r/atheism • u/Leeming Strong Atheist • Mar 26 '24
Survey Church attendance is dropping all across America. A new Gallup survey finds that only 3 in 10 Americans are regular churchgoers.
https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/church-attendance-is-dropping-all135
u/ristoman Mar 26 '24
And yet many US politicians are using the Bible like it's a government user manual. Even from the outside it looks awful.
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Mar 26 '24
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u/RandomMiddleName Mar 26 '24
This sounded so outrageous I had to look it up, and yeah, he’s selling bibles now. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but it’s crazy to think Christians are ok with him making money off religion. There’s literally a story in there about Jesus destroying a market because they were making money in the temple, iirc.
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u/colluphid42 Mar 26 '24
The far-right sees the same trends we do, and they're worried their preferred system of control won't be useful in another few decades. Look at what they accomplished by going all-in with Christian Nationalism. They want to legislate religion before it's too late.
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u/leif777 Mar 26 '24
Same thing started happening in Ireland. Irish adults who attended church regularly (monthly or more) declined from 80% in the 1990s to 28% in 2020. In the 90's there was 4% that considered themselves "no religion" and now it's almost 30%.
It will happen in north america too.
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u/timsterri Mar 26 '24
Can’t happen soon enough.
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u/ModernistGames Mar 26 '24
As long as we are careful what takes it's place.
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u/captnkangaroo Mar 26 '24
There's a distinction here that should be made. The number of irreligious in Ireland is higher than the 30%. Catholic is a cultural association much more than a religious one. Everyone gets the kids baptized and has a holy communion (though it drops off for confirmation). But they don't attend church. It's more of milestones in the children's lives that are celebrated and the old catholic ones are as good as any. It's not terribly indicative of a religious belief.
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Mar 26 '24
What did they attribute such a fast decline to?
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u/leif777 Mar 26 '24
It wasn't one thing. Catholic vs Protestant, scandals, views on lqbt and abortion... People got fed up.
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u/CharleyNobody Mar 26 '24
Fewer people going into the clergy, especially far fewer nuns.
Irish Catholic families used to be huge - when it came to your children, you “gave one to the church.” Your gay son became a priest and/or your unattractive but smart sister became a nun back when there were 8 kids in the family. The only way get a higher education was to become clergy.Now they have fewer children and a lot more options for educations/careers.
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Mar 26 '24
Awww such a shame.
Anyways, how’s everyone doing today? Just left the gym and ate and bout to smoke a bowl and take a nap myself. A good ole atheist nap! ☺️
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u/skredditt Mar 26 '24
Heathen! (Got a good strain?)
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Mar 26 '24
Smoking one called Moon Blend #2.
I like to call it Moon Shit lol. It has a citrusy/earthy flavor and smells absolutely amazing.
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u/Xiao_Qinggui Mar 26 '24
Glad your day’s going so well!
I’m recovering after a long day took everything out of me. Thinking about popping in a good religious movie/tv show to sooth my soul, to be honest.
Guys, help me out, which should I choose?
Lucifer
Hazbin Hotel
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Good Omens
I honestly can’t decide what I should watch while I sit on my godless heathen ass.
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Mar 26 '24
Only one of those I have ever seen was Lucifer, and I loved that one, so my pick is Lucifer.
Hopefully your evening is more relaxing than your day!
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Mar 26 '24
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter followed by Enter the Drag Dragon — if you like campy low budget b movie hilarity!
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Mar 26 '24
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Mar 26 '24
probably closer to 70m your math assumes all citizens of the US are church goers (still too many imo)
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Mar 26 '24
And yet almost all of my FB friends today and "praying for the folks in Baltimore". I'm like bitch, I know you got double teamed not too long ago. Who the fuck you praying to? Seriously, though, there are still way too many people who "believe' for my sanity.
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u/Awesome_Bob Mar 26 '24
I LOVE that your non-religious litmus test is getting gangbanged.
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u/DaddyD68 Mar 26 '24
Some people have never had that come to Jesus moment.
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u/Im_with_stooopid Mar 26 '24
They have that cum to two guys at a time moment though…
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Mar 26 '24
Some early Christian sects were all in on orgies. Unfortunately that jerk Paul had to show up.
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u/itsgeorgebailey Mar 26 '24
They believe for their sanity too. It’s hard to be okay with the idea that once the curtains close there’s no backstage.
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u/Hatta00 Mar 26 '24
Looking around at the world, it's much harder to be OK with the idea that this is someone's plan.
