New study shows religion on the decline all over the world

[The Left Sock]

This new study reveals devastating decline in those who declare themselves religious, in many countries all over the world. There are several interesting details, but the part that struck me most was the increase of people who declared themselves 'convinced atheists', which rose from 4% to 7%, almost doubling, within 7 years!

Also notable are the countries that remain the most religious, and their ties to socio-economic and political conditions. You can peruse the story yourself, to get all the details:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/religiosity...173624912.html

[Soundbear]

Ireland and France, Roman Catholic strongholds are down the most.

But there's no analysis of why a drop in religious belief occurs in various areas of the world.

And this throws the survey off for me:

"Religious attachment ran high in what the survey called global flash-points -- mostly Muslim Iraq (88 percent), ****stan (84 percent), Afghanistan (83 percent) and Palestinian territories (65 percent)."

Be Muslim or die is a strong incentive.

[The Left Sock]

Well, the paranoia of thinking people are out to get you, tends to make people cling to religion. In fact, that is one of the complaints coming from non-Christians; that Christians attempt to use fear as a recruitment tool.

And let's face it, if you live in Iraq, there have been untold thousands killed, and there is still no proper rationale for why they had to die. If you want to drive people into a religious frenzy, just attack them for no apparent reason - works like a charm.

[Anapeg]

My take is in the modern world, religion is inconvenient so people shun it as a time saving device. To have to invest time and not to mention tithes(?) and people are greedy to-day and really do not wish to share.As well Christianity does crimp some peoples styles.

[Soundbear]

....Christianity does crimp some peoples styles.

But from nothing good.

[Soundbear]

Well, the paranoia of thinking people are out to get you, tends to make people cling to religion. In fact, that is one of the complaints coming from non-Christians; that Christians attempt to use fear as a recruitment tool.

And let's face it, if you live in Iraq, there have been untold thousands killed, and there is still no proper rationale for why they had to die. If you want to drive people into a religious frenzy, just attack them for no apparent reason - works like a charm.

Considering how many people in this world are killed for being Christians, paranoia isn't it, it's genuine fear!! As to using fear as a recruitment tool, this is a modern age. Christians aren't dumb enough to do that. Though guilt sure seemed to be used in the past.

[RWGR]

Ireland and France, Roman Catholic strongholds are down the most.

All of Europe is going secular.

[The Left Sock]

"Considering how many people in this world are killed for being Christians, paranoia isn't it, it's genuine fear!!"

You hear of an occasional incident somewhere in the world, where an attack occurred on Christians, but it is far from common, and I think the Muslims would be able to make a much better case for claiming something like that, since foreign interference in their countries is widespread, and has had devastating consequences.

But getting back to my other point, I'm going to single out Christian conservatives, because they have bucked the trend, and have actually built larger followings in some parts of Canada and the US. So, trying to understand why they are meeting with some success, while religion in general is faltering, becomes a relevant point.

The whole concept of 'the sky is falling' is a common theme used by Christians, in conjunction with conservative ideals, to try to drive people 'back to the pulpit'. The rhetoric is mixed with both policital and religious ideas, but the overall effort is carefully orchestrated to bolster both Christian and conservative ranks.

Examples:

'The godless heathen Liberals want to dress your little girls up like harlots, and turn them into sex objects, and Hollywood and the media are complicit in this effort.' If you hang around Christian conservatives long enough, this will eventually pop up.

'The Liberals are trying to promote socialism, and will take away all the things you worked hard to achieve. God wants you to profit, because socialism is evil.' Watch some Sunday morning programming, and see how many preachers rave on about becoming successful.

'The Muslims are spreading, and trying to take over the world. If we don't do something to stop them, we won't be allowed to worship God in our own homes.' Muslims just happen to be sitting on most of the world's oil supply.

'It is our God given right to bear arms, so anyone who tries to take that right away, is an enemy of God.' So if you want to be a Christian, you better be a conservative as well, because the Liberals are evil, and they don't want you to own a gun.

It goes on and on, but the end result is the same: you have to blend concepts together, that invokes fear in people that something bad will happen if they don't take action, and then propose a solution that will result in them being herded into both the Christian and conservative camps, creating a 'win-win' scenario for both camps.

Look at all the major spokespeople for the Christian conservative movement, and then consider what I have just said. This theme is present everywhere, from Ted Nugent, to Rush Limbaugh. Even Mitt Romney, in his limited capacity, keeps banging the war drums that 'taxes are bad, success is good', 'universal health care takes away your freedom, so fending for yourself is good.'

And somehow common, working class people get caught up in the hype, and start repeating these mantras like drones, with no real understanding that none of these things are actually designed to help them. Rather, it is a method of obtaining control through fear, packaged with the promise of Salvation, and the sense of community, if they just 'get with the program'.

I could have used the Conservative movement in Alberta for examples of how this works, but sadly, Canadians are more likely to relate to the American phenomenon, as it permeates our airwaves in much greater detail. But in essence, the movements are identical in content and intent, regardless of which side of the border you sit on. Powerful forces in the religious community, and in the business community, have found a way to combine forces, and forge an overall movement that has met with a certain degree of success. But wait, here comes the punchline!

