Well I'll be Goddamned! Rise In Americans With No Religion

[Philosoraptor]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/09/national/main4853201.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

(AP) A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

The study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.

"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said.

.......well I'll be Goddamned!

[onehandle]

1. Yeah. At this rate, America will be religion-free...

...in several thousand years.

[SecularMotion]

4. More likely is that there will be a tipping point

when the increase in the number of non-religious accelerates. I think we may reach that in the next hundred years as science makes further discoveries which conflict with religious beliefs.

[stopbush]

5. Agreed. That's why Obama's overt commitment to science is so

refreshing and important, even as he says that he himself is religious.

And I don't think it will take another 100 years to turn the USA into a nation where the majority of people aren't religious. I give it 20-30 years, tops.

[polmaven]

81. I think that for the vast majority

of us, our religion and science are not incompatible.

[reggie the dog]

22. about a third of us are athiests here in France.

[Juche]

47. Thats it?

You'd obviously know better than me since you are there but I have heard it is closer to 50% in France and much of Europe.

http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html

[reggie the dog]

58. atheists and people who think their is a higher power, but

not necessarily God make up at least half of France. Other countries are different. Ireland and Poland for example.

[Lost in CT]

78. Ireland has been in the France camp for the last ten years..

And so many catholic priests are leaving the now import the priest from Africa and Poland.

[reggie the dog]

86. wow

I did not know that. Why the change in Ireland? Do you think abortion will be legal soon?

[Lost in CT]

87. Molestation scandals same as in Boston... as well as not letting priests marry.

In fact both slavery and molestation scandals came to light about 10 years before the American ones. In addition prosperity and modernization have taken its toll. But non-catholic Christians are on the rise and if it wasn't for the Polish invasion the numbers would be much worse.

[Juche]

48. double post

nt

[ForrestGump]

59. When, it is written,

John Lennon will return from the dead.

[demokatgurrl]

88. Exactly. A nation of heathens by the next millenium. n/t

[Marrah_G]

2. Catholisism is down from 50% to 36% in Masasachusetts

thats huge, especially since those 36 % are not regular church goers.

[nichomachus]

6. I went back to my home town in MA a year or so ago

Our Catholic Church used to have three priests and the church was filled every Sunday -- standing room only -- for five masses. By the time of my visit, according to my father, there was one priest. They had two masses every Sunday and the church was less than one-third full for each. And, the neighborhood hadn't really changed all that much.

[Marrah_G]

10. I know for many Catholics, Cardinal Law was the breaking point.

My former inlaws almost all moved to an episcopal church after the revelation that one of the long time parish priests was an alterboy rapist...included in his victims were members of the family.

[K8-EEE]

12. For me in L.A., Mahoney shielding these pedophile priests in CA

Was a big part of it.....

I mean they would find some guy, a serial rapist of children, and then just send him on to the next parish after a "retreat." Fuck that.

[Marrah_G]

15. For us here, not only was it covered up and priests moved around but........

The one behind it all, the one who let it continue, was given the reward of a position of honor at the Vatican.

To me that is unforgivable.

[nichomachus]

18. A classmate of mine is a pedophile priest

He was accused several times of pedophilia in Albany and was moved around several times to new victims. Finally, he was sent to Boston, where Bernard Law welcomed him and provided him with new victims, moving him around several times. Finally, when the heat got too much, Law and the bishop of Albany pulled strings and gave him a stellar recommendation to get him a job as a chaplain in a residential home for troubled teen-age boys.

[Marrah_G]

20. I wish I believed in Hell because then I could count on Law being sent there.

[jmm]

46. Was he sent to Boston in the 80's?

Sounds like a priest from my old Catholic School. Unfortunately there were so many pedophile priests in this area I could be getting them confused.

[K8-EEE]

11. IMO the Catholic School system keeps the US Catholic Church propped up

I went to excellent Catholic Schools -- but I don't buy in to the faith at all. I saw George Carlin talk about that once, he also was grateful for the experience of going to a Catholic School but never really believed the whole religion part.

