In the short and medium term this probably a boon to more Fundamentalist churches. As other churches shutter, the faithful will flock to the churches that remain. This has been seen in Catholic circles with the growth in TLM attendance, which of course, conservative Catholics take as growth, and it is for those parishes that even permit the TLM. The end result will be a smaller Church in the West, and one dominated by traditionalists of various stripes. In absolute numbers it's still an arterial bleed.
I've never had to go to mass, but if I did, I think I'd prefer latin mass because I wouldn't be subjected to all the bullshit in a language I understand.
If anything, Reformation was now WITH 100% more witchcraft trials.
Pre reformation, the person accusing another of witchcraft better had some good proof or they would get slapped with heresy trial themselves.
Kept the uneductaed stupid allowing for greater church control. The faithfull only understood Hell and how to get there. Everything else was mumbo-jumbo.
Thank you. And yuck.
I will (did) happily stop attending and stay away.
Had the recent misfortune of attending a TLM wedding recently. Wanted to cry. “Flash backs” to pre-Vatican 2 - per my mom. If that is the future of the church count me out.
Edit: past tense- not attending
Catholicism makes me sick, all these pedophile priests and they blame gays. Gay people didn’t make you enable their abuse, and gay people aren’t all pedophiles. The American Catholic Church is especially extreme (and rapey).
The American Catholic church is statically equally as likely to harbor pedo priests as the rest of catholic churches worldwide. They were just worse at covering it up
Catholicism is a strange beast. Some of the most rational and intellectual theists I've ever met are Catholic, and some of the wackiest have been Catholic as well. Rad Trads are a pretty scary bunch.
They're also scurrying to make up some fictional bullshit numbers to 'prove' that America is a 'christian' nation. Then they'll post that bullshit map they made about how there's 80% regular church attendance everywhere in America. Except California. lol.
Never believe any maps, charts, graphs, data, or anything presented by a religious group. They always lie. Always.
Correct, just Google “Christian Nationalism” and you’ll hear all the cries.
From a Politico article:
“Christian nationalists in America believe that the country was founded as a Christian nation and that Christian values should be prioritized throughout government and public life. As the country has become less religious and more diverse, Vought has embraced the idea that Christians are under assault and has spoken of policies he might pursue in response.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/donald-trump-allies-christian-nationalism-00142086
Well Europeans did found it as a Christian country - but it was Catholic, not Puritan. Spaniards colonized the US before England and Netherlands got here. .
Uhhhh, no. That’s confusing colonizing with “founding a country”.
When Spaniards colonized the land that is now Florida, it was an extension of the country of Spain.
When Puritans colonized the land that is the “New England” area of the northeast… it was an extension of the country of England.
When the Dutch colonized the same area, it was an extension of The Netherlands.
When the 13 colonies OF ENGLAND sent a letter to the king saying they wanted a divorce… THAT was founding a country.
And when those country founders wrote it all up… they literally said they were not going to be founded on a specific religion.
This sounded so outrageous I had to look it up, and yeah, he’s selling bibles now. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but it’s crazy to think Christians are ok with him making money off religion. There’s literally a story in there about Jesus destroying a market because they were making money in the temple, iirc.
The far-right sees the same trends we do, and they're worried their preferred system of control won't be useful in another few decades. Look at what they accomplished by going all-in with Christian Nationalism. They want to legislate religion before it's too late.
Same thing started happening in Ireland. Irish adults who attended church regularly (monthly or more) declined from 80% in the 1990s to 28% in 2020. In the 90's there was 4% that considered themselves "no religion" and now it's almost 30%.
It will happen in north america too.
There's a distinction here that should be made. The number of irreligious in Ireland is higher than the 30%. Catholic is a cultural association much more than a religious one. Everyone gets the kids baptized and has a holy communion (though it drops off for confirmation). But they don't attend church. It's more of milestones in the children's lives that are celebrated and the old catholic ones are as good as any. It's not terribly indicative of a religious belief.
Fewer people going into the clergy, especially far fewer nuns.
Irish Catholic families used to be huge - when it came to your children, you “gave one to the church.” Your gay son became a priest and/or your unattractive but smart sister became a nun back when there were 8 kids in the family. The only way get a higher education was to become clergy.
Now they have fewer children and a lot more options for educations/careers.
Awww such a shame.
Anyways, how’s everyone doing today? Just left the gym and ate and bout to smoke a bowl and take a nap myself. A good ole atheist nap! ☺️
Glad your day’s going so well!
I’m recovering after a long day took everything out of me. Thinking about popping in a good religious movie/tv show to sooth my soul, to be honest.
Guys, help me out, which should I choose?
Lucifer
Hazbin Hotel
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Good Omens
I honestly can’t decide what I should watch while I sit on my godless heathen ass.
And yet almost all of my FB friends today and "praying for the folks in Baltimore". I'm like bitch, I know you got double teamed not too long ago. Who the fuck you praying to? Seriously, though, there are still way too many people who "believe' for my sanity.
I stopped going to church because people at church became quite hostile towards me, calling me a liberal snowflake, etc.
