In the U.S., Christianity loses members while atheism grows. Why?

[zflash7]

hey profane your too simple for me.. I usally get more than a 4 word reply. do you have a soul inside that cloake of yours or is that dead too??
So much for the evolved species..

 

[Kathryn]

Oh, I see. You're not calling me a "liar". You're just saying that I left out a detail because I wanted my post to seem "sexier". Well, aren't you so cleverly "kind".

Kathryn, I NEVER said it was illegal. I never IMPLIED that it was illegal, and I strongly resent your accusation that I intentionally tried to mislead people. I related EXACTLY what my friend said to me in a genuine emotional response to a coment made by another poster. If that does not pass your test for what constitues a quality post here, I must say that I could not possibly care less. That you cannot see the effect of religion on the teaching of evolution in the classroom says more about you than it does about my post, and frankly I don't think there is any chance you will get that head of yours out of the sand to see things a different way.

Beaudreaux, methinks thou doth protest too much.

 

[tumbleweed41]

U guys have your minds made up. If someone was to call fire down from heaven it would be explained away as a freak accident. Your designed allright. for destruction, and you dont even know it. Sucks to be you AFTER...
Give me Jesus or give me death. FTW

Rash generalizations and threats of hellfire do little to advance the cause of Christianity.

hey profane your too simple for me.. I usally get more than a 4 word reply. do you have a soul inside that cloake of yours or is that dead too??
So much for the evolved species..

fantôme profane was not replying to you, it was a reply to Copernicus.

Are your insults a method of showing everyone why Christianity is losing followers?

 

[Beaudreaux]

Beaudreaux, methinks...

Haven't seen any evidence of that.

 

[sojourner]

From an essay on the popularity of atheism:


Why do you think Christianity is on the decline and atheism is on the rise?

Because of Sarah Palin?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Because of Sarah Palin?

Interesting.

I always thought of Sarah Palin as a symptom of Christianity's decline rather than a cause.

 

[Gabethewiking]

U guys have your minds made up. If someone was to call fire down from heaven it would be explained away as a freak accident. Your designed allright. for destruction, and you dont even know it. Sucks to be you AFTER...
Give me Jesus or give me death. FTW

So you are condeming us to hell even after giving you Medication, Computers and Knowledge of our world....

Bad us because we do not accept whatever a religious person says, maybe I should sign up for Ray Comforts videos, I mean he has plenty of money and needs more no doubt, because Heaven is true and Life is just temporare and.... Wiat.. Why are these Public Creationists and Christians so interested in money when Heaven is suppose to be "it"... Weird.

 

[Gabethewiking]

Interesting.

I always thought of Sarah Palin as a symptom of Christianity's decline rather than a cause.

I went straight "up" when seeing Palin.. Erh, well, she was suppose to look like Palin.... Never mind.

 

[DeepShadow]

"The leading cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who confess the Lord with their lips, and then go out and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what the unbelieving world finds unbelievable."--DCTalk

 

[dogsgod]

"The leading cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who confess the Lord with their lips, and then go out and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what the unbelieving world finds unbelievable."--DCTalk

I always thought the leading cause for atheism was The Bible. Believers should read it.

 

[madhatter85]

I always thought the leading cause for atheism was The Bible. Believers should read it.

That's kind of funny, the last bit there.

Many evangelical Christians seem to have a very uneducated understanding of the bible. They just spew forth conjecture based on a very narrow/abbreviated/incomplete view of the bible and completely ignore large sections of scripture as if it were never there.

 

[Copernicus]

Many evangelical Christians seem to have a very uneducated understanding of the bible. They just spew forth conjecture based on a very narrow/abbreviated/incomplete view of the bible and completely ignore large sections of scripture as if it were never there.

Having read some of those sections, I can hardly blame them. It's the ones who take them seriously that I worry about.

 

[Buttons*]

Sometimes I think it has to do with attention seeking.... being rebellious has always been a trait of young people, and with information going around, along with a lot of a-religious media (Not Fox News, guys, I'm talking about movies, music... etc.) can get people to jump on the bandwagon without much provocation. Atheists also get a lot of attention from right wing media (Now, we're talking Fox News) and it's cool to be the victim. Wicca used to be all the rage, and now it's Atheism... I'm sure that in time, Islam will become more popular in the States... everything will have its turn.

I think it's a myriad of things, so I would be silly to just list a few... but I don't have all the time in the world. Perhaps I'll think of more later.

 

[Beaudreaux]

That's kind of funny, the last bit there.

Many evangelical Christians seem to have a very uneducated understanding of the bible. They just spew forth conjecture based on a very narrow/abbreviated/incomplete view of the bible and completely ignore large sections of scripture as if it were never there.

My old religion professor used to say that people read the Bible like it was written yesterday in their hometown.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

"The leading cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who confess the Lord with their lips, and then go out and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what the unbelieving world finds unbelievable."--DCTalk

Hmm. I disagree.

For me, the "cause" of my atheism was simply that I see no reason to believe in God.

However, I'd say that the Christians who are willing to sacrafice a bit of theological consistency in the name of love and kindness are much less off-putting to me than the people who hold everything else as secondary to their faith, including basic human decency.

 

[Beaudreaux]

Hmm. I disagree.

For me, the "cause" of my atheism was simply that I see no reason to believe in God.

However, I'd say that the Christians who are willing to sacrafice a bit of theological consistency in the name of love and kindness are much less off-putting to me than the people who hold everything else as secondary to their faith, including basic human decency.

I find it kind of funny that we're talking about the "cause" of atheism. Atheism is a non-action. It is simply not believing in a particular proposition. We are all atheists by default since we are born with no conception of a "God". It is only when people are taught about God that they are "caused" to become theists. Often this is at a very young age, so we tend to forget that theism is the thing that is caused. Atheism is the default.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I find it kind of funny that we're talking about the "cause" of atheism. Atheism is a non-action. It is simply not believing in a particular proposition.

Choosing to self-apply the label "atheist" isn't a non-action. Choosing "atheist" from a list of options on a survey is a choice.

We are all atheists by default since we are born with no conception of a "God". It is only when people are taught about God that they are "caused" to become theists. Often this is at a very young age, so we tend to forget that theism is the thing that is caused. Atheism is the default.

Actually, from what I've read about it, it seems that for humans, animism is the default.

 

[McBell]

Oh, I see. You're not calling me a "liar". You're just saying that I left out a detail because I wanted my post to seem "sexier". Well, aren't you so cleverly "kind".

Kathryn, I NEVER said it was illegal. I never IMPLIED that it was illegal, and I strongly resent your accusation that I intentionally tried to mislead people. I related EXACTLY what my friend said to me in a genuine emotional response to a coment made by another poster. If that does not pass your test for what constitues a quality post here, I must say that I could not possibly care less. That you cannot see the effect of religion on the teaching of evolution in the classroom says more about you than it does about my post, and frankly I don't think there is any chance you will get that head of yours out of the sand to see things a different way.

Beaudreaux, methinks thou doth protest too much.

Perhaps he does protest to much.

However, he does have a valid point.

 

[McBell]

I find it kind of funny that we're talking about the "cause" of atheism.

The "cause" of atheism?
That's easy.
Theism.

 

[DeepShadow]

Hmm. I disagree.

For me, the "cause" of my atheism was simply that I see no reason to believe in God.

That doesn't contradict. It said "leading," not "only."