[Taverner]

17. People are learning that wishes (aka prayers) do nothing

[roguevalley]

27. for me, prayers are meditations. I say them to those I love and I

say them for the world.

[K8-EEE]

35. Fine but the power tripping type 'lord make everyone like me" Freeper type prayers

Are so unhinged....if you want to see some serious insanity check out the daily "pray for Obama" (to become a Freeper) thread and the resulting "I'm not wasting my precious prayers for the Anti-Christ/Satan) type responses. Just raving lunatics on the prayer thread!

[roguevalley]

36. those idiots are a portion of the population of believers and they

do not constitute the great bulk, anymore than al-Qaida represents Islam. They just get more press. Unfortunately.

[K8-EEE]

37. True but it is sad how

Jihadists and Crusaders both believe 1000% that God is on their side. God help the rest of us - these people WANT to have the end of the world so they can get to their respective "forever paradises."

Living for "the next life" IMO has totally jumped the shark. We would be better off if people didn't think like that.

[roguevalley]

83. I agree. Very sad that they would believe that a god that they say

is loving and good would condone their actions. God doesn't.

[Juche]

50. We are doing the same here

We aren't praying, but we are celebrating the growth of atheism in the US, which is like an evangelical celebrating the growth of baptist faith in India. We are celebrating the US becoming more singular in its philosophies, namely more secular.

I think we'd be better off if we talked about the positives of agnosticism/atheism rather than the negatives of theism. For one thing, agnosticism puts us in control. People die of starvation and cancer because we do not devote the resources to fix these problems, not because of any external will controlling things and demanding that. One of the things that has had the biggest impact for me in discovering agnosticism is the fact that this world is as good or as bad as we make it. We have the tools and the ideas to create a better world, and nobody is looking out for us on the outside giving judgment or direction. We succeed or fail by our own merits. Its very empowering.

[K8-EEE]

55. I'm not trying to "convert" anybody just expressing that I'm sick to death

of people shoving their fairy tales down other people's throats. People can believe what they want but just, out of my face & out of my government please. More secular people = less people falling for the BushCo crap, IMO.

[TBF]

67. Maybe we'd be better off talking about economics. n/t

[Manifestor_of_Light]

53. I found out that praying did nothing.

I used to be a Christian and I prayed and went to church.
I got horribly depressed because I prayed to get a job and nothing happened. I decided the people of my church and God wanted me to starve to death. And I got sick of having my humanity denied every Sunday by a jackassed preacher who told all of use we were worthless sacks of shit, in so many words.

So I am now a happy Unitarian.

www.uua.org

[K8-EEE]

84. It's a catch -22. If you get what you pray for or not, the prayer is "answered"

I just think it's all so childish! Even for people who believe in a supreme creator or whatever, this idea of Jesus=Santa Claus in the sky that I can petition for things or to intervene magically in human events, come on.

[polmaven]

19. Did the survey say

since when? I'm willing to bet it started dropping off with that whole child molestation debacle!

[Marrah_G]

21. I heard it on the radio

I am betting you are right on the timing.

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. There are only 3 surveys to work from

Results for 1990 and 2008: http://b27.cc.trincoll.edu/weblogs/AmericanReligionSurvey-ARIS/reports/part3c_geog.html
for 2001: http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_studies/aris.pdf

For MA:

                 1990  2001  2008
Catholic          54    44    39
Other Christian   29    27    26
Other Religion     6     6     5
None               8    16    22

[GillesDeleuze]

3. Most religious growth

is due to birth rates. Once they start thinking, its hard to keep them.