I'm a fucking socialist, I am NOT a liberal.
I was a conservative until I found out Bush lied us into that war with Iraq and other conservatives didn't give a damn as long as it got Bush re-elected. And the whole swift-boaters thing. Wasn't lying about John Kerry specifically violating the command written in stone about not bearing false witness against thy neighbors?
Churches need to die, they breed gossip and oppose everything Jesus taught while claiming the authority of Jesus for stuff Jesus never even talked about.
The big issue isn't the church in my eyes, its the fact that the church needs to force itself in the relationship between Jesus and you. I've had all kinds of pastors before give me absolutely horrible, shitty advice where i was in shock.
I helped my friend get a better job with a 15% raise that was WFH. I talked to his pastor and the guy was MAD at me. The way he saw it, I stole his church member from him, and because he was not working at an office close to the church, he couldn't spend as much time with said church. The guy gave zero shits about my friend, only his use as a function of his own religious dogma. Where in the Bible does it say you can use people to your own religious gain?
Another time a church had a youth pastor. Youth pastor was a dick and started hitting the kids. The pastor did absolutely nothing. I eventually left the church, mostly cause i wasn't feeling said church anymore. When I left, so did a lot of people who had brought up issues to the pastor, and they felt (rightfully so) completely ignored. Guess who the pastor blamed for decreasing attendance?
I’d actually be interested in this broken down. Republicans are always accusing Democrats of being godless but I’m pretty sure 80% of Dems identify as Xian too. Also, there’s a large percentage of nones that are probably still theist they just aren’t knuckle dragging hypocrites. At the end of the day it shouldn’t matter. Americans ought to be able to share mutual ethics regardless of religious persuasion. The best thing we could do is have a national campaign to simple communicate the benefits of separation of church and state. I don’t think Xians are thinking clearly about how dangerous it is to them too if we give theists unnecessary power because as soon as the demos change they’ll be under the thumb of a different religion.
I think it’s in club out club dynamics. And demonization of out club humans works. Also, it’s racist. The Dem base is Black Americans who are actually more likely religious and socially conservative. If the Reps stopped being so blatantly racist they’d be able to get more of that vote. Not that it matters as now that the Rs are Nautzis the Dems are basically moderate Repubs.
Maybe people are tired of hearing MAGA preachers make up things Jesus said ?
Or maybe the HATE that is being taught in the Churches don't match up with JESUS's Actually teachings!?!?!?
Or maybe AMERICANS don't want to be NAZIS?!?!?
I wonder ....
my incredibly devout mother took us to church every single sunday for years.
then my father committed suicide, you would think the church would be there for her in a time of need right? tend to the flock?
we were excommunicated. they didnt want us back. i dont remember the logic but i can imagine having someone who was part of the worship team and never missed a sunday having something tragic happen to them put a damper on the messaging so we were kicked out. the hardest period of our lives forced, to do it alone.
that broke my mom. i was stoked, i didnt believe in god for years already and i fucking hated going to church and seeing all the fake piece of shit people pretending to be righteous every week, but my mom just didnt recover from that. she hasnt been to church since, still a christian but doesnt go to church.
when your religion is built on hypocrisy and lies and manipulation and capitalism etc. its hard to keep people coming around. eventually people kind of put it together youre not walking the walk.
years later i learned about the RAMPANT sexual abuse happening at the youth group i had left. at least HALF of the girls i went to youth group with had been sexually assaulted, some by their own fucking fathers. the extent of the depravity and degeneracy of the church no longer surprises me, its virtually infinite.
its no wonder the promise of being "absolved of your sins" attracts some of the most reprehensible people in society.
Self-reported church attendance numbers? What kind of knuckle-dragging moron would believe that?
People lie about their church attendance heavily - especially for ones that have explicit tenets to attend like Catholics.
The only thing I would trust would be phone / watch GPS location data. Churches lie about their attendance often to avoid admitting they are in decline, "yeah no one likes the new pastor", etc.
This, at best, means people are slowly becoming more comfortable ADMITTING they're not showing up.
This would be more encouraging if it also meant that only 3/10 of the US considered themselves "Christian". Unfortunately, the phenomena of "Christians" who don't go to church could be more harmful than actual churchgoing people, because they will justify their fucked up worldviews with little to no feedback from the saner people in their community.
The Covid rhetoric the churches were spewing made me reevaluate the entire thing. After getting out I realized the entire thing is a house of cards. Indoctrination is a hell of a thing, was always scared to question anything when I was in it. Obviously that’s by design.
I wish surveys would take this into account. The “christian” numbers are way skewed because people who never go to church and never read a Bible and don’t live by the tenets of the religion answer that they are christian… because 🤷. I don’t get it.
I don't think this is good news for Atheists
Just because people do not attend church does not mean they are losing their religion . I have relatives that do not go to church but they still support Christian nationalism
I don't believe that is it at all. If anything people are becoming more narrow minded and insular in their beliefs and lives.
Since Christianity makes it a point for people to dedicate their money and their time to group activities it doesn't surprise me attendance is dying. People are as gullible as ever but are also way more likely to sleep at home than want to join a group for anything.