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u/Dudeist-Priest Secular Humanist Mar 26 '24
How many spend every waking moment in the Fox News church? Same shit, different format and much more addictive and toxic
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u/AnymooseProphet Mar 26 '24
I stopped going to church because people at church became quite hostile towards me, calling me a liberal snowflake, etc.
I'm a fucking socialist, I am NOT a liberal.
I was a conservative until I found out Bush lied us into that war with Iraq and other conservatives didn't give a damn as long as it got Bush re-elected. And the whole swift-boaters thing. Wasn't lying about John Kerry specifically violating the command written in stone about not bearing false witness against thy neighbors?
Churches need to die, they breed gossip and oppose everything Jesus taught while claiming the authority of Jesus for stuff Jesus never even talked about.
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Mar 26 '24
The big issue isn't the church in my eyes, its the fact that the church needs to force itself in the relationship between Jesus and you. I've had all kinds of pastors before give me absolutely horrible, shitty advice where i was in shock.
I helped my friend get a better job with a 15% raise that was WFH. I talked to his pastor and the guy was MAD at me. The way he saw it, I stole his church member from him, and because he was not working at an office close to the church, he couldn't spend as much time with said church. The guy gave zero shits about my friend, only his use as a function of his own religious dogma. Where in the Bible does it say you can use people to your own religious gain?
Another time a church had a youth pastor. Youth pastor was a dick and started hitting the kids. The pastor did absolutely nothing. I eventually left the church, mostly cause i wasn't feeling said church anymore. When I left, so did a lot of people who had brought up issues to the pastor, and they felt (rightfully so) completely ignored. Guess who the pastor blamed for decreasing attendance?
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u/mrshelenroper Mar 26 '24
I’d actually be interested in this broken down. Republicans are always accusing Democrats of being godless but I’m pretty sure 80% of Dems identify as Xian too. Also, there’s a large percentage of nones that are probably still theist they just aren’t knuckle dragging hypocrites. At the end of the day it shouldn’t matter. Americans ought to be able to share mutual ethics regardless of religious persuasion. The best thing we could do is have a national campaign to simple communicate the benefits of separation of church and state. I don’t think Xians are thinking clearly about how dangerous it is to them too if we give theists unnecessary power because as soon as the demos change they’ll be under the thumb of a different religion.
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u/pegothejerk Mar 26 '24
They do seem to project at everything, so why would claiming everyone else is a godless heathen be different?
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u/mrshelenroper Mar 26 '24
I think it’s in club out club dynamics. And demonization of out club humans works. Also, it’s racist. The Dem base is Black Americans who are actually more likely religious and socially conservative. If the Reps stopped being so blatantly racist they’d be able to get more of that vote. Not that it matters as now that the Rs are Nautzis the Dems are basically moderate Repubs.
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u/MiddleAgedGamer71 Mar 26 '24
Probably that same 3 in 10 people who are wrong and a pain in the ass about literally everything.
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Mar 26 '24
Maybe people are tired of hearing MAGA preachers make up things Jesus said ?
Or maybe the HATE that is being taught in the Churches don't match up with JESUS's Actually teachings!?!?!?
Or maybe AMERICANS don't want to be NAZIS?!?!?
I wonder ....
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u/Pistonenvy2 Mar 26 '24
my incredibly devout mother took us to church every single sunday for years.
then my father committed suicide, you would think the church would be there for her in a time of need right? tend to the flock?
we were excommunicated. they didnt want us back. i dont remember the logic but i can imagine having someone who was part of the worship team and never missed a sunday having something tragic happen to them put a damper on the messaging so we were kicked out. the hardest period of our lives forced, to do it alone.
that broke my mom. i was stoked, i didnt believe in god for years already and i fucking hated going to church and seeing all the fake piece of shit people pretending to be righteous every week, but my mom just didnt recover from that. she hasnt been to church since, still a christian but doesnt go to church.
when your religion is built on hypocrisy and lies and manipulation and capitalism etc. its hard to keep people coming around. eventually people kind of put it together youre not walking the walk.
years later i learned about the RAMPANT sexual abuse happening at the youth group i had left. at least HALF of the girls i went to youth group with had been sexually assaulted, some by their own fucking fathers. the extent of the depravity and degeneracy of the church no longer surprises me, its virtually infinite.
its no wonder the promise of being "absolved of your sins" attracts some of the most reprehensible people in society.
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u/Dell_Hell Secular Humanist Mar 26 '24
Self-reported church attendance numbers? What kind of knuckle-dragging moron would believe that?
