Why is the West losing Christians?

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Protestantism, Catholicism…

Typically Catholic countries like Ireland are plummeting.

But if the Christian Faith corresponds to human nature and fulfillment, why would they leave?

I’m not talking about specific factors like scandal, sexual abuse, lack of catechesis, “Vatican II,” etc. I just mean more generally: If Christianity corresponds to the fulfillment of the human heart, why would anyone leave?

Where are they finding their transcendent purpose being fulfilled instead?
 
Well, they’re losing people due to the growing preeminence of materialist and deterministic secular paradigms.

But I don’t think those are fulfilling their need for transcendent purpose, as mental problems being on the rise may evidence.

Aboriginal humanity wasn’t atheistic. At least, nowhere I can find.
 
Claims subject to the scientific method.

You can’t recreate miracles in a lab, but you can recreate natural phenomena (for the most part).

What can be recreated and demonstrated is thus more real and rational than the supernatural on the whole - including religion.
 
People in the Western world live easy, secure lives. They simply don’t need God anymore. The Almighty is a complete drag, stopping all their fun and distracting them from their phones and TV. They don’t have need for a transcendent purpose. All they need is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest. Every need is fulfilled there.
 
People tend to think about God when life goes bad, everyone’s suffering, dying, running for their lives, scavenging for food and losing all their comfortable worldly goods. Or when the government tells you that you’re not allowed to practice religion any more, all of a sudden it looks so much more attractive.

Most of the 20th century involved two devastating wars and the serious threat of nuclear annihilation. A lot of people suffered or died and God was on people’s minds more as they went through that, probably because they figured they or their loved ones might be meeting him any minute.

People with secure lives full of creature comforts figure they don’t need God and as BoomerangToo said he’s no fun. Especially when he tells them to not have easy sex and that they have to go to church on Sunday.
 
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I believe we are experiencing the Great Apostasy that is mentioned in Sacred Scripture. St. John Paul II acknowledged this ‘silent apostasy’ in his post-synodal exhortation Ecclesia in Europa. In response to this unprecedented falling away, the Saintly Pope called for a New Evangelisation of the once Christian lands. He also encouraged the Faithful to entrust themselves to Mary, the Mother of God.

We have been living in the Marian age since the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception. This age is marked by many Marian visitations - the most famous being Lourdes and Fátima. During her apparitions, the Blessed Virgin called us to repentance and prayer. Many people, myself included, believe these apparitions are occurring because we’re being prepared for the Second Coming. The Divine Mercy messages make this absolutely clear. Our Lord told Faustina that the Divine Mercy devotion was being established to prepare the world for the end; we were told that this is the final time of mercy before the day of Justice. St John Paul II evidently believed this to be the case and frequently referred to the Church in our time as the Church of the New Advent.
 
The promotion of perverse sexual activity. The promotion of “No-Fault” divorce. A mainstream media that offers death, killing, death, killing, scandal and sports and weather.

With the organized assault against the family, against marriage and relationships in general, stability is lost. All of this harms people.
 
But why would humans prefer all of this, if God made human nature to desire the Ultimate Good, which is God?

It seems that for anyone to prefer a lesser good to God, they must be ignorant. Right? Or else something is messed up with their very being or nature. Why else would someone choose something less attractive over the highest Good? If they do not think the highest Good, God, is good or attractive, then they must be ignorant Who God is. Right?
 
I concur. I find the promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism very perplexing. I can’t understand why the media is constantly pushing these behaviours. I’m beginning to think that the cause is diabolical. I think Satan is behind it.
 
I find the promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism very perplexing.
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No one is promoting it just 'cause.

If there weren’t homosexual persons or transgender persons to begin with, this wouldn’t be an issue — no matter what your view on these things might be.

Whether Satan is behind it or not, we should at least be charitable and realize that part of the reason people push for “these behaviors” is more to do with accepting different and marginalized communities. The human race is more diverse than we had once thought.
 
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When Jesus preached to the crowd, he told them his body and blood are the only way to get eternal life.

The crowd was like WTF this dude is nuts and all started to leave.

Even his own Apostles looked at him oddly and Jesus said “Are you leaving too?”

He wasn’t playing a numbers game.
 
RealisticCatholic said:
But why would humans prefer all of this, if God made human nature to desire the Ultimate Good, which is God?

It seems that for anyone to prefer a lesser good to God, they must be ignorant. Right? Or else something is messed up with their very being or nature. Why else would someone choose something less attractive over the highest Good? If they do not think the highest Good, God, is good or attractive, then they must be ignorant Who God is. Right?
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Many people aren’t properly taught about or introduced to God when they’re young. They grow up without having any sort of idea how to have a relationship with him.

Other people are properly taught about God, but it’s pretty easy to get distracted away from him, usually in small increments that eventually add up to something big, when you’re a grownup and having fun. A lot of young people, when faced with a choice about God vs. sex with their girlfriend/ boyfriend, will choose sex. They’ll figure God doesn’t care or that love is so wonderful, how could some stodgy old God be against it. Other people will look at Church scandals and decide the teachings must be wrong and proceed to come up with their own concept of God who they can hang out with under a tree somewhere and he never demands anything of them.

Having a relationship with God is hard work. Even those of us who at heart would really like to be near God tend to fall off the bandwagon. If we are lucky, we have a chance to get back on.
 
The most powerful religious is the one that’s not usually recognized as a religion. The powerful group and n control of mist government, media, and education is secular humanism

This not only attracts many directly, who give up their Christian faith, but is an unconscious influence on many in the churches.
 
RealisticCatholic said:
No one is promoting it just 'cause.
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It has been documented and admitted that homosexual activists used the media to change attitudes towards homosexuality. Michael Voris discusses this in his faith based investigation on homosexuality.

I think the apostasy is brought about by a moral revolt. People leave the Faith because they don’t want to follow the moral rules about sexuality.
 
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That is a big reason. When “adult bookstores” opened in the 1970s, offering something people could not get before - graphic porn - those behind it knew addictions would occur. The internet multiplied that. And by portraying people on TV who could not control their sexual urges, it added yet another wrong presentation about how people should live. The planned results?

Masturbation addicts
Sex addicts
Porn addicts

Celibate living? Are You Crazy? Is the message. This is slavery to the flesh. Not a good thing.
 
Most people don’t join or leave religions. Most people are born into one and die in it.

Lots of older Christians are dying. But at the other end people aren’t having such big families any more.

Some people who were raised nominal Christians have decided not to raise their own children Christian.

For people who never had Christianity in the first place it’s easy not to seek it. They can distract themselves with material things, get involved in political movements, follow philosophies like sartre about “just be yourself”, or make up their own kind of new age spirituality by stealing bits off eastern religions. None of this really satisfies, but it can get people through their 80 years
 
Recently, yes. It wasn’t until a few hundred years ago (19th century?) that homosexual persons were understood in terms of tendency and temperament, instead of just activity – which is what the bible is primarily concerned with (as is church teaching).
 
Yes, but these people do not have a singular motive. Call them ignorant if you want, but a lot of it is based on wanting to treat others fairly.

If you don’t believe me, ask any Christian who has changed his mind on same-sex issues because his or her child or friend has come out as gay.

It’s not all evil vs. good people.
 
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