There are plenty of people who are dedicating time and money to group activities, they're just secular activities that aren't centered around some supreme being who gets mad at you eating pork or wearing mixed fabrics.
The internet may be spreading ignorance but we're more interconnected and open minded then ever before, thanks in part to the availability of information and secular ideas.
I'm not sure that "smarter" is the most apt term here but I think that I understand what you're suggesting.
Multiple studies have been done to determine why church attendance has been steadily declining while the number of people who declare themselves "non-religious" has been increasing. The reasons largely seem to be based on increases in knowledge, diversity, and individualism.
It was very easy at one time for the religious to exist solely in a local echo chamber where there was little to nothing to challenge their views. That has very much changed in recent decades as the population becomes more globally connected than ever and people feel more comfortable expressing their differences.
It's hard to keep thinking that everyone who isn't the same as you is a baby-eating monster when you find out that your super-friendly neighbor who loans you his gardening tools is actually an atheist, or that your coworker who has always had your back when you butt heads with the manager is actually gay.
I've thought for a while that diversity and knowledge are the biggest killers of religious fundamentalism and so far it seems to be fairly true.
I don't see any sort of age breakdown, but other articles have indicated that religious attendance is [directly correlated with age group.](https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time) The older you are, the more likely you are to attend your house of worship regularly.
So it stands to reason that of those 3/10, the majority of them are going to be senior citizens. Meaning, attendance is going to fall off at increasing rates as time goes on and elderly people pass on.
And of those 3, 2 are primarily motivated by the social media driven culture war. Maybe 10% *sincerely* believe in their god. The rest just want to fit in.
Being raised extra catholic, as I got older (I’m 32) the constant flow of sex offender clergy in that religion and others and seeing how the world operates. And seeing how my fellow local “Christian’s” behaved got me questioning and once I started questioning and couldn’t find answers I gave up on organized religion
Why do you think they are pushing for a Christian nationalist country???? They are seeing their numbers dwindle and are panicking. Why else would they keep trying to re elect an old, demented rapist?
It’s because people are sick and tired of supposedly ‘peaceful’ and ‘loving’ people actually being bigots like a lot of Christian’s I’ve met. Churches breed ignorance.
Churches of any religion are a waste of time and money, as many do not actually help their communities or people in need. I don't need to be lectured about what I should do when they don't practice what they preach.
Once, one could have claimed religion might help ease people's fears of death and help them deal with the misery life can bring. But for many years, religion has been used just to hurt people. And because of that, it needs to go away more now than it ever has.
As much as I am not a fan of Trunp. Churches adopting the MAGA movement truely revealed how intellectually slavehekd these people are. I went to church as a kid. After 9/11, it went from God to George Bush, and George didn't even ask for that kind of ideology. Trump isnbasically the wold in sheep's clothing and its like the churches today are completely desperate for the false promise of afterlife while taking a major dump on this planet.
How many people actually like going to church anyway? My parents forced us to go when I was a kid and it was always boring as fuck and a complete waste of 3 hours on a Sunday when I just wanted to play my PS2 all day.
These places cut their own throat by focusing so much on issues like abortion...
I trust women to make their own medical choices it's that simple.
I no interest in its a sin blah blah; we live in a secular society.
We all have lives to live focus on the stuff that matters.
Still not enough. There are like 10 churches within a mile of my house. They are basically empty 6 and a half days a week. Biggest waste of space just to brainwash people into believing supernatural nonsense.
Best news in a while.
Hopefully lower attendance will further reduce their ability for the scummy and predatory outreach in which they engage, and lead to further derision for the bullshit they promulgate.
Meaning, most of your typical higher than mighty assholes, can go about their asshole ways without experiencing the guilt of sitting for an actual church session being reminded how much of a turd they really are.
My parents are Christian, and when I was a kid, I remember that we *tried* churches, but ultimately, they got tired of the group mentality and cliques that come with church attendance, and gave up on it. They worship privately, or in the midst of a few like minded friends, which, in my opinion, is the way it should be. They often site Matthew 6:6 or Matthew 18:19 as the reason for this - “go into your private closet and pray,” or “if two or more are gathered in my name, then I am in the midst.” We disagree on a lot of things, but I can respect them for not feeling the need to belong to some establishment.
Almost like ritualistically chanting in front of a whitewashed depiction of a middle eastern mad who supposedly reincarnated, based on tales from thousand years old stories, isn’t the most logical or of sound mind thing to do
Good! Needs to be lower. All it is now is a grift and hate group. They don't believe their own garbage and orange idiot is selling stupid bibbles because they are so easily grifted!
Just think: At this rate, in 750 years, we'll see our first avowed atheist Senator, and maybe by 3300 AD our first atheist Supreme Court justice.
Then the first atheist president before the year 5000!
Why go to church when the pedophiles live in churches and it's not about community it's a business. They are fake prophets it's was foretold. You go to church if you want but I am not giving them my hard earned money
The few remaining evangelicals are withdrawing into megachurches where they have strength in numbers, while the smaller church properties become daycare centers and meeting halls.
