Is religion dying?

[an anarchist]

Is religion dying i.e. waning in popularity?

Well, you guys are all old, so maybe I'm asking the wrong crowd...

Haha jk

You guys have a certain perspective.

As the youngins take the places of you lot, do you think religion will be as popular or influential?

Atheism seems to be on the rise. Institutionalized religion has traumatized much of millennials and I'm betting gen z too. I get mixed signals when I try to gauge the populace's ever changing opinion on religion. Will the millennials and gen z let religion be a dominating cultural force, as it has always been?

I think Christianity is dying but spirituality is rising. I don't think religion is dying. But I think it is possible. I think atheism and agnosticism will keep rising, and as a result organized religion will lose its influence.

 

[dybmh]

Is religion dying i.e. waning in popularity?

Well, you guys are all old, so maybe I'm asking the wrong crowd...

Haha jk

You guys have a certain perspective.

As the youngins take the places of you lot, do you think religion will be as popular or influential?

Atheism seems to be on the rise. Institutionalized religion has traumatized much of millennials and I'm betting gen z too. I get mixed signals when I try to gauge the populace's ever changing opinion on religion. Will the millennials and gen z let religion be a dominating cultural force, as it has always been?

I think Christianity is dying but spirituality is rising. I don't think religion is dying. But I think it is possible. I think atheism and agnosticism will keep rising, and as a result organized religion will lose its influence.

Not to worry. Religious Jews are having lots of children.

 

[an anarchist]

Not to worry. Religious Jews are having lots of children.

Curious. Do Jews typically stay Jews as they grow up? Has there been a trend of young Jews leaving the faith? Or not from what you can see?

 

[F1fan]

Not to worry. Religious Jews are having lots of children.

The ultra orthodox Jews are in Israel, while the secular Jew are having way fewer. It poses a big problem for the future of Israel if the orthodox out-breed the secular since the orthodox don't work or join the military, which is mandatory for the rest.

 

[F1fan]

Is religion dying i.e. waning in popularity?

Well, you guys are all old, so maybe I'm asking the wrong crowd...

Haha jk

You guys have a certain perspective.

As the youngins take the places of you lot, do you think religion will be as popular or influential?

Atheism seems to be on the rise. Institutionalized religion has traumatized much of millennials and I'm betting gen z too. I get mixed signals when I try to gauge the populace's ever changing opinion on religion. Will the millennials and gen z let religion be a dominating cultural force, as it has always been?

I think Christianity is dying but spirituality is rising. I don't think religion is dying. But I think it is possible. I think atheism and agnosticism will keep rising, and as a result organized religion will lose its influence.

I think the question is if religion has a purpose for younger generations. Religious ideas are certainly not factual, and to believe requires a certain need to believe for certain reasons, namely for social cohesion and to offset anxiety. At this point religions survive because they are tied to cultural traditions.

 

[King Phenomenon]

It will continue to fluctuate from generation to generation, as it always has, until the end of time.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I'm not convinced atheism is really on the rise. I think apathy, agnosticism and non-religious spiritualism are all more on the rise than atheism in any specific sense.

I've tried to make atheism sexy (I mean, just look at me) but some of the more religious-types within the atheism community undermine my efforts.

Half-joking.

 

[an anarchist]

At this point religions survive because they are tied to cultural traditions.

I wonder how long this will be enough. Perhaps indefinitely?

 

[Quintessence]

Through the biased lens that "religion" is commonly understood by in modern, Eurocentric cultures? The same biased lens that routinely conflates religion with theism (specifically Abrahamic monotheisms)?
Sure - and there's a lot of evidence for that.

Through the broader, far less biased lens of what "religion" is? What often gets called "spirituality" by those content to let modern, Eurocentric biases hold the word "religion" (and also, "god") hostage?
Not even remotely - and there's a lot of evidence for that too.

Use less of the words, do more of the looking and observing. The actual stuff that gets labeled whatever (or not, as one's preference may be) is pretty inherent to the nature of human persons, like roots are to the tree, or two hydrogens to water molecules. Remove the roots from the tree and it isn't a tree; remove hydrogens from water and you've no longer got water; remove religion/culture from humans and you've no longer got humans.

 

[dybmh]

Curious. Do Jews typically stay Jews as they grow up? Has there been a trend of young Jews leaving the faith? Or not from what you can see?

Well there's a simple answer, and then there's several complicated answers. The simple answer is no. If a Jewish person was raised Jewish, it's very rare for them to deny this part of their identity and instead identify with another religious group. This spans the spectrum from the most liberal communities to the most orthodox.

However, I think you're asking a different question relating to religious practice and religious beliefs. And that gets complicated. It's still a "no". Jewish people are not "leaving the faith". But what I do see is that Jewish people's religious beliefs and practice evolve over time. And this probably happens in a lot of religions. It's not really a steady evolving. People, sort of, take breaks from Judaism and then come back. When they come back, and how often, and what triggers it are each their own question, each with its own complicated answer. And of course there's children who are raised in liberal communities that are drawn to more orthodox communities, and vice-versa. But I've tried to give a general overview which hopefully answers the question.

This excludes the ultra-orthodox communities. They're pretty consistent. The children generally stay in those communites and their practice and beliefs are also consistent.

 

[dybmh]

The ultra orthodox Jews are in Israel, while the secular Jew are having way fewer. It poses a big problem for the future of Israel if the orthodox out-breed the secular since the orthodox don't work or join the military, which is mandatory for the rest.

Believe it or not, the women in those communities are the ones in the workforce. I'm not sure how it works with the military. But it's an interesting point to raise and consider.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

I think the question is if religion has a purpose for younger generations. Religious ideas are certainly not factual, and to believe requires a certain need to believe for certain reasons, namely for social cohesion and to offset anxiety. At this point religions survive because they are tied to cultural traditions.

That depends on the understanding of what religion is. But of course your understanding of religion is not a cultural tradition, it is the objective truth.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Christianity is projected by Pew Research to continue to decline over the next 50 years, while religiously unaffiliated and other religions are projected to grow.

2. Projecting U.S. religious groups’ population shares by 2070

The first half of this chapter provides details on the assumptions and results of each of the four main scenarios. These are not predictions for the

www.pewresearch.org

 

[SalixIncendium]

Religious ideas are certainly not factual...

Are you suggesting that there are no factual religious ideas?

Sorry, but if so, I find such a claim to be preposterous.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Are you suggesting that there are no factual religious ideas?

Sorry, but if so, I find such a claim to be preposterous.

The joke is that facts are ideas themselves, as they are also cognitive as ideas. You can't point to a fact, just as you can't point to say God.

 

[viole]

Not to worry. Religious Jews are having lots of children.

All the Jews I know are atheists.

Ciao

- viole

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

All the Jews I know are atheists.

Ciao

- viole

But that is not science.

 

[SalixIncendium]

But that is not science.

It is if she knows all the Jews.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

It is if she knows all the Jews.

Well, forget that for a moment.
The joke is the belief that I am rational has no objective evidence and in effect works as if humans are God as rational. In some sense some atheists have "stolen" the ideas of all knowing, all rational and all objective form God and claim they can do so. But I am not supposed to say that aloud.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Is religion dying?​

I truly hope so but I very much doubt it. Although we can see progress in so many countries as to this happening. Campaign for no (directed) religious education in schools (in all countries) and it might become reality.