[nichomachus]

7. I've heard that evangelicals have a 90 percent drop-out rate among their kids

[K8-EEE]

8. I am one who dumped Christianity during the GWB years

Seeing Christians of all denoms (including in what I thought was a liberal Catholic parish) fall for the "Bush Doctrine" just made me hurl. It's actually the only good thing he did for me -- I have my Sunday mornings back, not to mention the envelope money! It was a like a lightbulb went off in my head: Wait, I'm not homophobic, I'm not a "crusader" I don't think everyone should be the same "one true" religion, WHY HAVE I BEEN DOING THIS FOR 44 YEARS?

I think people questioning blind devotion to ALL faiths is the hope of this world. Otherwise the Jihadists and Crusaders in the world will be the death of all of us.

[earth mom]

57. Can't believe I'm saying this-but maybe this is the ONE good thing * ever did:

wake the masses up to the hypocrisy and fraud of most organized religions.

I say I can't believe it because I've always said * is a sociopath with not a single good intention in his body.

Yet he just might have done ONE good thing-without him knowing it of course.

[defendandprotect]

9. Like capitalism, organized patriarchal religion -- when truth is told ---

self-destructs . . .

What would be helpful is if families would stop pushing their children ---

before they even reach the age of reason and the ability to form their own

consciences and have their own true thoughts -- off to organized patriarchal

religions to be brainwashed --- !!!

Also, if Americans, who supposedly have an interest in democracy and

"equality for all" would decide that a church based on the opposite of those

beliefs -- i.e., male superiority and denial of the right to personal conscience

even in the most personal decisions -- would MoveOn!

Not to mention, how helpful it would be if members would turn their backs on

those who preach hatred and intolerance for homosexuals from their pulpits--!!

[AllentownJake]

40. I go to church every Sunday

and I don't see any of the things you talk about.

If painted the broad brush that is painted on Christians on here about any other group I'd be tombstoned.

[defendandprotect]

45. Are you denying that children are turned over to religion in their earliest years . . . ??

usually before the age of reason --- ???

You've never seen that?

You don't know or fail to understand that females are EXCLUDED from ritual and

hierarcy in the RCC? You've never seen that?

You don't know that the Vatican continues to deny the full personhood of females

as it acknowledges the full personhood of males? Never saw that either?

And you've never heard intolerance for homosexuals preached from RCC pulpits?

Never heard an edict from on high?


Perhaps you are saying you are connected with some other religion, but they are all

PATRIARCHAL religions invested in a ONE ALL-MALE GOD.


PS: ---
If painted the broad brush that is painted on Christians on here about any other group I'd be tombstoned.

Additionally, the criticism is for the CHURCH, not members --- the hierarchy, which sets

policies and delivers edicts.

On the other hand, it is true that members could change these religions by demanding democracy

and human rights for all within their churches.

=
capitalism, organized patriarchal religion -- when truth is told ---
self-destructs . . .

What would be helpful is if families would stop pushing their children ---

before they even reach the age of reason and the ability to form their own

consciences and have their own true thoughts -- off to organized patriarchal

religions to be brainwashed --- !!!

Also, if Americans, who supposedly have an interest in democracy and

"equality for all" would decide that a church based on the opposite of those

beliefs -- i.e., male superiority and denial of the right to personal conscience

even in the most personal decisions -- would MoveOn!

Not to mention, how helpful it would be if members would turn their backs on

those who preach hatred and intolerance for homosexuals from their pulpits--!!

[AllentownJake]

51. I can only speak for myself

My parents never attended church. I've been to bad churches and good churches. I go to a church with openly gay members who when legal will be married in that church. The Jesus at the churches you are talking about is not one I know.

[defendandprotect]

76. You are speaking from a limited perspective . . .

However, again, you are not responding genuinely re even your personal experiences.

Certainly, whatever church you go to, you have seen young children being taught?

Are you denying that?

And, if it is a church which welcomes homosexuals, then great -- but is there a

ONE-ALL MALE GOD?