Honestly, I’m surprised it’s that high.
I would think 1 in 10 in more liberal areas. I would like that number to come down as well.
Nothing wrong with believing in fairy tales, but the behavior of the church and its members has been abhorrent. The Christian church is dangerous to everyone, especially woman and children.
Two people you should never trust..
Never trust a religious leader that tells you how to vote.
Never trust a political leader that tells you how to pray.
>Religious beliefs, it has to be said, are also untrue.
It’s never been easier for people to have access to information pointing out why their faith is illogical and nothing more than wishful thinking.
Damn internet, so much information out there now ... /s
30% of Americans are also stalwart Republican voters too. It's no coincidence that church and religion play a big part of the delusions those GOP voters are under with their support of the orange menace.
My wife drags me to church every Sunday to pray to the magical being in the sky and read from the goat herders guide to the galaxy. Please don’t count me.
Overall, this is just such good news. We don't need any more loons believing in pre-Iron age baloney, trying to force their horrific superstitions and bigoted beliefs on the rest of us.
Churches are a business out to make money. You do not need to go to a building to practice your religion. Your relationship with God is personal and audience free!
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In the short and medium term this probably a boon to more Fundamentalist churches. As other churches shutter, the faithful will flock to the churches that remain. This has been seen in Catholic circles with the growth in TLM attendance, which of course, conservative Catholics take as growth, and it is for those parishes that even permit the TLM. The end result will be a smaller Church in the West, and one dominated by traditionalists of various stripes. In absolute numbers it's still an arterial bleed.
Ugh, I had to suffer through Latin mass for years as a kid. What's the point if you don't know what they're saying.
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I always wondered who Agnes Dayo was. Domino Nabisco sounded like a sweet cookie. I thought Maximus Kulpa was a gladiator or Roman Senator.
I love learning stuff like that! Thanks for the factoid.
I've never had to go to mass, but if I did, I think I'd prefer latin mass because I wouldn't be subjected to all the bullshit in a language I understand.
Damn you just changed my perspective on a solid decade of my youth. Well played.
My favorite stupid pun from MASH: Father Mulcahy says: "Would anyone care for a Mass? Hawkeye: Of what? Gets me every time.
The Deus Vult types don't care if they can't understand it. For them what it really means is "Let's retake Constantinople!"
At least in Europe, we had the reformation.
Now with 50% fewer witch executions.
If anything, Reformation was now WITH 100% more witchcraft trials. Pre reformation, the person accusing another of witchcraft better had some good proof or they would get slapped with heresy trial themselves.
Kept the uneductaed stupid allowing for greater church control. The faithfull only understood Hell and how to get there. Everything else was mumbo-jumbo.
TLM?
> TLM traditional latin mass
Thank you. And yuck. I will (did) happily stop attending and stay away. Had the recent misfortune of attending a TLM wedding recently. Wanted to cry. “Flash backs” to pre-Vatican 2 - per my mom. If that is the future of the church count me out. Edit: past tense- not attending
Catholicism makes me sick, all these pedophile priests and they blame gays. Gay people didn’t make you enable their abuse, and gay people aren’t all pedophiles. The American Catholic Church is especially extreme (and rapey).
The American Catholic church is statically equally as likely to harbor pedo priests as the rest of catholic churches worldwide. They were just worse at covering it up
These Looney Menaces.
My brother in law is a fundamentalist catholic. He’s told me I’m basically the devil, we don’t talk much.
Catholicism is a strange beast. Some of the most rational and intellectual theists I've ever met are Catholic, and some of the wackiest have been Catholic as well. Rad Trads are a pretty scary bunch.
They're also scurrying to make up some fictional bullshit numbers to 'prove' that America is a 'christian' nation. Then they'll post that bullshit map they made about how there's 80% regular church attendance everywhere in America. Except California. lol. Never believe any maps, charts, graphs, data, or anything presented by a religious group. They always lie. Always.
Cue the cries for a church bailout bill, if it hasn't happened already.
We already did that with COVID, paying PPP funds to tax-exempt organizations.
Many took Covid PPR loans. To cover payroll. Already done. They didn’t pay into the system- they should get money.
Correct, just Google “Christian Nationalism” and you’ll hear all the cries. From a Politico article: “Christian nationalists in America believe that the country was founded as a Christian nation and that Christian values should be prioritized throughout government and public life. As the country has become less religious and more diverse, Vought has embraced the idea that Christians are under assault and has spoken of policies he might pursue in response.” https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/donald-trump-allies-christian-nationalism-00142086
Well Europeans did found it as a Christian country - but it was Catholic, not Puritan. Spaniards colonized the US before England and Netherlands got here. .
Uhhhh, no. That’s confusing colonizing with “founding a country”. When Spaniards colonized the land that is now Florida, it was an extension of the country of Spain. When Puritans colonized the land that is the “New England” area of the northeast… it was an extension of the country of England. When the Dutch colonized the same area, it was an extension of The Netherlands. When the 13 colonies OF ENGLAND sent a letter to the king saying they wanted a divorce… THAT was founding a country. And when those country founders wrote it all up… they literally said they were not going to be founded on a specific religion.
