Why are so many people indifferent about religion/afterlife?

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I have talked to so many people over the years, that do not seem to even think about whats going to happen after death, wonder about being judged for things they do here on earth, etc etc.

Not a day goes by that I do not worry about this, my mind keeps creating ‘scenarios’ for my afterlife…what will it be like, will I have a chance to defend myself, will I have my body or just be trapped in some black void, etc.

One of my friends says he has rarely even gave the topic much thought in his entire lifetime, When I asked him what his plans are when he comes face to face with God, he just says he hopes God lets him ‘sleep’ for eternity…how can someone be so indifferent about where they going after death and not even worry about such things?

Even if I was not the slightest bit religious, I tend to think this would still concern me, maybe its just me? LOL
 
I don’t know the answer but I think you are right I think a lot of people don’t think enough about death.
 
Because they’re spiritually blind. Another reason is that many people genuinely believe that they are good, even though Jesus said that God alone is good.
 
It’s simply because everyone seems to live in a Bubble ,
People don’t think of anything outside their bubble,
If an issue doesn’t affect them directly, then they don’t think about it,
Fortunately, people like you and I , and lots of others actually think outside the Bubble,
We see more than daylight, we see the majesty of Gods Creation , we feel something which cannot always be explained , we feel the warmth of the Sun, while others just see the sun
 
I have talked to some Evangelical’s, Fundamentalist, etc and since the know that they are going to Heaven and there is nothing that can take that away, why should they be worried?
 
mikekle said:
I have talked to so many people over the years, that do not seem to even think about whats going to happen after death, wonder about being judged for things they do here on earth, etc etc.

Not a day goes by that I do not worry about this, my mind keeps creating ‘scenarios’ for my afterlife…what will it be like, will I have a chance to defend myself, will I have my body or just be trapped in some black void, etc.

One of my friends says he has rarely even gave the topic much thought in his entire lifetime, When I asked him what his plans are when he comes face to face with God, he just says he hopes God lets him ‘sleep’ for eternity…how can someone be so indifferent about where they going after death and not even worry about such things?

Even if I was not the slightest bit religious, I tend to think this would still concern me, maybe its just me? LOL
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I do not see the point of worrying about the afterlife. Will worrying about the afterlife get you to heaven? If you worry, maybe go to confession or get a spiritual director. Always avail yourself of the sacraments of the Church. Pray a lot. You can start the Divine Mercy novena this coming Good Friday. Maybe even fast.

But worry? I do not see how this will be helpful or useful.
 
Some people just don’t think about it … my mother-in-law and father-in-law were both atheists … then my father-in-law passed away and now my mother-in-law prays all the time and thinks about the afterlife all the time … I guess it had to hit home before she could believe in a God.
 
Be aware of the state of your soul at all times…but don’t worry.
Padre Pio once famously said “Pray always and worry about nothing”.
For if we do as the Lord commands us…all will be well.

But I see what your point is…we have allowed ourselves to believe that God is someone “out there” indifferent, uncaring, and whatever happens… happens. 🤷

It’s sad, because those are not attributes of God at all.
Catechesis. It’s lacking and has been for a long time.
Even today, the children in formation are pretty unaware of the basic moral compass that most of us grew up with. And their parents seldom think it’s not nearly as important as soccer, competitive cheerleading, getting that Eagle Scout badge, and passing the SAT.

The test at the end of time is likely way harder. 😊
 
Some people just don’t want to look into it because “ignorance is bliss”

Personally, sometimes I wish I didn’t care too 🙂

I know people who don’t bother about religion because they don’t want to drastically change their ways
 
I think that changes as you age… I think about it all the time now that I am over sixty…
 
Because in the 1960’s the Church was infiltrated by people who insisted that we stop teaching.

The focus became more “touchy feely”.

We made banners with catchy slogans. And we flew the banners inside the church buildings.

But there was little or no teaching.

But there has been so much “competition” from other sources of ideas.

So people began to walk away in large numbers.

As a direct result of the demand for teaching … and for learning … Catholic Answers was started by Karl Keating.

As more and more people sent Karl requests for more tracts [which you can read on line at the Catholic Answers store], there were more and more requests for education. Karl began offering books for sale … and when he found the books were out of print, he began to arrange for the books to be reprinted.

Start here:

catholic.com/tract/about

Then Karl and his associates began to offer seminars.

My parish uses materials from Catholic Answers and people who branched out from Catholic Answers … people like Matt Pinto … Alan Schreck … Steve Weidenkopf … Edward Sri …

… Ascension Press …

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_apologetics
 
mikekle said:
Not a day goes by that I do not worry about this, my mind keeps creating ‘scenarios’ for my afterlife…what will it be like, will I have a chance to defend myself, will I have my body or just be trapped in some black void, etc.
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To me, it looks like you think about it too much. You are worried & are imagining things that probably won’t happen. You might want to pray for peace of mind.
 
Billy_Buescher said:
I have talked to some Evangelical’s, Fundamentalist, etc and since the know that they are going to Heaven and there is nothing that can take that away, why should they be worried?
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This error has crept into society. People say, “I don’t kill anyone, I don’t hurt anyone. If God is good, then there can’t be a hell,” etc.