Even with all of this hyperbole and bluster, all the fearmongering and guilt trips, all the promises of success and piety, the numbers of people considering themselves 'religious' in North America is dropping. So, how do we account for this? Let me propose an answer, from both sides of the equation:

The Christian response: 'It should come as no surprise that people are turning away from religion. Evil in the world is rife, and the forces of darkness never sleep. Luckily, Judgment Day is fast upon us, and this was all written and known a long time ago, so we just have to wait for God to return, and restore His Kingdom.'

The non-Christian response: 'It seems that despite all the efforts to maintain the illusions of religion, people are gradually waking up, and realising that if we want to build a better world, we are going to have to do it ourselves, instead of relying upon mythology and prophecy to fix our problems.'

And then there are a very small portion of us, both Christian and non-Christian, who don't buy into any of this, and are driven to continue being religious, for reasons of our own.

[Soundbear]

You use the secular media as a source, don't you??

Let me get back to you.

[The Left Sock]

Yeah, when I look on Google for a news story, I always start the search with 'secular media'. C'mon, that's just silly.

All you need to do is have a barf bag handy, and put yourself through half an hour of Limbaugh, to get most of the proof you need for what I have said. That's coming straight from the horse's posterior, with no secular media interference.

[MsBelsito]

[QUOTE_Soundbear]But from nothing good. _ QUOTE]
_____

Reply By Ms. Belsito

As you know there is disagreement.

It is not all from the same point of view.

I also contest that the apparent declining of religious following is not a devestating issue.

The latter point of reference is in response to a statement in the introduction by who started the Topic .

[Soundbear]

Heard from the pulpit that surveys show that the main reason people go to church is to feel better about themselves. And in fact they DO come away feeling better!!

[Soundbear]

Yeah, when I look on Google for a news story, I always start the search with 'secular media'. C'mon, that's just silly.

All you need to do is have a barf bag handy, and put yourself through half an hour of Limbaugh, to get most of the proof you need for what I have said. That's coming straight from the horse's posterior, with no secular media interference.

You honestly think the secular media gives coverage to stories about Christians being murdered for their faith??

You ARE naive.

[The Left Sock]

Oh, so there is a conspiracy among media organizations to deliberately under-report stories of Christians being murdered, even though they make their daily living from the avails of sensational stories like murder?

Who's being naive? Or is it paranoid?

[Soundbear]

Oh, so there is a conspiracy among media organizations to deliberately under-report stories of Christians being murdered, even though they make their daily living from the avails of sensational stories like murder?

Who's being naive? Or is it paranoid?

Paranoid?? Not as long as I trust God. But you're blind if you don't see antagonism toward Chrisstianity all over the secular media.

[Soundbear]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septemb...s_in_Mangalore

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pa...ianAttacks.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_at...tians_in_Mosul

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7992W420111010

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...d961623561.471

http://www.christiantoday.com/articl...tate/21247.htm

See any of these reported in american media?? I did not.

[The Left Sock]

Let's take a closer look at the term 'secular media'. It's a common convention, thrown around by Christian conservatives, in order to play the victim/persecution card. Let's define what that term actually entails.

What is a 'secular media'? Is it:

a. a news organization with a clear mandate to oppose Christian beliefs?
b. a news organization without a clear mandate to promote Christian beliefs?

To work as a journalist in 'secular media', do you need to:

a. be an atheist?
b. keep any religious beliefs you have to yourself?

When a 'secular media' encounters a story that depicts violence against a person, because of their Christian beliefs, do they:

a. fail to dispatch reporters to the story?
b. wait until the story has been covered, then make a decision not to air it?

How does all of this work, exactly? Do 'secular media':

a. have one omnipotent CEO who ensures that Christians are cast in a negative light?
b. have a board, or committee, that reviews and censors stories to make sure Christians are cast in a negative light?

Feel free to elucidate on any of these points. The whole thing is fascinating. We really need to get to the bottom of this boogeyman, otherwise known as 'secular media'. Once we define it adequately, we can get down to the business of identifying which major news sources are guilty, and create a list of them, so we can all get our news from the right places.

[Soundbear]

Classic cynical post, well done!!! Good line of questions, designed to allow only the answers you want to hear.

Sorry, Soc, you ignore my questions, I ignore yours.

[The Left Sock]

"Designed to allow only the answers you want to hear"

Really? I asked for a definition of 'secular media', and you think I don't want to know what it is?

Here, let's start off small, with the definition of 'secular', from Dictionary.com:

1. of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal: secular interests

So, in order to call the media 'secular', you would have to be making the assertion that they are deliberately discarding news of a religious nature. Care to comment on that assertion, or is it your intention to simply 'duck for cover'?

People have a lot of fun throwing meaningless terms and phrases around, and try to impress each other with the ability to toss these gems out, as if they are the 'winning card' in a poker hand, but when you run into someone who has the ability to discern reality from the nonsense, you suddenly tuck and run.

Carry on.

[Soundbear]

The old "you run away" gambit. Nothing new.

But I'm still here. Trying to sift your version of reality.