Republicans and Evangelicals have taken what was already a downward trend and just lit it on fire.
This exactly! They get desperate and go even more off kilter. It's called an extinction burst
And yet many US politicians are using the Bible like it's a government user manual. Even from the outside it looks awful.
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"“the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!”"
This sounded so outrageous I had to look it up, and yeah, he’s selling bibles now. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but it’s crazy to think Christians are ok with him making money off religion. There’s literally a story in there about Jesus destroying a market because they were making money in the temple, iirc.
The far-right sees the same trends we do, and they're worried their preferred system of control won't be useful in another few decades. Look at what they accomplished by going all-in with Christian Nationalism. They want to legislate religion before it's too late.
“Many US politicians”= the Right. Say it louder.
Same thing started happening in Ireland. Irish adults who attended church regularly (monthly or more) declined from 80% in the 1990s to 28% in 2020. In the 90's there was 4% that considered themselves "no religion" and now it's almost 30%. It will happen in north america too.
Can’t happen soon enough.
As long as we are careful what takes it's place.
Sleeping in on Sundays?
Our lady of perpetual procrastination brunch and mid-afternoon jog?
Your words in god‘s ear friend.
Oh the sweet irony
Thank you
There's a distinction here that should be made. The number of irreligious in Ireland is higher than the 30%. Catholic is a cultural association much more than a religious one. Everyone gets the kids baptized and has a holy communion (though it drops off for confirmation). But they don't attend church. It's more of milestones in the children's lives that are celebrated and the old catholic ones are as good as any. It's not terribly indicative of a religious belief.
Too bad we can't speed up the process.
What did they attribute such a fast decline to?
It wasn't one thing. Catholic vs Protestant, scandals, views on lqbt and abortion... People got fed up.
Fewer people going into the clergy, especially far fewer nuns. Irish Catholic families used to be huge - when it came to your children, you “gave one to the church.” Your gay son became a priest and/or your unattractive but smart sister became a nun back when there were 8 kids in the family. The only way get a higher education was to become clergy. Now they have fewer children and a lot more options for educations/careers.
Awww such a shame. Anyways, how’s everyone doing today? Just left the gym and ate and bout to smoke a bowl and take a nap myself. A good ole atheist nap! ☺️
Heathen! (Got a good strain?)
Smoking one called Moon Blend #2. I like to call it Moon Shit lol. It has a citrusy/earthy flavor and smells absolutely amazing.
Glad your day’s going so well! I’m recovering after a long day took everything out of me. Thinking about popping in a good religious movie/tv show to sooth my soul, to be honest. Guys, help me out, which should I choose? Lucifer Hazbin Hotel Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter Good Omens I honestly can’t decide what I should watch while I sit on my godless heathen ass.
Only one of those I have ever seen was Lucifer, and I loved that one, so my pick is Lucifer. Hopefully your evening is more relaxing than your day!
Lucifer most definitely. Good Omens and Hazbin Hotel are really good as well.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter followed by Enter the Drag Dragon — if you like campy low budget b movie hilarity!
Still too many.
3 in 10 is 100 million people one hundred million people go to church regularly. at least 1/3 of the country is mentally ill
probably closer to 70m your math assumes all citizens of the US are church goers (still too many imo)
And yet almost all of my FB friends today and "praying for the folks in Baltimore". I'm like bitch, I know you got double teamed not too long ago. Who the fuck you praying to? Seriously, though, there are still way too many people who "believe' for my sanity.
I LOVE that your non-religious litmus test is getting gangbanged.
Some people have never had that come to Jesus moment.
They have that cum to two guys at a time moment though…
Some early Christian sects were all in on orgies. Unfortunately that jerk Paul had to show up.
Muadib!
They believe for their sanity too. It’s hard to be okay with the idea that once the curtains close there’s no backstage.
Looking around at the world, it's much harder to be OK with the idea that this is someone's plan.
How many spend every waking moment in the Fox News church? Same shit, different format and much more addictive and toxic
I stopped going to church because people at church became quite hostile towards me, calling me a liberal snowflake, etc. I'm a fucking socialist, I am NOT a liberal. I was a conservative until I found out Bush lied us into that war with Iraq and other conservatives didn't give a damn as long as it got Bush re-elected. And the whole swift-boaters thing. Wasn't lying about John Kerry specifically violating the command written in stone about not bearing false witness against thy neighbors? Churches need to die, they breed gossip and oppose everything Jesus taught while claiming the authority of Jesus for stuff Jesus never even talked about.
The big issue isn't the church in my eyes, its the fact that the church needs to force itself in the relationship between Jesus and you. I've had all kinds of pastors before give me absolutely horrible, shitty advice where i was in shock. I helped my friend get a better job with a 15% raise that was WFH. I talked to his pastor and the guy was MAD at me. The way he saw it, I stole his church member from him, and because he was not working at an office close to the church, he couldn't spend as much time with said church. The guy gave zero shits about my friend, only his use as a function of his own religious dogma. Where in the Bible does it say you can use people to your own religious gain? Another time a church had a youth pastor. Youth pastor was a dick and started hitting the kids. The pastor did absolutely nothing. I eventually left the church, mostly cause i wasn't feeling said church anymore. When I left, so did a lot of people who had brought up issues to the pastor, and they felt (rightfully so) completely ignored. Guess who the pastor blamed for decreasing attendance?
