What do you think the reason is behind the decrease in people practicing religion

[catholictiger]

its actually be used as an argument against religion. Some Atheist say because fewer and fewer people are associated with religion it must not be true. This is obviously not the case, but we can’t deny that in industrialized countries fewer people consider themselves religious.

So my questions

What is the cause behind the decrease?

Will religion become a non factor in society in industrialized countries?

is this something we should be concerned about?

What should be done to fix this problem?

thanks for any answers.

 

[Soldier_Of_God]

It’s complicated but if I had to summarize the causes as succinctly as possible, it would be due to the rise of individualism and materialism.

As for your other questions, there will always be religious people but any significant decline is a cause for concern. What can be done? To evangelize, assert and practice your religious beliefs, balanced with tact, subtlety and enthusiasm.

 

[catholictiger]

It’s complicated but if I had to summarize the causes as succinctly as possible, it would be due to the rise of individualism and materialism.

that makes since, the atheist who make this argument say that when knowledge becomes more educated on things they leave religion.

 

[Soldier_Of_God]

that makes since, the atheist who make this argument say that when knowledge becomes more educated on things they leave religion.

In Eastern cultures there is a positive correlation with religion and education, meaning that educated people tend to practice a religious philosophy more so than uneducated people.

 

[catholictiger]

In Eastern cultures there is a positive correlation with religion and education, meaning that educated people tend to practice a religious philosophy more so than uneducated people.

do you have a source for this?

 

[Soldier_Of_God]

do you have a source for this?

As a for instance, “The Truth Behind The New Atheism” by David Marshall, page 41. You can also read “God Is Back” by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge for more detailed information.

 

[puzzleannie]

same thing that is behind the sin of our first parents – against the first commandment, people have been, since the human race first appeared on the planet, refusing to do God’s will and setting themselves up as gods and godettes.

 

[St_Francis]

I would say a huge aspect is that our lives are safer and more comfortable. We don’t seem to need God…

 

[GRATEFULONEjim]

The Liberal ideology that is being taught in our Public Schools and Universities along with the Main Stream Media are big reasons behind the attack on the Catholic Church. The Church stands in the way of their sweeping fundamental changes that they so often like to speak about. Religion, mainly Catholicism, is ridiculed and portrayed as the antithesis of objective thinking. They teach that knowledge and logic disproves the existence of God. The funny thing is Christians and other religious support this teaching by sending their children to these morally relativistic centers of indoctrination. Supporting them with tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition money. We need to cut off the money. Hold our Public Schools to higher standards and have religion become a discussion in history class like it is in many states.( Yes, it is legal in some states). Parents need to take the catechesis of their children seriously. Put it ahead of sports and school activities to instill its importance in the minds of our youth. It is up to us to reverse this situation on our own individual levels.Parents need to be great examples of faith. When children see that their parents take something seriously, and hold it in high regard, they are much more likely to place an emphasis on it in their lives too.

 

[catholictiger]

The Liberal ideology that is being taught in our Public Schools and Universities along with the Main Stream Media are big reasons behind the attack on the Catholic Church.

I think you could add the secular ideas that alot of the times go with these liberal ideas. Many of these liberals like to go full strength against any religious ideas.

The Church stands in the way of their sweeping fundamental changes that they so often like to speak about. Religion, mainly Catholicism, is ridiculed and portrayed as the antithesis of objective thinking. They teach that knowledge and logic disproves the existence of God.

not at all and I’m sure this has been discussed many times on this board.

The funny thing is Christians and other religious support this teaching by sending their children to these morally relativistic centers of indoctrination. Supporting them with tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition money.

another unfortunatly it seems like these liberal ideas these liberal teaching are starting to leak into the Catholic Schools, and alot worse int he Universities. In my part of the country. The flagship university is alot more Catholic then the Jesuit university. It needs to change.

We need to cut off the money. Hold our Public Schools to higher standards and have religion become a discussion in history class like it is in many states.( Yes, it is legal in some states).

I also think schools should start teaching more philosophy in the High schools. Philosophy is an important subject, and religion is very much a part of it. But atheist seem to want to shoot down all instances of religion being taught in school. Its separation of Church and state blah blah blah.

Parents need to take the catechesis of their children seriously. Put it ahead of sports and school activities to instill its importance in the minds of our youth

.

