An interesting article about "the unchurching of America."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

It's about how people aren't going to church much any more, focused specifically on Minnesota, but using national as well as local data. The data show that people who used to be church regulars aren't going much any more, because they view their church, or maybe all churches, as too dogmatic, or narrow, or irrelevant, or just unsatisfying in some way. According to the article one in four Americans claim no religion. But only about 3% call themselves atheists. It's an interesting analysis, for what it's worth.

Most of the men and women who were relaxing on yoga mats at a Minneapolis meditation center one recent weekend are not Sunday churchgoers, but they belong to the fastest-growing religion in the United States — none at all.

They included a former Lutheran who left the church because the Bible clashed with science, a former Catholic turned off by the concept of hell, a former Baptist uninspired by Sunday services, and a young man raised with no religion.

Together, they represent the biggest force behind the rising number of shuttered churches and empty pews across Minnesota and the United States. Nearly one in four Americans now declare themselves unaffiliated with any organized religion. The share of adults who identify as “none” has more than doubled since the 1990s — to 56 million and climbing. That’s now more than the membership of all mainline Protestants combined.

The church experience central to many of their parents’ lives never took root or has faded from their own.

http://www.startribune.com/fastest-growing-religion-in-minnesota-the-nation-is-none/498664191/

[vlyons]

1. Here we are in the 21st century

and people are still waiting for Jesus?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Now would be a nice time for him to put in an appearance

but he doesn't seem interested. It's probably more fun to hang out with God and play chess or horseshoes or whatever they do on the other side of the Pearly Gates, than come back to this dump and probably get executed again.

[MineralMan]

3. The trend is clear, both in the US and elsewhere.

I wouldn't expect most people who have abandoned churchgoing to refer to themselves as atheists, though. That's a step too far for most people. Many people who do not practice a religion still think of themselves as somehow religious or "spiritual," whatever that means. They just don't think about it much, nor do they actually participate in any sort of worship.

Deciding that you don't believe any deities exist requires some thinking and reasoning. That's hard work. The conservatism bias keeps the brain hanging on to old ideas, even when presented with a new concept. It's easier to do that than to accept an idea that is completely the reverse of your old beliefs. Since there's no identifiable major benefit connected with disbelief, there's no reason to abandon deeply-ingrained beliefs, even if you no longer think about them much.

However, religion is a learned thing. Once adults stop participating in religious activities, it's likely that their children will not experience nearly the same level of presentation of religious ideas that those adults did. After all, most of us were taken to church by our parents to be taught the same religion they believed.

So, it's likely that the offspring of church-leavers will be prone to consider themselves atheists when they begin thinking about such things. Without the regular teaching of religion as children, they are far less likely to have religious beliefs deeply embedded in their developing brains.

For religious beliefs to take hold, "You have to be carefully taught."

[Iggo]

4. I found the word "atheist" hard to accept for myself at first, and for quite a while.

Logic eventually won, of course.

[Major Nikon]

9. I prefer unaffiliated apatheist

[Act_of_Reparation]

5. Theists don't like atheists.

They don't like the concept of atheists. The largely negative public perceptions of the term deter people from identifying as such. If you're not going to believe, you're going to damn well pretend you do. Or else.

[Mariana]

6. Remember what happened to Jessica Ahlquist

when she dared to challenge the violation of the law by her public school? The Christians in her community issued death threat to this child that were credible enough that she required police escort to and from school. She was publicly demonized by local religious, political, and community leaders. And this happened in New England!

She was also ridiculed by a frequent poster in this group, along with others in her position.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1218270285#post1

[MineralMan]

8. I had forgotten that thread.

I could not believe anyone would take that position, and had to withdraw from commenting. Thank you for reminding me of it. That clarifies things for me. It reminds me why I am here.

[Major Nikon]

10. Also exhibiting the typical down is really up response when bullshit is called

AKA...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting

[Act_of_Reparation]

14. I also remember others trying to pin that shit on "extremists"

We know who attacked Jessica, and it sure as shit wasn't Evangelicals. It was everyone's favorite "moderates".

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Maybe some will abandon all religion or belief; others will not.

There will always be a desire to try to understand the meaning of human existence, even without believing in a supreme being. Maybe some people will be content to conclude that existence has no meaning and will just carry on. But what all these discussions relating to the decline of church attendance seem to show is that a lot of people are turning away from the rigidity and dogma of organized religion but not necessarily always rejecting the concept of - not "god" as defined by a particular religion or denomination - but of some greater spiritual force or reason for existence, or something. Buddhism, for example, is considered a religion, but it's an atheist religion. Buddhists don't believe in a supreme being, but they do believe in spiritual practices intended to lead to personal enlightenment and the overcoming of suffering. Some might look into yoga, various kinds of meditation, even personal syntheses of religious or spiritual beliefs. Everybody has their own ways of looking at things that don't involve attending religious services or accepting specific creeds. I think some versions of personal spirituality will always exist even if the influence of organized religion wanes.

[Major Nikon]

11. Buddhists believe in several supreme beings

They just don’t believe in a creator god.

There’s many other organized religions that reject the notion of a creator god, while still maintaining spiritual aspects incorporated into doctrine and dogma. I’m not sure if they are gaining in popularity.

I suspect you are correct in that the current trend of people abandoning organized religion will continue and people are going to gravitate to alternatives. The growing nones aren’t just going to be atheists.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. That depends on the version of Buddhism.

Buddhism, in general, is not about either believing or not believing in God or gods. There are god-like beings called devas in the early scriptures of Buddhism which are not creators or personal gods, but they are unnecessary; you don't need a god to attain enlightenment. You might say Buddhism is nontheistic rather than atheistic.

[Major Nikon]

13. You could also say they are theistic

...and you wouldn’t be incorrect with any of those options. It’s just not that easy to define them using such labels.