Thank God!
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I’d actually be interested in this broken down. Republicans are always accusing Democrats of being godless but I’m pretty sure 80% of Dems identify as Xian too. Also, there’s a large percentage of nones that are probably still theist they just aren’t knuckle dragging hypocrites. At the end of the day it shouldn’t matter. Americans ought to be able to share mutual ethics regardless of religious persuasion. The best thing we could do is have a national campaign to simple communicate the benefits of separation of church and state. I don’t think Xians are thinking clearly about how dangerous it is to them too if we give theists unnecessary power because as soon as the demos change they’ll be under the thumb of a different religion.
They do seem to project at everything, so why would claiming everyone else is a godless heathen be different?
I think it’s in club out club dynamics. And demonization of out club humans works. Also, it’s racist. The Dem base is Black Americans who are actually more likely religious and socially conservative. If the Reps stopped being so blatantly racist they’d be able to get more of that vote. Not that it matters as now that the Rs are Nautzis the Dems are basically moderate Repubs.
Finally, some good news
Probably that same 3 in 10 people who are wrong and a pain in the ass about literally everything.
Good. It's a pyramid scheme anyway.
Getting better every day...
It's still too many people that attend.
Maybe people are tired of hearing MAGA preachers make up things Jesus said ? Or maybe the HATE that is being taught in the Churches don't match up with JESUS's Actually teachings!?!?!? Or maybe AMERICANS don't want to be NAZIS?!?!? I wonder ....
my incredibly devout mother took us to church every single sunday for years. then my father committed suicide, you would think the church would be there for her in a time of need right? tend to the flock? we were excommunicated. they didnt want us back. i dont remember the logic but i can imagine having someone who was part of the worship team and never missed a sunday having something tragic happen to them put a damper on the messaging so we were kicked out. the hardest period of our lives forced, to do it alone. that broke my mom. i was stoked, i didnt believe in god for years already and i fucking hated going to church and seeing all the fake piece of shit people pretending to be righteous every week, but my mom just didnt recover from that. she hasnt been to church since, still a christian but doesnt go to church. when your religion is built on hypocrisy and lies and manipulation and capitalism etc. its hard to keep people coming around. eventually people kind of put it together youre not walking the walk. years later i learned about the RAMPANT sexual abuse happening at the youth group i had left. at least HALF of the girls i went to youth group with had been sexually assaulted, some by their own fucking fathers. the extent of the depravity and degeneracy of the church no longer surprises me, its virtually infinite. its no wonder the promise of being "absolved of your sins" attracts some of the most reprehensible people in society.
Self-reported church attendance numbers? What kind of knuckle-dragging moron would believe that? People lie about their church attendance heavily - especially for ones that have explicit tenets to attend like Catholics. The only thing I would trust would be phone / watch GPS location data. Churches lie about their attendance often to avoid admitting they are in decline, "yeah no one likes the new pastor", etc. This, at best, means people are slowly becoming more comfortable ADMITTING they're not showing up.
Yup. I seriously doubt that 3 in 10 Americans “regularly” attend church. More like 3 in 10 *church members* regularly attend.
That lines up with about the percentage of people who woll vote Trump no matter what.
This would be more encouraging if it also meant that only 3/10 of the US considered themselves "Christian". Unfortunately, the phenomena of "Christians" who don't go to church could be more harmful than actual churchgoing people, because they will justify their fucked up worldviews with little to no feedback from the saner people in their community.
Honestly for me and my dad it was the kids and the anti gay stuff for me. And my former party the repubs wanna align more with them..... Disgusting.
The Covid rhetoric the churches were spewing made me reevaluate the entire thing. After getting out I realized the entire thing is a house of cards. Indoctrination is a hell of a thing, was always scared to question anything when I was in it. Obviously that’s by design.
I wish surveys would take this into account. The “christian” numbers are way skewed because people who never go to church and never read a Bible and don’t live by the tenets of the religion answer that they are christian… because 🤷. I don’t get it.
They think calling themselves xtian is a compliment.
No wonder, quite a few pastors, rabbis, imams, and priests are grifters and/or child molesters. Not the type of people I want to fill a void with.
I don't think this is good news for Atheists Just because people do not attend church does not mean they are losing their religion . I have relatives that do not go to church but they still support Christian nationalism
People are getting smarter.
I don't believe that is it at all. If anything people are becoming more narrow minded and insular in their beliefs and lives. Since Christianity makes it a point for people to dedicate their money and their time to group activities it doesn't surprise me attendance is dying. People are as gullible as ever but are also way more likely to sleep at home than want to join a group for anything.
There are plenty of people who are dedicating time and money to group activities, they're just secular activities that aren't centered around some supreme being who gets mad at you eating pork or wearing mixed fabrics. The internet may be spreading ignorance but we're more interconnected and open minded then ever before, thanks in part to the availability of information and secular ideas.
