Not sure if this is the best section for this, but this is encouraging

[VerbosityCat]

This information is made even more enjoyable to read by the fact that it's posted on some fundie blog, and it's nearly a decade old (but that means the news is probably even better):

 

http://signsofthelastdays.com/archives/the-decline-of-christianity-in-america

 

My assumption is that due to the freeflow of information and the churches in decline, even more evangelical churches feel greater and greater pressure to preach a "feel good" message and avoid topics like hell or exclusivity because let's face it EVERYBODY knows an unbeliever now. Or has a gay family member of friend or etc. We are not the homogenous "Christian values culture" of the 50s. In order to keep butts in seats and fill the offering plate, my bet is many churches feel the need to soft pedal most of these issues, maybe thinking they will delve deeper in bible studies once they get people more committed to church. Except all they are doing is hastening their own demise because how far is it between "Jesus isn't the only way to Heaven" and "What the fuck am I getting up so early on Sunday morning for then?"

 

 

[♦ ficino ♦]

Yes, and the linked article is from nine years ago. The trend has accelerated since then. And all the recent scandals, both among Catholic and evangelical Protestant clergy, help push the trend along.

[Blood]

12 hours ago, VerbosityCat said:

This information is made even more enjoyable to read by the fact that it's posted on some fundie blog, and it's nearly a decade old (but that means the news is probably even better):

 

http://signsofthelastdays.com/archives/the-decline-of-christianity-in-america

 

My assumption is that due to the freeflow of information and the churches in decline, even more evangelical churches feel greater and greater pressure to preach a "feel good" message and avoid topics like hell or exclusivity because let's face it EVERYBODY knows an unbeliever now. Or has a gay family member of friend or etc. We are not the homogenous "Christian values culture" of the 50s. In order to keep butts in seats and fill the offering plate, my bet is many churches feel the need to soft pedal most of these issues, maybe thinking they will delve deeper in bible studies once they get people more committed to church. Except all they are doing is hastening their own demise because how far is it between "Jesus isn't the only way to Heaven" and "What the fuck am I getting up so early on Sunday morning for then?"

 

 

 

You wouldn't notice any change if you lived in the South. Any political advertisement from the Republican side must include the candidate's religious affiliation, and how he plans to implement his "faith" once in office. There are vast amounts of school children attending private Christian schools now, which, at best, teach "both sides" of the evolution "debate," and so on. 

[♦ Fuego ♦]

I was at Oktoberfest in Oregon yesterday, and saw two street preachers with the old-time repent or burn message on placards. I used to be like that, and nearly was out on the street being like them about 14 years ago before the first smack that started me questioning. Their approach has nearly no effect in this region that I can see, since so few put any value on "the Bible says".

 

Looking forward to this attitude flooding through the Bible Belt.

 

[VerbosityCat]

10 hours ago, Blood said:

 

You wouldn't notice any change if you lived in the South. Any political advertisement from the Republican side must include the candidate's religious affiliation, and how he plans to implement his "faith" once in office. There are vast amounts of school children attending private Christian schools now, which, at best, teach "both sides" of the evolution "debate," and so on. 

I can't say I fully agree with that. I live in the south in a VERY Christian area. And yet despite all our churches and evangelical world mission associations, day-to-day I really don't get that much constant Jesus in my face. I could probably totally ignore Christianity here if it weren't for a few family members.Most people even here are deep down pretty secular in their day-to-day life. And I would say that even as hardcore Christian as this town is that still less than half the population attends church regularly. I think the "south" stereotypes really only hold up in VERY small towns where everybody knows everybody. When you get up over 50k people, you're looking at a much less cohesively religious group. At least that's true for my area.

[VerbosityCat]

7 hours ago, Fuego said:

 

 

Looking forward to this attitude flooding through the Bible Belt.

 

 

 

I'm in the bible belt and I can tell you, it's already started. Outside of VERY small towns, I would say this trend is much more widespread that you would imagine.

[Blood]

21 hours ago, VerbosityCat said:

I can't say I fully agree with that. I live in the south in a VERY Christian area. And yet despite all our churches and evangelical world mission associations, day-to-day I really don't get that much constant Jesus in my face. I could probably totally ignore Christianity here if it weren't for a few family members.Most people even here are deep down pretty secular in their day-to-day life. And I would say that even as hardcore Christian as this town is that still less than half the population attends church regularly. I think the "south" stereotypes really only hold up in VERY small towns where everybody knows everybody. When you get up over 50k people, you're looking at a much less cohesively religious group. At least that's true for my area.

