Not in California! I assume that question is asked in our "Bible belt".
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Decline of Christianity in Canada Faster than Ever
- Thread starter Evangelicalhumanist
- Start date
Not in California! I assume that question is asked in our "Bible belt".
Is St. Louis the Bible Belt?
Perhaps, but consider this: Statistics Canada data confirms the generational gap, finding that religious affiliation was at 85 per cent among older Canadians born between 1940 and 1959, compared with 32 per cent for those born between 1980 and 1999.
Gunn Wongsuwan, 28, knows, at his age, he’s in the minority as a regular Metropolitan churchgoer. The Toronto resident was brought up Roman Catholic but stopped attending church as a teenager. When he returned, in his late teens while living in Scotland, his friends thought he was “crazy.”
“I went back into church looking for structure, and then just realized there was a lot more to it than that. There's a whole side of wanting to be still for a bit, to think on the eternal, to appreciate the art and the music and to contemplate the whole narrative,” Wongsuwan says. He joined Metropolitan upon moving back to Canada.
When asked his views on the role religion plays in 2021, given the changing times, Wongsuwan says perhaps now it is more important than ever.
“Aristotle said that man is a political animal. I think we're also religious animals. A lot of us try to see meaning, to have a sense of spirituality. We want order, we want knowledge, and I think we have this sort of longing to be something that's bigger than ourselves.”
“I went back into church looking for structure, and then just realized there was a lot more to it than that. There's a whole side of wanting to be still for a bit, to think on the eternal, to appreciate the art and the music and to contemplate the whole narrative,” Wongsuwan says. He joined Metropolitan upon moving back to Canada.
When asked his views on the role religion plays in 2021, given the changing times, Wongsuwan says perhaps now it is more important than ever.
“Aristotle said that man is a political animal. I think we're also religious animals. A lot of us try to see meaning, to have a sense of spirituality. We want order, we want knowledge, and I think we have this sort of longing to be something that's bigger than ourselves.”
But of course, looking for structure, or being still, thinking on the eternal, appreciating art and music can be done in so many ways: clubs, galleries and museums, theatre -- all these things can provide a means to consider life from a larger perspective than ourselves. And you will find that many non-religious people, who may also not call themselves "spiritual" (I include myself in that), are often huge users of all those facilities. I certainly am, and they all contribute to how I view the world, myself, and my connection to everything else.
It doesn't any good, in my view, to try to see "meaning" by accepting what is unlikely to be true, or to seek knowledge in that which is, in many aspects, known to be false.
And to be bigger than yourself, start by simply accepting that you are connected to the world -- then, through your own works, become a part of the beating heart of that world, pumping life support to the whole body of it.
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Father Heathen
Veteran Member
That and "who's your team?", which is an awkward question for someone who doesn't give a **** about sports.
Colt
Well-Known Member
......."no civilization could long survive the loss of the best in its religion"
I remember when we gays could finally start getting legally married and conservatives freaked out about how society was going to collapse then too.
Colt
Well-Known Member
If marriage is good for heterosexuals and society then it's good for gay people. Marriage is a positive social value. But marriage is not a department of the church.I remember when we gays could finally start getting legally married and conservatives freaked out about how society was going to collapse then too.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
It's would be nice. I won't miss those obnoxious religious radio shows begging for money and peddling their wares.
I asked what I thought was about a million people, "Okay, so you think if two guys can get married, marriage will lose its value and everybody will hate it -- so, will you stop loving your wife (or husband) if I marry my partner?"I remember when we gays could finally start getting legally married and conservatives freaked out about how society was going to collapse then too.
Nobody EVER answered.
GardenLady
Active Member
I remember when we gays could finally start getting legally married and conservatives freaked out about how society was going to collapse then too.
And a (former) friend was convinced that Christian (TM) religious would eventually be "forced" by the government to perform gay marriages, per a FB post. But a friend of hers responded that "they" (meaning gay people) don't care about churches. SMH.
GardenLady
Active Member
@Evangelicalhumanist, I have been reading the novels of Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Gamache series) and she clearly states that religiosity in Quebec is greatly on the decline. She also claims the use of religious language has become common as curses (tabernac! chalice!)
You appear to have completely missed the point.
Sand Dancer
Crazy Cat Lady
It's part of the suspenders.
Colt
Well-Known Member
I understood you, extending the marriage institution to include gay people isn’t the decline in values “conservative” religious people feared.
If we can survive its worse.
Shadow Wolf
Certified People sTabber
Indiana has a problem with that.
Colt
Well-Known Member
Oh the drama! I said that the conservatives feared gay marriage but they were wrong.No, it literally was. I'm gay. I was there.