Religious Disaffiliation in the US

#151
#151
Panthro said:
I grew up going to a Baptist church with my parents and never really picked up what they were putting down. I had one question that meant a lot to me and I never could get an answer I liked from a protestant minister. I realize that getting the answer I like isn't what I should focus on, but it was just too upsetting for me to stay with that religion.
I then married a catholic girl who was way out of my league and she got me to ask her priest the same question. Finally, I heard the answer I was looking for so I immediately enrolled in RCIA and joined the church.
I TOTALLY get why Catholicism wouldn't be for everyone, but it seems to gel well with what I needed.


In case you were wondering, that question I had was regarding people of other religions and their journey towards heaven. I didn't like getting told that a vast majority of the people in the world would burn in a fiery Hell for eternity because they didn't believe what I believed.
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This is what has always fascinated me about the different flavors or Christianity or even other Abrahamic religions. Same god, but people tend to migrate to the ones that better aligns with their personal beliefs.

I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling the way you do - it just strikes me as odd that throngs of people choose to follow the version of god that is most like them. Each demanding that theirs is the right one.

Not a dig on you at all, I personally wouldn't follow a god that allowed for 'eternal suffering' of people just because they used a given ability that lead them to another god other than the "right" one. I can see the appeal in the Catholics message in this regard, at least in part.
 
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#152
#152
VolsNSkinsFan said:
It's grown since the 1940s while the Protestants have been cut in half. Also it's projected to have 100 million members by 2050. Currently there are 55 million members in the US. Sorry the commercial brothers you. Maybe the Protestants should do something similar since they are the ones struggling w/ their message & members
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Your own poll only shows a tiny sliver of a growth, then you have the sheer stupidity to bring sexual abuse into this while defending the Catholic church. Stop coming into threads and sh*tting all over them!

Good god, almighty. you might be the worst poster on VN right now.
 
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#153
#153
DinkinFlicka said:
Your own poll only shows a tiny sliver of a growth, then you have the sheer stupidity to bring sexual abuse into this while defending the Catholic church. Stop coming into threads and sh*tting all over them!

Good god, almighty. you might be the worst poster on VN right now.
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I thought you were done with me? You've only said it like a dozen times
 
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#155
#155
Kind of interesting, but this past weekend was Conference weekend for Mormons. It's semi-annual and all the apostles and prophet speak and address the members of the church (watch online, via satellite, etc.)....

Anyway, they always have the congregation sustain the leadership of the church (they raise their hands) and oppose if any, and for the first time in like 35 years there was a group of people showing opposition. I don't know what this sounds like to an outsider, but it was a pretty big deal. It wasn't just one person, it was a significant group, and you can't get into the event without being a member in good standing.
 
#156
#156
n_huffhines said:
Kind of interesting, but this past weekend was Conference weekend for Mormons. It's semi-annual and all the apostles and prophet speak and address the members of the church (watch online, via satellite, etc.)....

Anyway, they always have the congregation sustain the leadership of the church (they raise their hands) and oppose if any, and for the first time in like 35 years there was a group of people showing opposition. I don't know what this sounds like to an outsider, but it was a pretty big deal. It wasn't just one person, it was a significant group, and you can't get into the event without being a member in good standing.
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What specifics were they opposing?
 
#158
#158
Septic said:
This is what has always fascinated me about the different flavors or Christianity or even other Abrahamic religions. Same god, but people tend to migrate to the ones that better aligns with their personal beliefs.

I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling the way you do - it just strikes me as odd that throngs of people choose to follow the version of god that is most like them. Each demanding that theirs is the right one.
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I just think of them as different pathways to connect with the Creative force.

The part about "one true God" is the part I have a problem with.
 
#165
#165
Mtntrout said:
They already get the magic underwear. Maybe they want more style options?
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Just so you're aware, this is akin to somebody coming in and posting about "zombie Jesus". Not sure if you're cool with that, but if you are one of the people who gets really butthurt when Christianity is mocked, you should think about it.
 
#166
#166
n_huffhines said:
Just so you're aware, this is akin to somebody coming in and posting about "zombie Jesus". Not sure if you're cool with that, but if you are one of the people who gets really butthurt when Christianity is mocked, you should think about it.
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Zombie Jesus is pretty offensive. He was clearly a lich.
 
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#170
#170
volinbham said:
I would think affiliation and church attendance are not the same thing.

One can be affiliated (e.g. consider themselves a Christian, Jew, etc) without being religious in actions (e.g. church attendance).

There's no doubt affiliation in general is declining but the strong majority of this country is still affiliated with a religion. About 80%. Atheist and Agnostic (the 2 categories of non-belief in a higher power) are still a very small minority (about 6%). The rest are floating somewhere in unaffiliated but not specific non-belief categories.
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Self-identification is a tricky thing. You see this all the time with politics (closet libertarians macerating as Republicans or conservatives, closet anarchists macerating as libertarians, etc.) and this board (LG claiming he was 'centrist' and 'open-minded' in the past election).

There are a lot of people who are agnostic, maybe even atheistic but can't bring themselves to self-identify as one even though having a conversation about such matters clearly reveals to others that they fall into such a camp.
 
#171
#171
Mtntrout said:
Zombie Jesus is pretty offensive. He was clearly a lich.
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Sin-Brains.jpg


Get a brain morans!
 
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#174
#174
VolsNSkinsFan said:
Religion | Gallup Historical Trends

70% said the were Protestant in the 1940s. Today it's in the 30s. "None" has gone from single digits to teens in the same time period. Catholicism has had growth during the same period

The loss is with Protestants, probably because of their inconsistent message
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As if diversity among Protestants is new.

The world is changing. Catholics tend to be more lax and less douchey. Theologically, they make more sense in that they have more wiggle room (non-literal reading of the Bible, purgatory, deeds, etc.). Their flexibility, immigrants being more likely to be Catholic rather than Protestant, and big families has helped them retain market share.
 
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