If I am to have kids I would seriously consider homeschooling them, if the situation allowed it I would home school my kids. Its the best way to bring up your kids to live a faithful Catholic life. (but I may never have to make the decision I will be joining seminary next year )

It is up to us to reverse this situation on our own individual levels.Parents need to be great examples of faith. When children see that their parents take something seriously, and hold it in high regard, they are much more likely to place an emphasis on it in their lives too.

yeah I’m pretty sure that in JPII theology of the Body, the problems of society the change we want to bring in society start at the family level. The Family is the base of society, everyone is influence by the family. So when things go downhill in society you can back track it the family. You can change the problems through family. So it is up to Catholics to have many Children and raise them all as good faithful Catholics

 

[MarcoPolo]

Because the devil has worked very hard at advancing man toward this position:Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn’t think of doctrines as primarily ‘true’ or ‘false’, but as ‘academic’ or ‘practical’, ‘outworn’ or ‘contemporary’, ‘conventional’ or ‘ruthless’. Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church.
-Screwtape, The Screwtape Letters, p. 1

 

[catholictiger]

Because the devil has worked very hard at advancing man toward this position:Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn’t think of doctrines as primarily ‘true’ or ‘false’, but as ‘academic’ or ‘practical’, ‘outworn’ or ‘contemporary’, ‘conventional’ or ‘ruthless’. Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church.
-Screwtape, The Screwtape Letters, p. 1

I love that book, and I think its completely spot on, there are atheist probably a good bit who believe in the relative truth or something, but pretty much each person believes their own truth instead of there being one universal truth.

 

[Ignatius]

So my questions

What is the cause behind the decrease?

That is a false urban legend not supported by the facts. People of Faith are growing at a faster rate than the population at large. Actually, this goes way back to the 1800’s when prominent atheists predicted that religion would all but disappear by 1900 or so. Then continue to make the same statements, just changing the date. Very dishonest.

 

[Mortification]

its actually be used as an argument against religion. Some Atheist say because fewer and fewer people are associated with religion it must not be true. This is obviously not the case, but we can’t deny that in industrialized countries fewer people consider themselves religious.

So my questions

What is the cause behind the decrease?

Will religion become a non factor in society in industrialized countries?

is this something we should be concerned about?

What should be done to fix this problem?

thanks for any answers.

IMO and from observation, our society is becoming more and more desensitized. We have pop singers and groups that write “club music” or “party music”, which supports and promotes all kinds of immoral acts along with all the reality shows that do the same. This may not seem like a big problem initially, but with the target audience of this music being young people who already think with their hormones, they are being pushed and patted on the back for their immoral acts. It’s also “conditioning” our society to accept and see these types of behaviors as ‘the norm’ since they’re becoming more and more accustomed to seeing and hearing about these topics and ideas on a daily basis, from all avenues.

With the rise of the internet, it is very easy to gain access to this music, and with social networking running rampant, it’s very easy for like-minded individuals (whether it initially be like-mindedness of hobby or views), these people can congregate in cyberspace and validate and support each others’ actions, whereas they would feel less inclined to act out on their behaviors alone. Strength in numbers.

And I’m not blaming music or television alone. That’s more of a precursor and conditioning tool being used to corrupt and influence peoples’ minds. People who aren’t strong in their faith or idealogy to begin with, end up making forms of entertainment their way of life and philosophy, further continuing this cycle. They become less and less interested in important topics and more and more comforted in entertainment (i.e their new “gods”) without them even knowing it sometimes.

The more people become desensitized and see more drastic things as neutral or no big deal, the more the path for evil is becoming paved.

 

[catholictiger]

That is a false urban legend not supported by the facts. People of Faith are growing at a faster rate than the population at large. Actually, this goes way back to the 1800’s when prominent atheists predicted that religion would all but disappear by 1900 or so. Then continue to make the same statements, just changing the date. Very dishonest.

so you disagree with this data

pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among-the-Millennials.aspx

numbers may be increasing but percentages are decreasing. According to this study.

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Hello catholictiger,

I was brought up as a Catholic, but from around 13-17 I was a non-believer. For several reasons, I came back to the Church because I believe I was called by God; if my deductions are correct, God was quite angry at me being away for so long.

Anyways, the reason why I became a non-believer was not because of “the devil” or wanting to seek immoral ways, but for the simple fact that I didn’t understand what religion was about. Every week I came to Mass, sang a few songs, received the Eucharist, shook people’s hands, and then went home. It seemed like a big chore. And because it seemed like a chore, I stopped attending so as to be efficient. I never understood, let alone acknowledged, who the Blessed Virgin Mary was. I never really knew what the Eucharist was. There were many things that I didn’t understand at all.

Not everyone who is a non-believer is a non-believer because they want to be immoral, let’s get that out of the way first. I’ve spoken to several non-believers here and they retort Catholicism with statements that are so easily rebutted. I think one bishop was correct when he said, “People don’t hate the Catholic Church. Rather, they hate what they think is the Catholic Church”. Unfortunately, there is a lot of what we economists call “asymmetric information” concerning our religion. And when people such as Richard Dawkins come to the spotlight as this sagacious old man who is going to bring about an intellectual revolution within society, it doesn’t help.

My advice would be prayer, and for you to understand your religion well, so that when a non-believer asks you the standard question, you know how to respond. There are many misguided folks out there…he might even be sitting next to you in the pew.