Coming back to the overall reality of organized patriarchal religions, there is no

"broad brush" required when the Vatican sets policies which exclude females as inferior

and policies which protect the church from scandal before protecting members from

priest-predators sexually abusing children.

Nor is a broad brush required when you yourself describe your experiences with "bad"

churches ... and I presume you are confirming that you found those churches engaging

in intolerance for homosexuality? The Vatican still teaches homosexuality as an

"abomination."

And, while you may not be directly confronted within your church with these realities,

they do effect more than the majority of the population!

Not to mention, "Manifest Destiny" and "Man's Dominion Over Nature" which gives license

to exploitation of nature, animal-life, natural resources -- and even other human beings

according to various myths of inferiority. That's how we've polluted the planet and

ended up with Global Warming.

[AllentownJake]

77. Religion didn't do those things

People did. Do you honestly believe that if there was no religion that American's of the 19th century would have not found some other excuse to go after a native population who had inferior technology and wipe them out for their resources? I'm sorry I'm a student of history and for some reason I see throughout history cultures who have better technology wiping out the ones with less technology and taking their resources regardless of their diety.

I go to a small church with about 200 members. We are enviromentally conscious, respect other faiths, do good works in our community, and have a social justice group.

As far as children being taught, my dad raised me a republican. Guess what at 23 I decided that I didn't agree with him. Your parents are going to pass along their beliefs. When you come an adult its up to you to accept them or reject them. I rejected my father's atheism and republicanism. So your brain washing theory goes right out the door with what about the children :shrug:

My God is a little bigger than a gender terminology. Jesus was a male because a woman would never have been taken seriously in 1st century Israel. When they speak of God the Father, the father back than was the provider. Its cultural. If you can't understand that somethings in the bible are cultural specific to 2000 years ago...sorry.

I've never been catholic, I've only been in catholic churches for wedding and cousin's batisms, so I'm going to let a Catholic talk about their church.

[defendandprotect]

85. Papal Bulls dictated "enslave them, or murder them" . . .!!!!

And that applied both to Native Americans who occupied this land and to Africans
enslaved here.

And, I presume what you're saying is that religion hasn't influenced society to
homophobia?

As the Native Americans have made clear . . .

"When they came, they had the book and we had the land.
When they left, we had the book and they had the land."

Did the public demand church schools to destroy Native American culture... take their
children from them, ban their languages, spiritual teachings? The Mormon Church and
Catholic Church are notorious in this history of genocide and abuse of the Native American
which included beatings, sexual abuse, murders, hangings, torture!!

Of course not, this is a pattern used by imperialistic government, well planned in
alliance with organized patriarchal religion. And, it is constantly repeated even today
from US alliance with right-wing religious fanatics/hawks in Israel providing a foothold
for the US in the Middle East, to the CIA's creation of the Taliban in Afghanistan and using
them to bait the Russians in . . . "in hopes of giving the Russians a Vietnam-type experience."
There are many examples of this throughout history - Hawaii, for instance.

As a "student of history," I'm sure you are aware that religion is a landmine in almost every
nation -- from India which was slip in two to Ireland, etc. Certainly you would be aware of
the religious nature of the Witch Hunts -- i.e., "The Hammer of Witches."

Call to mind the anti-Semitism taught by the Vatican for a thousand and more years througout
Europe and you then see the underlying hatred and bigotry which provided the atmosphere for
the Jewish Holocaust in Germany. This is why Hitler opened the first concentration camps in
Poland where even still today anti-Jewish fervor is still high.

Whatever you are doing within your church you can certainly do outside of your church.
Again, this isn't about you . . . nor your church. This is about organized patriarchal religion
in general and historically.

I doubt your parents taught you that GOD dictated that you be a Republican. That's quite
different from what I am pointing out to you about religious training. In fact, Thomas
Jefferson wrote on that very subject. He didn't use the term brainwashing, but he made
clear that being exposed to religious teachings can so harm a young mind that it is the
equivalent of a monkey's fear of snakes which is inbred.

