Why is Confidence in Organized Religion At All Time Low?

[gsa]

Per Gallup, American confidence in organized religion has hit its lowest point since the organization began tracking in 1973:

Americans' confidence in the church and organized religion has fallen dramatically over the past four decades, hitting an all-time low this year of 42%. Confidence in religion began faltering in the 1980s, while the sharpest decline occurred between 2001 and 2002 as the Roman Catholic Church grappled with a major sexual abuse scandal. Since then, periodic improvements have proved temporary, and it has continued to ratchet lower.

...

The church and organized religion is losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation's culture. Once reliably at the top of Gallup's confidence in institutions list, it now ranks fourth behind the military, small business and the police, and just ahead of the medical system. The good news for the church is that it still ranks among the more well-respected institutions at a time when fewer than one in four Americans have confidence in several others, including Congress and the media.

Poor behavior on the part of some religious leaders has caused serious self-inflicted wounds for the church and organized religion -- damaging its image among Protestants and Catholics as well as among non-Christians. At the same time, the nation is becoming less Christian and less religious, and those outside of Christianity naturally view the church with less respect. Any progress that organized religion can make in restoring confidence among the faithful may help stabilize its numbers, and perhaps soften others' skepticism.

So what do you think? What's behind the newest drop?

 

[dust1n]

Vast changes in understanding of the world due to technology, prevalence of media, internet access allowing easier researching. People tend not to want to be limited to their traditional realm of existence once the realize the possibility of so many other existences. Just guessing though.

 

[George-ananda]

So what do you think? What's behind the newest drop?

An increase in information, education and exposure means people think for themselves instead of following leaders. Also because of the media, any fallibility in the leadership is put in front of our faces.

I think the future of spirituality is more and more going to be people creating their own personal do-it-yourself religion where they follow their own views on all the many issues without much of a concern for being involved with any established formally defined religion.

 

[Nakosis]

Media coverage. What's reported and how it is reported is able to influence public opinion.

 

[Iti oj]

An increase in information, education and exposure means people think for themselves instead of following leaders. Also because of the media, any fallibility in the leadership is put in front of our faces.

I think the future of spirituality is more and more going to be people creating their own personal do-it-yourself religion where they follow their own views on all the many issues without much of a concern for being involved with any established formally defined religion.

i sure hope so

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I think a lot of it comes down to the speed of social change.

Religion changes with the times, but it has inertia, so it lags behind other aspects of society and culture. Because of this lag, the bigger the rate of social change, the bigger the gap between societal views and religion.

 

[JFish123]

Why do people reject religion? An even better question, why do people reject Jesus?
1) Some people do not think they need a savior. These people consider themselves to be “basically good” and do not realize that they, like all people, are sinners who cannot come to God on their own terms. But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Those who reject Christ will not be able to stand before God and successfully plead their own case on their own merits.

2) The fear of social rejection or persecution deters some people from receiving Christ as Savior. The unbelievers in John 12:42-43 would not confess Christ because they were more concerned with their status among their peers than doing God’s will. These were the Pharisees whose love of position and the esteem of others blinded them, “for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

3) For some people, the things that the present world has to offer are more appealing than eternal things. We read the story of such a man in Matthew 19:16-23. This man was not willing to lose his earthly possessions in order to gain an eternal relationship with Jesus (see also 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

4) Many people are simply resisting the Holy Spirit’s attempts to draw them to faith in Christ. Stephen, a leader in the early church, told those who were about to murder him, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51). The apostle Paul made a similar statement to a group of gospel rejecters in Acts 28:23-27.

Whatever the reasons why people reject Jesus Christ, their rejection has disastrous eternal consequences. “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12), and those who reject Him, for whatever reason, face an eternity in the “outer darkness” of hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why do people reject religion? An even better question, why do people reject Jesus?
1) Some people do not think they need a savior. These people consider themselves to be “basically good” and do not realize that they, like all people, are sinners who cannot come to God on their own terms. But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Those who reject Christ will not be able to stand before God and successfully plead their own case on their own merits.

2) The fear of social rejection or persecution deters some people from receiving Christ as Savior. The unbelievers in John 12:42-43 would not confess Christ because they were more concerned with their status among their peers than doing God’s will. These were the Pharisees whose love of position and the esteem of others blinded them, “for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

3) For some people, the things that the present world has to offer are more appealing than eternal things. We read the story of such a man in Matthew 19:16-23. This man was not willing to lose his earthly possessions in order to gain an eternal relationship with Jesus (see also 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

4) Many people are simply resisting the Holy Spirit’s attempts to draw them to faith in Christ. Stephen, a leader in the early church, told those who were about to murder him, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51). The apostle Paul made a similar statement to a group of gospel rejecters in Acts 28:23-27.