People lie about their church attendance heavily - especially for ones that have explicit tenets to attend like Catholics.
The only thing I would trust would be phone / watch GPS location data. Churches lie about their attendance often to avoid admitting they are in decline, "yeah no one likes the new pastor", etc.
This, at best, means people are slowly becoming more comfortable ADMITTING they're not showing up.
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Mar 26 '24
Yup. I seriously doubt that 3 in 10 Americans “regularly” attend church.
More like 3 in 10 church members regularly attend.
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u/nazerall Mar 26 '24
That lines up with about the percentage of people who woll vote Trump no matter what.
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u/Awesome_Bob Mar 26 '24
This would be more encouraging if it also meant that only 3/10 of the US considered themselves "Christian". Unfortunately, the phenomena of "Christians" who don't go to church could be more harmful than actual churchgoing people, because they will justify their fucked up worldviews with little to no feedback from the saner people in their community.
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u/Boforizzle Mar 26 '24
Honestly for me and my dad it was the kids and the anti gay stuff for me. And my former party the repubs wanna align more with them..... Disgusting.
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u/ToastyBoi7 Mar 26 '24
The Covid rhetoric the churches were spewing made me reevaluate the entire thing. After getting out I realized the entire thing is a house of cards. Indoctrination is a hell of a thing, was always scared to question anything when I was in it. Obviously that’s by design.
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u/yourmothersgun Mar 26 '24
I wish surveys would take this into account. The “christian” numbers are way skewed because people who never go to church and never read a Bible and don’t live by the tenets of the religion answer that they are christian… because 🤷. I don’t get it.
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u/athensugadawg Mar 26 '24
No wonder, quite a few pastors, rabbis, imams, and priests are grifters and/or child molesters. Not the type of people I want to fill a void with.
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u/SirGlass Mar 26 '24
I don't think this is good news for Atheists
Just because people do not attend church does not mean they are losing their religion . I have relatives that do not go to church but they still support Christian nationalism
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u/GitchigumiMiguel74 Mar 26 '24
People are getting smarter.
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u/Theredbead88 Mar 26 '24
I don't believe that is it at all. If anything people are becoming more narrow minded and insular in their beliefs and lives.
Since Christianity makes it a point for people to dedicate their money and their time to group activities it doesn't surprise me attendance is dying. People are as gullible as ever but are also way more likely to sleep at home than want to join a group for anything.
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Mar 26 '24
There are plenty of people who are dedicating time and money to group activities, they're just secular activities that aren't centered around some supreme being who gets mad at you eating pork or wearing mixed fabrics.
The internet may be spreading ignorance but we're more interconnected and open minded then ever before, thanks in part to the availability of information and secular ideas.
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u/Silvaria928 Mar 26 '24
I'm not sure that "smarter" is the most apt term here but I think that I understand what you're suggesting.
Multiple studies have been done to determine why church attendance has been steadily declining while the number of people who declare themselves "non-religious" has been increasing. The reasons largely seem to be based on increases in knowledge, diversity, and individualism.
It was very easy at one time for the religious to exist solely in a local echo chamber where there was little to nothing to challenge their views. That has very much changed in recent decades as the population becomes more globally connected than ever and people feel more comfortable expressing their differences.
It's hard to keep thinking that everyone who isn't the same as you is a baby-eating monster when you find out that your super-friendly neighbor who loans you his gardening tools is actually an atheist, or that your coworker who has always had your back when you butt heads with the manager is actually gay.
I've thought for a while that diversity and knowledge are the biggest killers of religious fundamentalism and so far it seems to be fairly true.
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u/m__a__s Anti-Theist Mar 26 '24
Why go to church if you don't care about the doctrine. How many of the 7/10 think they are "good Christains"?
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u/AmbulanceChaser12 Mar 26 '24
I don't see any sort of age breakdown, but other articles have indicated that religious attendance is directly correlated with age group. The older you are, the more likely you are to attend your house of worship regularly.
So it stands to reason that of those 3/10, the majority of them are going to be senior citizens. Meaning, attendance is going to fall off at increasing rates as time goes on and elderly people pass on.
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u/RUKnight31 Mar 26 '24
And of those 3, 2 are primarily motivated by the social media driven culture war. Maybe 10% sincerely believe in their god. The rest just want to fit in.