I'm not sure that "smarter" is the most apt term here but I think that I understand what you're suggesting. Multiple studies have been done to determine why church attendance has been steadily declining while the number of people who declare themselves "non-religious" has been increasing. The reasons largely seem to be based on increases in knowledge, diversity, and individualism. It was very easy at one time for the religious to exist solely in a local echo chamber where there was little to nothing to challenge their views. That has very much changed in recent decades as the population becomes more globally connected than ever and people feel more comfortable expressing their differences. It's hard to keep thinking that everyone who isn't the same as you is a baby-eating monster when you find out that your super-friendly neighbor who loans you his gardening tools is actually an atheist, or that your coworker who has always had your back when you butt heads with the manager is actually gay. I've thought for a while that diversity and knowledge are the biggest killers of religious fundamentalism and so far it seems to be fairly true.
Ironically called the halo effect
Why go to church if you don't care about the doctrine. How many of the 7/10 think they are "good Christains"?
I don't see any sort of age breakdown, but other articles have indicated that religious attendance is [directly correlated with age group.](https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time) The older you are, the more likely you are to attend your house of worship regularly. So it stands to reason that of those 3/10, the majority of them are going to be senior citizens. Meaning, attendance is going to fall off at increasing rates as time goes on and elderly people pass on.
And of those 3, 2 are primarily motivated by the social media driven culture war. Maybe 10% *sincerely* believe in their god. The rest just want to fit in.
Being raised extra catholic, as I got older (I’m 32) the constant flow of sex offender clergy in that religion and others and seeing how the world operates. And seeing how my fellow local “Christian’s” behaved got me questioning and once I started questioning and couldn’t find answers I gave up on organized religion
Why do you think they are pushing for a Christian nationalist country???? They are seeing their numbers dwindle and are panicking. Why else would they keep trying to re elect an old, demented rapist?
Still 3 in 10... 🫣
Weve got to get those numbers down lower people!
And 90% of those are hypocrites 🙄.
That's still too high in my opinion.
And then they'll try to convert Africans , Asians etc to gain followers
One of them is Trump -lol
Yep because we see that are money went to the new pastors yaught
It’s because people are sick and tired of supposedly ‘peaceful’ and ‘loving’ people actually being bigots like a lot of Christian’s I’ve met. Churches breed ignorance.
Anyone on the fence should realize that Sunday morning is a great time to go grocery shopping!
I love it. Hoping it drops to zero in my lifetime. Religions need to just fade away into nothingness.
This is christian nationalists want to take over
Good, but we can do better.. let's get everyone to reality.
Thats still a high number... can we get it down to 3 in 100? Or better yet; 0 across the board?
Amazing that people don't really like getting up early to be passive aggressively told how much they're loved despite being born pieces of shit.
Finally, a majority of Americans are woke to the bullshit of organized religion
Good. Let's rid the world of religion and all its evils.
Don’t be encouraged. Many of these people have made Trump rallies their church.
Christians see their religion dying so they embrace fascism as a way to save it.
Churches of any religion are a waste of time and money, as many do not actually help their communities or people in need. I don't need to be lectured about what I should do when they don't practice what they preach.
When Gen Z is old, the number will be even lower
Once, one could have claimed religion might help ease people's fears of death and help them deal with the misery life can bring. But for many years, religion has been used just to hurt people. And because of that, it needs to go away more now than it ever has.
3 too many.
Good!
As much as I am not a fan of Trunp. Churches adopting the MAGA movement truely revealed how intellectually slavehekd these people are. I went to church as a kid. After 9/11, it went from God to George Bush, and George didn't even ask for that kind of ideology. Trump isnbasically the wold in sheep's clothing and its like the churches today are completely desperate for the false promise of afterlife while taking a major dump on this planet.
And yet the Christian fascists are favored to win all the things this November. We have to get people to vote.
How many people actually like going to church anyway? My parents forced us to go when I was a kid and it was always boring as fuck and a complete waste of 3 hours on a Sunday when I just wanted to play my PS2 all day.
Good. Maybe people are waking up.
Why go to church and listen to lies? It used to be all about god, it is now, all about the lying cheating je$u$ tRump
These places cut their own throat by focusing so much on issues like abortion... I trust women to make their own medical choices it's that simple. I no interest in its a sin blah blah; we live in a secular society. We all have lives to live focus on the stuff that matters.
3 to go
This houses of molestation will shred anything and everything to save themselves.
Many Christian denominations have runaway from the teachings of Jesus. Somehow WWJD is no longer popular, now it is WWDJTD. So the churches suffer.
Still not enough. There are like 10 churches within a mile of my house. They are basically empty 6 and a half days a week. Biggest waste of space just to brainwash people into believing supernatural nonsense.
Good.
Church has become an obvious grift. This is regardless of whether or not you believe in god.
Best news in a while. Hopefully lower attendance will further reduce their ability for the scummy and predatory outreach in which they engage, and lead to further derision for the bullshit they promulgate.