 

I hope you're right. I tend to be pessimistic about these things. Why are there so many "mega-churches" if Christianity is dying?

[VerbosityCat]

1 hour ago, Blood said:

 

I hope you're right. I tend to be pessimistic about these things. Why are there so many "mega-churches" if Christianity is dying?

 

Yes, there are more megachurches (compared to the almost total lack of them decades before) but, and i THINK that article I linked may have mentioned this, if not, I one of the links I think did, but they talked about (If I'm not mixing it up with another article) how megachurches are growing in attendance but pretty much all the other churches are dying off and closing down. So basically you have the equivalent of mergers going on here. But... in all that shuffling around, there are a lot of people leaving church altogether and joining "nones", REligiously unaffiliated is the fastest growing group. "Nones" are now up to 22.8% as of the last Pew poll.  Meanwhile church attendance is on serious decline.

 

The megachurches themselves are basically entertainment and distraction. There is nothing of any real "depth" and it's a "feel good message" in most of these churches. They just want butts in pews and to collect money. So the way this translates is... many of the people in these megachurches don't actually take christianity very seriously. That may not be clearly apparent now, but I've noticed here in my own town that each generation gets more liberal with their Christianity. Even the fundies are slowly altering their message because the original "join our club or burn, stupid" message is increasingly alienating people.

 

Ultimately churches are businesses even though they aren't taxed as such. So they have to do what makes them money and lets them survive. They are going for the quick buck at the expense of future profit. Because I can guarantee you most of these young parents in these megachurches are just not indoctrinating their children with the same stuff I was indoctrinated with. They likely don't take it that seriously in reality and their kids will take it even less seriously.

[Joshpantera]

On 9/17/2018 at 7:43 PM, VerbosityCat said:

They likely don't take it that seriously in reality and their kids will take it even less seriously.

 

Bingo!

[Wertbag]

I remember a survey where they asked people walking out of church a series of questions including "do you believe in God?" Between 20-25% of people said no. When queried some said they had to go (especially kids and teenagers), some said social gathering and others that it was tradition. 

If we round off at 2 billion Christians in the world then 400 million of them are actually atheists. Add open atheists and atheistic religions and I believe there are more unbelievers than theists. 

[VerbosityCat]

13 hours ago, Wertbag said:

I remember a survey where they asked people walking out of church a series of questions including "do you believe in God?" Between 20-25% of people said no. When queried some said they had to go (especially kids and teenagers), some said social gathering and others that it was tradition. 

If we round off at 2 billion Christians in the world then 400 million of them are actually atheists. Add open atheists and atheistic religions and I believe there are more unbelievers than theists. 

 

Yep. I would say there really is only a very small percentage of modern "Christians" who take this shit seriously at all. And most of them are the OLDER generation. Like I've noticed major generational differences within my family.

 

My grandparents are VERY fundie and literalistic about everything. They REALLY believe in hell and the rapture and that shit sort of terrorizes them a little bit though they deny it because they "know where they are going"

 

My parents' generation is still pretty fundie, but they've loosened up about SOME of it. They still believe in hell or say they do but... it doesn't really seem as deeply engrained in their psyche in the same way. I think they THINK they believe it but my grandparents REALLY believe it if that makes sense.

 

In my generation... all of us raised in very conservative/fundie Xtian households... I left Christianity and have totally other religious beliefs, my brother is Christian but more liberal and doesn't really believe in hell (like he says he doesn't), I also have several cousins who are unbelievers/don't go to church and 2 cousins who while conservative are not "crazy" and can handle having a conversation with people of different religious beliefs without shrieking or threatening them with hell. So there are some BIG generational differences and I except they will only keep growing.

 

I mean my generation is the first "internet generation" so we can expect with the internet for this shit to speed up.

[Geezer]

Tennessee is the buckle of the Bible Belt. Lots of political ads on TV but I haven't noticed religious connections in these ads, but that may be because people in this part of the country just assume everyone running for a political office is a Christian. Either that or I've just reached the point where I just tune religious references completely out.