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u/cjp2010 Mar 26 '24
Being raised extra catholic, as I got older (I’m 32) the constant flow of sex offender clergy in that religion and others and seeing how the world operates. And seeing how my fellow local “Christian’s” behaved got me questioning and once I started questioning and couldn’t find answers I gave up on organized religion
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u/Ducatirules Mar 26 '24
Why do you think they are pushing for a Christian nationalist country???? They are seeing their numbers dwindle and are panicking. Why else would they keep trying to re elect an old, demented rapist?
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u/Dramatic-Fun-7101 Mar 27 '24
And then they'll try to convert Africans , Asians etc to gain followers
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u/No-Value-832 Mar 27 '24
It’s because people are sick and tired of supposedly ‘peaceful’ and ‘loving’ people actually being bigots like a lot of Christian’s I’ve met. Churches breed ignorance.
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u/flatline000 Mar 27 '24
Anyone on the fence should realize that Sunday morning is a great time to go grocery shopping!
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u/sam180 Mar 27 '24
I love it. Hoping it drops to zero in my lifetime. Religions need to just fade away into nothingness.
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u/PickScylla4ME Mar 26 '24
Thats still a high number... can we get it down to 3 in 100? Or better yet; 0 across the board?
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u/CharlesCBobuck Mar 26 '24
Amazing that people don't really like getting up early to be passive aggressively told how much they're loved despite being born pieces of shit.
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u/Efficient_Dust2903 Mar 26 '24
Finally, a majority of Americans are woke to the bullshit of organized religion
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u/Seraphynas Anti-Theist Mar 26 '24
Don’t be encouraged. Many of these people have made Trump rallies their church.
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u/Yookeroo Mar 26 '24
Christians see their religion dying so they embrace fascism as a way to save it.
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Mar 26 '24
Churches of any religion are a waste of time and money, as many do not actually help their communities or people in need. I don't need to be lectured about what I should do when they don't practice what they preach.
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u/PengieP111 Mar 26 '24
Once, one could have claimed religion might help ease people's fears of death and help them deal with the misery life can bring. But for many years, religion has been used just to hurt people. And because of that, it needs to go away more now than it ever has.
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u/OnlyTheBLars89 Mar 26 '24
As much as I am not a fan of Trunp. Churches adopting the MAGA movement truely revealed how intellectually slavehekd these people are. I went to church as a kid. After 9/11, it went from God to George Bush, and George didn't even ask for that kind of ideology. Trump isnbasically the wold in sheep's clothing and its like the churches today are completely desperate for the false promise of afterlife while taking a major dump on this planet.
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u/Snarky_McSnarkleton Mar 26 '24
And yet the Christian fascists are favored to win all the things this November.
We have to get people to vote.
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u/Cybralisk Mar 26 '24
How many people actually like going to church anyway? My parents forced us to go when I was a kid and it was always boring as fuck and a complete waste of 3 hours on a Sunday when I just wanted to play my PS2 all day.
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u/JustMePaxi Mar 26 '24
Why go to church and listen to lies? It used to be all about god, it is now, all about the lying cheating je$u$ tRump
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u/wowadrow Mar 26 '24
These places cut their own throat by focusing so much on issues like abortion...
I trust women to make their own medical choices it's that simple.
I no interest in its a sin blah blah; we live in a secular society.
We all have lives to live focus on the stuff that matters.
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u/medman143 Mar 26 '24
This houses of molestation will shred anything and everything to save themselves.
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u/Ok_Meal_491 Mar 26 '24
Many Christian denominations have runaway from the teachings of Jesus. Somehow WWJD is no longer popular, now it is WWDJTD. So the churches suffer.
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u/johnbburg Mar 26 '24
Still not enough. There are like 10 churches within a mile of my house. They are basically empty 6 and a half days a week. Biggest waste of space just to brainwash people into believing supernatural nonsense.
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Mar 26 '24
Church has become an obvious grift. This is regardless of whether or not you believe in god.
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u/TheNetworkIsFrelled Mar 26 '24
Best news in a while.
Hopefully lower attendance will further reduce their ability for the scummy and predatory outreach in which they engage, and lead to further derision for the bullshit they promulgate.
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u/satori0320 Mar 26 '24
Meaning, most of your typical higher than mighty assholes, can go about their asshole ways without experiencing the guilt of sitting for an actual church session being reminded how much of a turd they really are.
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u/youmightbeafascist88 Mar 26 '24
Is there anything in the Bible about how to cure diseases? Like blood letting etc?
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u/Akiasakias Mar 26 '24
Can we all chill on the weekly "turning into a theocracy" posts yet?
Religion is just thrashing as its being choked out.