Jesus was trying to overturn Hebrew attitudes towards women -- especially in his selection
of Mary Magdalene to replace him in his teachings. In fact, the Bible was written to cement
patriarchy.

And, absent your rhetoric about god-gender/Father . . . perhaps you have noticed that the
Bible and patriarchal religion have been used to oppress females? Male violence has
oppressed females not only for 2000 years, but for 50,000 years or more.

It always amazes me when someone has so much trouble seeing organized patriarchal religion
only from their own perspective and NOT from a higher perspective. That's necessary to
understand what I'm saying to you.





Religion didn't do those things
Edited on Tue Mar-10-09 12:28 PM by AllentownJake
People did. Do you honestly believe that if there was no religion that American's of the 19th century would have not found some other excuse to go after a native population who had inferior technology and wipe them out for their resources? I'm sorry I'm a student of history and for some reason I see throughout history cultures who have better technology wiping out the ones with less technology and taking their resources regardless of their diety.

I go to a small church with about 200 members. We are enviromentally conscious, respect other faiths, do good works in our community, and have a social justice group.

As far as children being taught, my dad raised me a republican. Guess what at 23 I decided that I didn't agree with him. Your parents are going to pass along their beliefs. When you come an adult its up to you to accept them or reject them. I rejected my father's atheism and republicanism. So your brain washing theory goes right out the door with what about the children

My God is a little bigger than a gender terminology. Jesus was a male because a woman would never have been taken seriously in 1st century Israel. When they speak of God the Father, the father back than was the provider. Its cultural. If you can't understand that somethings in the bible are cultural specific to 2000 years ago...sorry.

I've never been catholic, I've only been in catholic churches for wedding and cousin's batisms, so I'm going to let a Catholic talk about their church.
Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider

[WeDidIt]

13. I'll be go to hell. n/t

[Manifestor_of_Light]

14. Does the Pope Shit in the Woods???

A hopeful sign. People are tired of being lied to by hypocrites.

I'd like to see more pluralism -- like more temples of other religions, just to make the discussion more interesting, and more acceptance of secular humanism/Unitarian Universalists -- instead of an ugly little or big church on every corner. The kind that puts up 180 foot tall crosses instead of helping the poor.

www.sagemontchurch.com

[Fumesucker]

16. Thank Gawd..

I recall right around the time of the Dem National Convention I had a fairly controversial OP wondering why those of no religion were being essentially completely ignored while the theists were being catered to.

I was told several times that the move away from religious belief had stalled out and the numbers of non theists were not increasing any more in the US of A.

Apparently those people were wrong and I was right.

Thank you for posting this.

[Kansas Wyatt]

23. So how did the Fundie crowd hand DimSon the White House in 2000 again?

That was their excuse for doing this, but Christians would have been on the decline at that time, instead of on the rise like they claimed.

[Pastiche423]

24. K&R!

[tabbycat31]

25. good

that way when the fundies try and take over this country, the numbers are not there.

[SoCalDem]

26. Pssssst...

I'm guessing that it's been this way for a LONG time, but since the '80s (thanks to Carter, in a way), religion (actually hyper-religiosity) became "in"..

As with anything that becomes "in", it runs its course and people return the their old ways..

People "of a certain age" can remember back when no one knew what your religion even was..or cared.. Of course, if you were Amish, or Hassidic Jew, or Mennonite, (or other unusual religion), your mode of dress or grooming habits may have identifed you, but it was still no big deal.

There were pockets of discrimination here and there, but for the most part, every-day people did not care..

Think fast.. what religion was Truman?..Eisenhower?? FDR?..Johnson??..back then they were just "protestant", and no one criticized them for not walking around without a Bible under their arm..

I have known people for 40 years, and do not even know what religion they are..It's just not a big deal.

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. Works for me.

