Is religion as popular ?

[guest]

Is it just my imagination or is religion not as popular any more ? Just seems like less and less are going to church, to busy on Sundays.

[Deleted]

...You can drive by any church parking lot on a Sunday morning, and find numerous parking spots. Some churches even have closed or joined together . The costs are high and they solely depend on donations to stay open .. As the older generation dies off this will only get worst , the baby boomers are healthier and have more resources .. The trips to cottages don't include coming home to church on Sunday , even through they probably went as children . Their more highly educated therefore believe in the truth rather than fiction .Seeing is believing ....

[guest]

Religion is a dying issue here in North America.

[sasquatch]

Perhaps this why we are targeted by religious zealots from outside North America. We constitute a threat to them by existing and prospering. Their lovely theocracies are their weakness, not their strength.

[Durgan]

Religion is attractive to people, who have no other stable social structures. During the last 2000 years the only real stable system from generation to generation was the Church, even though by our modern standards it has the appearance of being a little irrational. When an "earthquake' occurs one could always believe that something relatively solid still existed.

The rise of many of the sects began often duriing and after some of the horrible plagues of the past centuries or times of great trauma. Modern societies has Laws in which they can have confidence, so I suggest religion has been set aside, since it is not really required.

I further suggest this may be the attraction for many people to the Mulsim Religion. Without exception, every Muslim country is unstable, but the people can get together five times a day and sort of have a feeling of belonging, and the religion has the influence and power to dispense some justice, even though we in the West consider it excessive in many cases. Religious Justice, as defective as it is often better than erratic thug justice unless one is part of the thugee system.

So I am suggesting that Religion has and had its place, since it has some foundation when all else fails. Protection of the Almighty is better than absolutely nothing.

Durgan.

[proudtobeadp]

It seems everyone wants to believe in something but with few answers coming from above and many calamities happening on earth many are questioning why do they believe?

During WWII my father very much interred and abused by the Nazis made his religion his ikon for survival and prayed fervently every day that he would survive all that happened and he did. Religion kept hope and life there for him.

This day and age of mass communications with science and technology racing on obsoleting everything previous in only months has served to chain people to communications leaving less time to network in person the way religions carry on. This same chaining keeps people at home or away and isolated and this creates its own problems of isolation that being involved in religion could change.

Its no secret that the concept of the 40 hour workweek has gone by the wayside with people adding hours top travel as well as hours spent at work chasing the almighty dollar if not for the shareholders it is for themselves or their families and that serves to cut off contact normally found in religious gatherings.

Interesting as it seems there are many religions that foster the notion that being industrious and making one wealthy and finding happiness that way, mind you that involves tithing in the process too is quite right no matter how you do it even if you cheat as part of it is what got some religions into trouble too over the years. Those religions ironically are prospering but they are also orthodoxy and have a tendency not to mix races up that practice within those religions.

There have been many church closings in traditional religions but with the competition for time and for wealth it was only inevitable as societies progressed with some major exceptions. One being easter Islam whose brakes have always been on in terms of westernization that also involves the emancipation of women who are second class in status as mere chattles to a male dominated society Islam is. Another being Judiasm where the question is now roaring heavy as to just who is a Jew and who should allowed to be actually recognized as a Jew and there are frightening arguments from the orthodox and the secular Jews once they get into it.

There is a lot that can be discussed about religions and their popularity and it takes time to develop this topic so I hope I have given some insight to get some back.