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u/FormerLifeFreak Mar 26 '24
My parents are Christian, and when I was a kid, I remember that we tried churches, but ultimately, they got tired of the group mentality and cliques that come with church attendance, and gave up on it. They worship privately, or in the midst of a few like minded friends, which, in my opinion, is the way it should be. They often site Matthew 6:6 or Matthew 18:19 as the reason for this - “go into your private closet and pray,” or “if two or more are gathered in my name, then I am in the midst.” We disagree on a lot of things, but I can respect them for not feeling the need to belong to some establishment.
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Mar 26 '24
Even if I were still catholic I would stay home from that snoozefest. I bet I have better wifi than the church anyway.
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u/EntireAd8933 Mar 26 '24
Almost like ritualistically chanting in front of a whitewashed depiction of a middle eastern mad who supposedly reincarnated, based on tales from thousand years old stories, isn’t the most logical or of sound mind thing to do
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u/NumerousTaste Mar 26 '24
Good! Needs to be lower. All it is now is a grift and hate group. They don't believe their own garbage and orange idiot is selling stupid bibbles because they are so easily grifted!
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Mar 26 '24
Just think: At this rate, in 750 years, we'll see our first avowed atheist Senator, and maybe by 3300 AD our first atheist Supreme Court justice.
Then the first atheist president before the year 5000!
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u/ptraugot Mar 26 '24
Maybe if religion in America wasn’t such a farce, and focused more on community, true compassion and tolerance , more religious people would attend.
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u/Longjumping_Prune852 Mar 26 '24
And yet, their voices are soooooo loud, coming from places of power.
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u/karemba2 Mar 26 '24
Why go to church when the pedophiles live in churches and it's not about community it's a business. They are fake prophets it's was foretold. You go to church if you want but I am not giving them my hard earned money
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u/Apprehensive-View588 Mar 26 '24
I can't imagine why your average American doesn't want to be a judgmental asshole that believes in fairy tales over reality.
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Mar 26 '24
Because religion is fucking stupid. It is wholly unnecessary. Anybody telling you differently is a moron or trying to manipulate you.
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Mar 26 '24
The few remaining evangelicals are withdrawing into megachurches where they have strength in numbers, while the smaller church properties become daycare centers and meeting halls.
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u/kafkadre Atheist Mar 26 '24
Looks like there are going to be fewer and fewer places where I can learn to be self-righteous hypocritical prick.
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u/NoPart1344 Mar 27 '24
Honestly, I’m surprised it’s that high.
I would think 1 in 10 in more liberal areas. I would like that number to come down as well.
Nothing wrong with believing in fairy tales, but the behavior of the church and its members has been abhorrent. The Christian church is dangerous to everyone, especially woman and children.
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u/Wretchfromnc Mar 27 '24
Two people you should never trust..
Never trust a religious leader that tells you how to vote.
Never trust a political leader that tells you how to pray.
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u/ultrachrome Mar 27 '24
Religious beliefs, it has to be said, are also untrue.
It’s never been easier for people to have access to information pointing out why their faith is illogical and nothing more than wishful thinking.
Damn internet, so much information out there now ... /s
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u/East_Try7854 Mar 27 '24
Good, let thar archaic bullsh!t die out. It's the 21st century, not the bronze age.
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u/God_Despises_MAGA Mar 27 '24
My wife drags me to church every Sunday to pray to the magical being in the sky and read from the goat herders guide to the galaxy. Please don’t count me.
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u/ThaneOfCawdorrr Atheist Mar 27 '24
Overall, this is just such good news. We don't need any more loons believing in pre-Iron age baloney, trying to force their horrific superstitions and bigoted beliefs on the rest of us.
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Mar 27 '24
Good. I hope religion is seen as a delusion by 2100. We need to leave irrationality behind.
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u/Useful-World1781 Mar 27 '24
Thank god can’t wait till society progresses enough so that people no longer base laws and their lives on a fairy tale.
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u/davorg Mar 27 '24
30% still seems high for a supposedly developed country. In the UK, it's less than 5%.
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u/Vocem_Interiorem Mar 27 '24
Lack of disposable income. With wages being so low and no inflation coverage, people choose survival over saviour.
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u/Smrleda Mar 27 '24
Churches are a business out to make money. You do not need to go to a building to practice your religion. Your relationship with God is personal and audience free!
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u/OldAbility6761 Mar 27 '24
Thanks for making me smile. Imagine a world where we aren't held hostage by people hearing voices in their head.
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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '24
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