:evilgrin:

[anonymous171]

29. Bush and the RW christians are turned people off to religion in general. nt

[K8-EEE]

38. Absolutely -- when people like Rush and Coulter are considered "Christian"

and decide who is "Godless" etc.

[callous taoboy]

72. The rise of the messianic leader pushed me further into my atheism, and 8 years of him

sealed my atheism for me.

[sohndrsmith]

31. No religion does not mean no sprituality... sort of muddles the issue, no? n/t

[FatDave]

32. Nontheists in the US outnumber all the non-Christian religions combined.

By a pretty good margin. It's a statistic you don't hear too often.

[MedleyMisty]

33. I read an older study

saying that among people of my generation (29 and under) 40% don't identify with a religion.

[FatDave]

34. Well, before you go feeling all warm and fuzzy...

...you'd better read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_against_atheists#United_States

[AllentownJake]

39. Sometimes being a person of faith is hard on here

Some people on here think that all world problems stem from Religion. Let me tell you something, even if there was no religion, people would still do the same stupid hateful things they always do. People are people. Some people will take what is uplifting and empowering in others lives and use it in their own to justify doing horrible things to others.

So take that for what its worth.

[AndrewP]

43. Religion is beyond silly, but it's only one of many things wrong with society.

People will be horrible for many reasons. Religion is just one of them.

[Fumesucker]

60. DU is a mirror image of US society in some ways..

The way that being a person of faith is hard on DU sometimes, being a person without faith is hard in real life in America quite often.

For one thing, people without faith have zero political representation for their point of view. Imagine that, fifteen percent of the population and no political representation, there is no other minority similarly bereft of representatives to advance their views in the political realm.

[polmaven]

62. Being a person of faith

USED to be hard here...Now it seems to be coming to the point of us not being welcome here at all. More and more threads in GD are hateful, mocking, threads about religion.

The threads about the pastor who was shot to death in Illinois, for no known reason t=other than, perhaps, his occupation, are absolutely obnoxious. If the people of faith were to say anything remotely close to what some of the non-theists are saying, there would be an uprising such as few others seen on this board.

I thought I was at Democratic Underground. Seems like some are trying to change it to Atheism Underground.

[AllentownJake]

64. I don't mock atheist

I don't see why atheist have the need to mock people who have faith?

[polmaven]

65. I have asked that question several times...

Basically, the answer seems to be "because we can."

[AllentownJake]

66. So they are no better than the people they cast their

negative feelings on. Which proves my point. Religion, Faith. Atheism, it doesn't matter people are people.

[polmaven]

68. Exactly.

Except that. as you said, we do not mock the atheists, but they are perfectly comfortable mocking us.

[callous taoboy]

71. And you are exactly wrong.

Read my post below. I am the proverbial "Boogey-Man" to the religious zealots I work with. My views are positively toxic to them and never once have I ever brought up religion with them.

[polmaven]

74. I was speaking about here at DU

You will rarely, if ever, find a thread started for the sole purpose of mocking atheism. But, since the election, and particularly since the Inauguration, there are more and more threads - in GD, begun solely for the purpose of knocking people of faith.


I am sorry that you run into morAns at work, or elsewhere, who cannot accept who you are. I hear them too, (at both ends of the spectrum), and try to knock it down as much as I am able, without putting my job in jeopardy. The people at DU, however, are NOT those people, yet those of us who are believers are constantly mocked, as are our beliefs.

[callous taoboy]

82. Well, this IS DU where you will find a good many people, myself included, who've

simply gotten fed up with the smugness of many of the fundamentalist coaches. Now, take real-life: We have one very outspoken atheist, Richard Dawkins, who is not only heartily mocked by fundamentalists, he is threatened with bodily harm as well. How often do you think the reverse happens? I doubt very much. I mean, come on, the state of Oklahoma recently tried to ban Dawkins from even speaking at the U. Talk about knocking someone with no faith.