It’s also the trap of material wealth… people with wealth and power and accustom to doing whatever they want, can’t imagine an existence where they still have that same freedom and power.
 
Consider, also, that the numbers of priests and religious have declined tremendously.

There are fewer priests and sisters and brothers.

Part of the decline has been the result of direct attacks on the Church.

Stalin deliberately planted more than one thousand agents to infiltrate and undermine the church … Read up on the testimony of Bella Dodd:

**Remember hat Bella Dodd said to to the U.S. Congessional investigation of her back in 1953 ?
Communist infiltration was so extensive that in the future “you will not recognize the Catholic Church,” Dodd also asserted that:
“In the 1930’s, we put eleven hundred men into the priesthood in order to destroy the Church from within.”
“Right now they are in the highest places, and they are working to bring about change in order that the Catholic Church will no longer be effective against Communism.”
Manning Johnson, a former Communist Party official and author of “Color, Communism and Common Sense” testified in 1953 to the House un-American Activities Committee regarding the infiltration of the Catholic Church:
“Once the tactic of infiltration of religious organizations was set by the Kremlin … the Communists discovered that the destruction of religion could proceed much faster through infiltration of the (Catholic) Church by Communists operating within the Church itself. The Communist leadership in the United States realized that the infiltration tactic in this country would have to adapt itself to American conditions (Europe also had its cells) and the religious make-up peculiar to this country. In the earliest stages it was determined that with only small forces available to them, it would be necessary to concentrate Communist agents in the seminaries. The practical conclusion drawn by the Red leaders was that these institutions would make it possible for a small Communist minority to influence the ideology of future clergymen in the paths conducive to Communist purposes This policy of infiltrating seminaries was successful beyond even our communist expectations.”
**

churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-willfully-blind

Consider people like Carl Rogers:

culturewars.com/CultureWars/1999/rogers.html

And … the difficulty with defending the Church … rapidly becomes intensely political.

For example:

ipost.christianpost.com/post/the-gay-agendas-planned-psychological-attack-on-straight-america

So, it’s much more than mere “indifferent-ism”.
 
Saint Alphonsus De Liguori said that we should be thinking about the afterlife quite often. After all, we are only here for a moment in the scheme of things. Should we not be concerned about where we spend eternity, during this speck of time we spend on Earth?

Christ talked about the afterlife frequently, that is not by accident. How could we as Catholic not think about the afterlife almost every day when we say the rosary, “pray for us sinners, now, and at the time of our death.”

“Saint Alphonsus was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871. One of the most widely read Catholic authors, Alphonsus Liguori is the patron saint of confessors.”

wikipedia.org
 
You should think about the afterlife throughout your whole life… but rather than worry about it, just try to get closer to Jesus & being like Him!
Frequent Confession & Communion will keep you on track!
 
Interesting book … on how Catholicism / Christianity / Western Civilization … goes … waxes and wanes in huge waves:

How the Irish saved civilization

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Irish_Saved_Civilization

And, then there are the evangelicals and fundamentalists.

Karl Keating first book, “Catholicism and fundamentalism” addressed this issue … as did his most recent book on Geocentrism.

patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2015/09/review-of-karl-keatings-the-new-geocentrists.html

kolbecenter.org/the-kolbe-center-responds-to-this-rock-and-karl-keating/
 
mikekle said:
I have talked to so many people over the years, that do not seem to even think about whats going to happen after death, wonder about being judged for things they do here on earth, etc etc.

Not a day goes by that I do not worry about this, my mind keeps creating ‘scenarios’ for my afterlife…what will it be like, will I have a chance to defend myself, will I have my body or just be trapped in some black void, etc.

One of my friends says he has rarely even gave the topic much thought in his entire lifetime, When I asked him what his plans are when he comes face to face with God, he just says he hopes God lets him ‘sleep’ for eternity…how can someone be so indifferent about where they going after death and not even worry about such things?

Even if I was not the slightest bit religious, I tend to think this would still concern me, maybe its just me? LOL
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Why worry? What was the suffering and death of Jesus all about?

It sounds healthy to me that people are more focused on their daily lives in the here and now if they are living it the best they can.:ballspin:
 
I have to say that I totally get where you’re coming from and what you’re describing. It’s the saddest thing sometimes to see. Often they’re good acquaintances that just outright don’t care about the next life, whether there is a God, and what it’s going to be like when we meet Him.

The most confusing are the people who do assent to the existence of God and even call themselves Christian, yet do absolutely nothing toward the salvation of their souls. I often want to look at them, head half-cocked and say “Don’t you realize this is all eventually going to come to an end? What are you doing right now to prepare yourself?” We’re here for one reason: to love God, nothing else matters.

The question of the afterlife is something we’re all going to have to confront in our lives. I remember Jimmy Akin said once that if we know God exists, and that we’re eventually going to meet Him, why not spend the time we have now building a relationship with Him?

Nobody spends their entire lives focused on themselves and then all of the sudden on their deathbed be sorry for it and start loving God. (I mean of course it happens, rarely, though I have to believe. And even at that, I would never want to take the chance.)
 
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