S. It found that the reported attendance at religious services – which dropped to its lowest levels during the COVID-19 pandemic – had risen above pre-COVID levels. According to the study, the median size of U.S. congregations grew to 70 people last year – up from a median of 65 people just prior to the pandemic. (The median is the halfway point, meaning that half of congregations had more attendees and half had fewer.)

But the researchers said the survey results “should be interpreted with caution,” as the 2025 median of 70 attendees remained well below the median of 137 attendees in 2000. It’s also still lower than the more recent median of 80 attendees in 2015. “Therefore, this recent gain should be viewed within the much longer historical trajectory of a decline,” the researchers said.

What’s more, other surveys don’t show a religious resurgence as Trump described.

Gallup reported in March that 47% of U.S. adults in a 2025 survey said religion was “very important” in their lives. That’s down from 48% in 2024 and down from Trump’s first-term high of 51% in 2017. “The reading has been gradually declining from 58% in 2012 and was as high as 70% to 75% in the 1950s and 1960s,” Gallup said.

https://www.factcheck.org/2026/07/no-cle...ump-claim/

[AFTT47]

So, Trump lied. Who would have thought?

[The Grand Nudger]

More pathological babbling than a misleading claim. It's bigger and better because he's trump branded it. The man is more popular than jesus, dontcha know?