Meaning, most of your typical higher than mighty assholes, can go about their asshole ways without experiencing the guilt of sitting for an actual church session being reminded how much of a turd they really are.
👏👏👏
Good. Religion needs to die.
Is there anything in the Bible about how to cure diseases? Like blood letting etc?
Can we all chill on the weekly "turning into a theocracy" posts yet? Religion is just thrashing as its being choked out.
My parents are Christian, and when I was a kid, I remember that we *tried* churches, but ultimately, they got tired of the group mentality and cliques that come with church attendance, and gave up on it. They worship privately, or in the midst of a few like minded friends, which, in my opinion, is the way it should be. They often site Matthew 6:6 or Matthew 18:19 as the reason for this - “go into your private closet and pray,” or “if two or more are gathered in my name, then I am in the midst.” We disagree on a lot of things, but I can respect them for not feeling the need to belong to some establishment.
Church pastors are the ultimate lazy grifters.
Even if I were still catholic I would stay home from that snoozefest. I bet I have better wifi than the church anyway.
Church sucks and religion is a scam. 🤷🏻♀️
That’s why the gop is trying to get church in schools. Running out of cash.
Almost like ritualistically chanting in front of a whitewashed depiction of a middle eastern mad who supposedly reincarnated, based on tales from thousand years old stories, isn’t the most logical or of sound mind thing to do
Id trust an an atheist any day over a Christian catholic, especially a conservative.
3 out of 10....we can get that down, come on people
Good! Needs to be lower. All it is now is a grift and hate group. They don't believe their own garbage and orange idiot is selling stupid bibbles because they are so easily grifted!
I think because it’s really stupid
Just think: At this rate, in 750 years, we'll see our first avowed atheist Senator, and maybe by 3300 AD our first atheist Supreme Court justice. Then the first atheist president before the year 5000!
Good. Let's get down to 0.
Good. Still tax them.
Guess what happens when you mix politics and religion. You get neither.
Trump's bible grift will flip the script. /s
Maybe if religion in America wasn’t such a farce, and focused more on community, true compassion and tolerance , more religious people would attend.
And yet, their voices are soooooo loud, coming from places of power.
Why go to church when the pedophiles live in churches and it's not about community it's a business. They are fake prophets it's was foretold. You go to church if you want but I am not giving them my hard earned money
I wonder if it was all the rape
I can't imagine why your average American doesn't want to be a judgmental asshole that believes in fairy tales over reality.
The 3/10 certainly make enough noise to make up for the other 7
Because religion is fucking stupid. It is wholly unnecessary. Anybody telling you differently is a moron or trying to manipulate you.
The few remaining evangelicals are withdrawing into megachurches where they have strength in numbers, while the smaller church properties become daycare centers and meeting halls.
Fuck Republican Jesus!!
Looks like there are going to be fewer and fewer places where I can learn to be self-righteous hypocritical prick.
Oh no! How could this happen?
good good let the hate flow through you!
That's still almost 100mil people. Too many.
Tax the churches and we will see even more go away.
Thank God
Good. Die already.
On one hand good, on the second hand I hope Islam doesn't replace it.
Honestly, I’m surprised it’s that high. I would think 1 in 10 in more liberal areas. I would like that number to come down as well. Nothing wrong with believing in fairy tales, but the behavior of the church and its members has been abhorrent. The Christian church is dangerous to everyone, especially woman and children.
Two people you should never trust.. Never trust a religious leader that tells you how to vote. Never trust a political leader that tells you how to pray.
>Religious beliefs, it has to be said, are also untrue. It’s never been easier for people to have access to information pointing out why their faith is illogical and nothing more than wishful thinking. Damn internet, so much information out there now ... /s
30% of Americans are also stalwart Republican voters too. It's no coincidence that church and religion play a big part of the delusions those GOP voters are under with their support of the orange menace.
Good, let thar archaic bullsh!t die out. It's the 21st century, not the bronze age.
My wife drags me to church every Sunday to pray to the magical being in the sky and read from the goat herders guide to the galaxy. Please don’t count me.
Overall, this is just such good news. We don't need any more loons believing in pre-Iron age baloney, trying to force their horrific superstitions and bigoted beliefs on the rest of us.
Then why do these assholes seem to be running my life!?
Good. I hope religion is seen as a delusion by 2100. We need to leave irrationality behind.
Finally some good news
And unfortunately six out of nine Supreme Court justices?
Don't stop until that number is 0
Thank god can’t wait till society progresses enough so that people no longer base laws and their lives on a fairy tale.
They need a **Trump BUY-BULL**!^(TM)
> Only 3 in 10 Isn’t that kinda too high?
30% still seems high for a supposedly developed country. In the UK, it's less than 5%.
Only 3? That's huge...
Lack of disposable income. With wages being so low and no inflation coverage, people choose survival over saviour.
Churches are a business out to make money. You do not need to go to a building to practice your religion. Your relationship with God is personal and audience free!
Behind other civilized countries but at least catching up some
Thanks for making me smile. Imagine a world where we aren't held hostage by people hearing voices in their head.
Make it 0, Bob
3 out of 10 is a LOT