As much as you don't like smug atheists here at DU, I think that you should consider real-world applications outside of a progressive web site when assessing which side of the argument is more venomous. Just tune into any MSM show and after watching for a while you'd think atheists were lepers.

And speaking of Dawkins, I was thumped hard by several "Christians" on this board when I voiced my support of his bus advertisement campaign in England.

I just don't think you have much of an argument, and even though my natural inclination is to avoid conflict at all costs, I don't mind seeing atheists push back here and there. Especially here.

[callous taoboy]

70. You paint with a broad brush as well.

Many of us who've been at DU for years now don't post very often, and I assume that a percentage of the lurkers are, like myself, atheists. So I state for myself that the murder of the pastor was, like all murders, a tragedy.

I am an atheist but I am not pushy about it in the least as I find pushiness coming from any quarter annoying.

I work with religious zealots who treat me with a fair amount of derision. I live in a small town so it is obvious who is a regular church-goer and who is not. I've been stabbed in the back by these people so many times now that I just keep my distance. I am always very polite and helpful when I'm needed for something, but it seems to drive them nuts that I don't share their views at all. I teach science class and the fact that evolution is a big part of my biology unit does not sit well with them. I find a number of their comments directed toward me and my views on biology rude and, well, not Christ-like. All-in-all I don't let it bother me too much, as these people remind me every day why I choose to be an independent thinker.

[Skittles]

41. it's about fucking time

the less religion, the better

[KathieG]

42. Good news!

:woohoo:

[Dukkha]

44. the post 9/11 paranoia is wearing off

That is when it peaked. There was a big surge of in-your-face proselytizing, doomsdayers, and prayer sessions in government institutions by the likes of Ashcroft and others. It was a really depressing time them watching the nation take a huge leap backward in evolution. Nice that science and logic are getting their place back again.

[carlyhippy]

49. and why is this?

could it be that some church congregrations tend to be fake or holier than thou, resulting in turning some folks off to the whole religion thing?

I tell people I am more spiritual than religious, which is true. I love to study other religions, and in my studying I have found so many similarities between christianity and other faiths, could it be we are all worshipping the same dude, just in different forms? I think so.

[vssmith]

75. There is no dude

[MrPerson]

52. Cause its Sooooooooo fucking boring.

[upi402]

54. Ooooh happy day! Think I'll go sniff my farts now

"got ta believe it's getting bet-ter, better all the time"

Ah well, you know the righties will counter with a poll of their own.

[polmaven]

61. You do know

that "the righties" are not the only people of faith in this country, don't you? Well, no - you probably don't. Go sniff away.

[AllentownJake]

69. I'm sure most of them forget

MLK jr was a Preacher and our President is a Christian.

[earth mom]

56. Ever since the economy crashed, people are finally learning that god isn't gonna bail them out

nor is he going to reward them for believing in the "prosperity gospel".

p.s. I also said upthread that I think * scared people away from organized religion too. I bet the fundie preachers are pissed! :rofl:

[Kazak]

63. 150 years ago, Darwin broke the good news to the world...

Life on Earth didn't necessarily need supernatural origins. People are finally starting to listen.

[madokie]

73. I'm all for that

Best I can remember the time between when I was babtized and when I said I don't believe this anymore was but a short time. This was all happening about the time I found pubic hairs on my body too. I wonder if there was any correlation to that, hhmmmmmmmmmm

[Dinger]

79. I Wonder What The priest molesters & Lawsuits Have To Do With This? nt

[windoe]

80. Gotta watch out for those 'wide ranging' studies--

they provide such different results than the biased news we are so used to. Not sure if we are ready for that. :sarcasm: (though I am sure Philosoraptor needs no freaking sarcasm prompt) :)

[ACTION BASTARD]

89. As a recovering Catholic I must say that the schools are good

and a fine alternative to sending your kids to shithole public schools in NYC.

Anyway, so people are being less religious(stupid)? Well, that's always good news.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

90. About time.

:)