Whatever the reasons why people reject Jesus Christ, their rejection has disastrous eternal consequences. “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12), and those who reject Him, for whatever reason, face an eternity in the “outer darkness” of hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

Two thoughts:

- It's not all about your religion.
- To soneone who doesn't believe in Jesus OR God, this sounds an awful lot like breaking someone's leg to sell them a crutch.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Why do people reject religion?

Let's start by getting your reason for rejecting Islam.

 

[Augustus]

I think a lot of it comes down to the speed of social change.

Religion changes with the times, but it has inertia, so it lags behind other aspects of society and culture. Because of this lag, the bigger the rate of social change, the bigger the gap between societal views and religion.

Society is changing faster in the developing world than in the West though, and religious adherence is not really declining to any great extent. In places like China, it is even growing and in many other places where religious adherence is pretty stable, religiosity is increasing amongst large sectors of society.

The decline of religion is mostly a Western phenomenon.

 

[JoStories]

Why do people reject religion? An even better question, why do people reject Jesus?
1) Some people do not think they need a savior. These people consider themselves to be “basically good” and do not realize that they, like all people, are sinners who cannot come to God on their own terms. But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Those who reject Christ will not be able to stand before God and successfully plead their own case on their own merits.

2) The fear of social rejection or persecution deters some people from receiving Christ as Savior. The unbelievers in John 12:42-43 would not confess Christ because they were more concerned with their status among their peers than doing God’s will. These were the Pharisees whose love of position and the esteem of others blinded them, “for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

3) For some people, the things that the present world has to offer are more appealing than eternal things. We read the story of such a man in Matthew 19:16-23. This man was not willing to lose his earthly possessions in order to gain an eternal relationship with Jesus (see also 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

4) Many people are simply resisting the Holy Spirit’s attempts to draw them to faith in Christ. Stephen, a leader in the early church, told those who were about to murder him, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51). The apostle Paul made a similar statement to a group of gospel rejecters in Acts 28:23-27.

Whatever the reasons why people reject Jesus Christ, their rejection has disastrous eternal consequences. “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12), and those who reject Him, for whatever reason, face an eternity in the “outer darkness” of hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

What makes you think its just Christianity that is involved here? This is something about your faith that annoys me. To you, its all about you and no one else. You dismiss out of hand that someone might be Jewish, or Muslim, or Pagan, or atheistic, or Hindu or Buddhist and so on. I understand that this is your view on why Christianity is losing members but this knee jerk reaction that it's ONLY your faith is nothing short of arrogant.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Society is changing faster in the developing world than in the West though, and religious adherence is not really declining to any great extent. In places like China, it is even growing and in many other places where religious adherence is pretty stable, religiosity is increasing amongst large sectors of society.

The decline of religion is mostly a Western phenomenon.

Perhaps religion helps provide a sense of stability in a time of change, while in more stable societies (the nations of the west), there is less of a need to find stability in an external source. Just a thought, and certainly open to debate.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

1) Some people do not think they need a savior.

What do I need a savior for? You say eternal damnation, but what proof, outside of your own religious book, do have of this damnation?

2) The fear of social rejection or persecution deters some people from receiving Christ as Savior.

What of those who are Christian for no other reason that it's just what people do? I was in class once with a girl who proudly proclaimed she is a Christian, despite the fact she has never read the Bible. And in many other classes, several people had to announce it to the class they are Christian. But nobody gave a damn about their proclamation of faith.
Now, if you tell someone you are atheist, agnostic, or Muslim, then you can start to expect social rejection and mistreatment.

3) For some people, the things that the present world has to offer are more appealing than eternal things.

Because many people do not believe in an afterlife. Even many that do believe that when you die, you die, and when you return, as another incarnation, it isn't as you are now but as a different person.

4) Many people are simply resisting the Holy Spirit’s attempts to draw them to faith in Christ.

And, of course, many of us evicted the Holy Spirit from our lives.