 

[Ignatius]

so you disagree with this data

pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among-the-Millennials.aspx

numbers may be increasing but percentages are decreasing. According to this study.

Here are the actual numbers from 1990-2001 and the estimate for 2004 from Adherents.com (it dosn’t cut and paste very well)

**----------------------------1990 … 2001 … **2004 Est. …---- % Change '90-'01
Christian Believers 124,503,000 133,823,000 188,863,490 … 188%

The Pew study selected a slice up the population which may not reflect the population in general. It also may not be accurate over time as peoples attitudes change over time. If you look at the attitudes of young people for the period of the 1960’s you might have believed that there would be almost no believers left within the next 20 years, as many pundits predicted. That trend did continue for a couple of decades, but slowed eventually reversed, as you can see form the Pew study. It’s always a wise approach to look at past trends, predictions based on those trends, and how they actually turned out.

 

[catholictiger]

Here are the actual numbers from 1990-2001 and the estimate for 2004 from Adherents.com (it dosn’t cut and paste very well)

**----------------------------1990 … 2001 … **2004 Est. …---- % Change '90-'01
Christian Believers 124,503,000 133,823,000 188,863,490 … 188%

The Pew study selected a very specific slice of the population which may not reflect the population in general. It also may not be accurate over time as peoples attitudes change over time. If you look at the attitudes of young people for the period of the 1960’s you might have believed that there would be almost no believers left within the next 20 years, as many pundits predicted. That trend did continue for a couple of decades, but slowed eventually reversed. It’s always a wise approach to look at past trends, predictions based on those trends, and how they actually turned out.

not saying I disagree with you but to play some devils advocate.

the study is dealing with the percentage of the total population. they study I’m sure argues that in the united states, while there are more Christians their growth rate could be outpaced by the non religious. So While your data shows that Christian beleivers are increasing in this country, the Amount of non religious is out pacing them by alot.

Thing about it this way

lets say you have a society 9 people are religious and 1 person in non religious.

90 people later. There are 80 religious people and 20 non religious this shows that while there are alot more religious people 71 more people vs 19 the percentage growth is alot higher in the non religious then the religious.

Then again lets say this population grows by 900 people. Religious people now are 70% and non religious 300 people. Again More religious people then non religious and their numbers are growing. But they decreased by 10% and non religious increased by 10%.

by looking at the study this is what is happening in this country. While non religious are far less then religious and religious are growing in numbers. The rate of new non religious people is alot higher then the rate of religious people.

according to the study 26% of young people do not associate themselves with religion. That is a major problem, and something has to be behind it.

 

[wisdomseeker]

its actually be used as an argument against religion. Some Atheist say because fewer and fewer people are associated with religion it must not be true. This is obviously not the case, but we can’t deny that in industrialized countries fewer people consider themselves religious.

So my questions

What is the cause behind the decrease?

Will religion become a non factor in society in industrialized countries?

is this something we should be concerned about?

What should be done to fix this problem?

thanks for any answers.

My two cents. Since the CC is no longer ther main teacher of man, the belief in God is put on the back burn. Liberation from the CC is the main factor why man is no longer interested in God. Instead they go after things of this world. Money and possessions dictates how one should believe. Separation of state and Church is another since it places government free from God’s law. Government has great influence on how a nation is going about the faith and since they are free, they follow not God’s law but provides for desires of man’s flesh and this is very dangerous for Catholics since we live among them and have great tendency to obey governments. Separation of state and Church, it does just that, it makes govenrment against the Church and God, and vice versa.

 

[Ignatius]

not saying I disagree with you but to play some devils advocate.

the study is dealing with the percentage of the total population. they study I’m sure argues that in the united states, while there are more Christians their growth rate could be outpaced by the non religious. So While your data shows that Christian beleivers are increasing in this country, the Amount of non religious is out pacing them by alot.

Thing about it this way

lets say you have a society 9 people are religious and 1 person in non religious.

90 people later. There are 80 religious people and 20 non religious this shows that while there are alot more religious people 71 more people vs 19 the percentage growth is alot higher in the non religious then the religious.

Then again lets say this population grows by 900 people. Religious people now are 70% and non religious 300 people. Again More religious people then non religious and their numbers are growing. But they decreased by 10% and non religious increased by 10%.

by looking at the study this is what is happening in this country. While non religious are far less then religious and religious are growing in numbers. The rate of new non religious people is alot higher then the rate of religious people.

according to the study 26% of young people do not associate themselves with religion. That is a major problem, and something has to be behind it.

Same thing happened in the '60’s. This kind of thing takes scores of years to determine the real outcome. Also, let’s remember that even though Europe and North America may be slipping back into paganism (there have been several periods of conversation, falling away and reconversion in Europe over the last couple of millennia), The Faith is growing in Asia and Africa. Our great, great grandchildren may see the reconversion of America by African or Asian Jesuits.