Whatever the reasons why people reject Jesus Christ, their rejection has disastrous eternal consequences. “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12), and those who reject Him, for whatever reason, face an eternity in the “outer darkness” of hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

Yours is not the only religion, and it's not the only religion people are rejecting.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Per Gallup, American confidence in organized religion has hit its lowest point since the organization began tracking in 1973:

Americans' confidence in the church and organized religion has fallen dramatically over the past four decades, hitting an all-time low this year of 42%. Confidence in religion began faltering in the 1980s, while the sharpest decline occurred between 2001 and 2002 as the Roman Catholic Church grappled with a major sexual abuse scandal. Since then, periodic improvements have proved temporary, and it has continued to ratchet lower.

...

The church and organized religion is losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation's culture. Once reliably at the top of Gallup's confidence in institutions list, it now ranks fourth behind the military, small business and the police, and just ahead of the medical system. The good news for the church is that it still ranks among the more well-respected institutions at a time when fewer than one in four Americans have confidence in several others, including Congress and the media.

Poor behavior on the part of some religious leaders has caused serious self-inflicted wounds for the church and organized religion -- damaging its image among Protestants and Catholics as well as among non-Christians. At the same time, the nation is becoming less Christian and less religious, and those outside of Christianity naturally view the church with less respect. Any progress that organized religion can make in restoring confidence among the faithful may help stabilize its numbers, and perhaps soften others' skepticism.

So what do you think? What's behind the newest drop?

Bad or unscrupulous behavior is certainly a major factor in lowering confidence.

Tele-evangelists for example really put me off when I was a Christian by the manner on how so many people get taken advantaged of and literally manipulated to the point of causing great harm , but it's not limited to just them of course. Numerous causes of contention exist in just about any religion on the face of the planet.

I would say also major advances and discovery in science also affected areas where it changed the whole outlook altogether. It exposes direct facts and religion loses it's effect depending upon it's dogma.

Time also plays a crucial part as I see it. People change, various situations and circumstances, as well as environment play a role in how a religion is approached and embraced. Sometimes a particular way just becomes too outdated to be of any significance or value, and just falls away.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Vast changes in understanding of the world due to technology, prevalence of media, internet access allowing easier researching. People tend not to want to be limited to their traditional realm of existence once the realize the possibility of so many other existences. Just guessing though.

Actually I forgot the internet. It's so easy now to explore and study just about everything under the sun and compare notes, sometimes changing the whole perspective and approach on things.

 

[dust1n]

Actually I forgot the internet. It's so easy now to explore and study just about everything under the sun and compare notes, sometimes changing the whole perspective and approach on things.

Probably the biggest contributor in young people, at least.

 

[Looncall]

Probably the biggest contributor in young people, at least.

Quite right. People are finally getting wise to the scam.

 

[LASTINGLIGHT]

100% right. People are getting wise to the scam. Behave yourselves and give us money or you will go to HELL!

 

[Thana]

Per Gallup, American confidence in organized religion has hit its lowest point since the organization began tracking in 1973:

Americans' confidence in the church and organized religion has fallen dramatically over the past four decades, hitting an all-time low this year of 42%. Confidence in religion began faltering in the 1980s, while the sharpest decline occurred between 2001 and 2002 as the Roman Catholic Church grappled with a major sexual abuse scandal. Since then, periodic improvements have proved temporary, and it has continued to ratchet lower.

...

The church and organized religion is losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation's culture. Once reliably at the top of Gallup's confidence in institutions list, it now ranks fourth behind the military, small business and the police, and just ahead of the medical system. The good news for the church is that it still ranks among the more well-respected institutions at a time when fewer than one in four Americans have confidence in several others, including Congress and the media.

Poor behavior on the part of some religious leaders has caused serious self-inflicted wounds for the church and organized religion -- damaging its image among Protestants and Catholics as well as among non-Christians. At the same time, the nation is becoming less Christian and less religious, and those outside of Christianity naturally view the church with less respect. Any progress that organized religion can make in restoring confidence among the faithful may help stabilize its numbers, and perhaps soften others' skepticism.

So what do you think? What's behind the newest drop?

I think we've got it good, and have decided we don't need anything else.

We're not being disillusioned, that's nonsense. People who run away from religion the second they hear something that supposedly conflicts with their interpretation of the bible, well they obviously didn't have much faith in the first place, no? A strong wind could have just as easily knocked their faith away.

The West has it good, has it a thousand times better than the rest of the world, and the rest of the world's faith is growing, not declining. I think that says it all.

 

[LuisDantas]

I expect the trend to reverse itself eventually. But perhaps not with a very recognizable understanding of what religion is supposed to be.

Until some time in the 1980s, we had little choice but to rely on traditions that included religious institutions. Now we know better, and many religious movements are simply not used to stand on their own merits.

Some will doubtlessly learn, given enough time.