Why the shift away from Christianity and other organized religions?

Question

This is a question Christians might profit by asking themselves. In 2042 less than half of Americans will call themselves Christians.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm

Self examination concerning evangelism, attitude, and treatment of non-Christians might provide the answer.

Answer 1

I am seeing more and more people seek out their own spiritual paths in private as opposed to getting involved in the church community culture. This trend will cause many to reject organized religion, and it is about time!. If one can get the sense that their path is validated directly by God, then what need is there for pastors and congregations and such? I have always felt that the group gestalt, as useful as it is for some, kind of pushes everyone toward the lowest common denominator.
It is better to soar alone than it is to crawl with companionship.

http://www.angelfire.com/md/sufimusfadharidas/

Answer 2

.Never will true Christianity, born again believers, be popular. If they are they have a false gospel. God maintains a small remnant of chosen vessels of mercy. They are mostly in the underground church. This Church will not appear on your polls of religions, because this Church, this entity made up of living stones comprising a living organism, the body of Christ, is certainly not involved with the brick and mortar apostate churches of our time. NOT that there aren't those now within the latter that God has not awakened to the truth, but when they are made knowledgeable, they will come out of her.

The body of Christ is more than blessed to disciple those who God has seen fit to open their eyes to the Truth. They're not, however, out there beating the streets for members, because they know it is in God's hands, and He is quite capable of bring them into His fold.

When Christ told His disciples that many would come in the latter days saying I am Christ, He did not mean that there would be people claiming to be HIM. That's something a well-aimed bullet could discredit in a heartbeat. What He meant was there would be many actually saying that yes, Jesus is Lord, but would bring a false gospel, and a different Jesus.

So you see that your polls are faulty in that they take census of the deceived, and whether they change to a different religion or not, matters not. Signing a pledge card to a chrisitan church does not make one born again. Confessing Jesus is Lord does not make one born again. Good works do not make one born again. Only God can conceive His chosen, through a new birth. If your life hasn't changed afterward, dramatically, then your Jesus was most definitely false.

Now, onto the 2042 prediction, try to remember that you are not promised the next moment, much less the year 2042. Today is the day to seek Him, while there is still light. Your own personal second coming may be just moments away.

Lastly, I've always maintained that if what I say is popular, I need to give myself a check up from the neck up. If what has been said here is popular to the masses, I'm in grave danger of eternal damnation. His will, not mine, be done

Answer 3

"Self examination concerning evangelism, attitude, and treatment of non-Christians might provide the answer." THat's it right there. My mother and most of my friends are Christians and more than half of them will not use the label Christian, nor will they try to spread the "Gospel" as it is given by most of the churches out there. One friend of mine absolutely refuses to even discuss the Bible or doctrine as too many times it has been used against non-Christians. She claims that alone has practically destroyed Jesus' message.

I hope that one day organized religion is treated like all other business'. Make them perform services for the community (like they are supposed to and not basing it on whether or not a person follows their religion), make them prove there is reason to be Tax Exempt (tax exemption is not what most think it is in business... we still pay taxes whereas organized religions do not). If they can't show that they are performing services and can't give any good reason to be Tax Ex, then tax them, go over their books and see where the money is going (I know a preacher up the road from me just got a Lexus from his church... what in the world does a preacher need a Lexus for? A VW won't do?). I'm betting TBN will go out of business within a couple of months.

Answer 4

I don't know if I trust that entirely. But I expect that eventually, most Americans will tire of organized religion and seek different spiritual philosophies.

According to a recent poll, half of American Christians think the world will end in the next 50 years. After 2057, I wonder how many faithful will still be around?

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Answer 5

Assuming that current trends continue.

I suspect they probably will but we can't be certain of what will happen in the future.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the decline of religion were to accelerate and the increase in Islam which is only due to fertility should level off as well.

The idea some people have that as people get older they become more religious doesn't hold up very well either.

Answer 6

I seriously doubt that.

You're whole conclusion is off.

There are several aspects in play. First the rejection of the status quo by young people (the new hippie movement) who will eventually get old and grow up to be their parents, but right now they are radicals.

The next things is the decentralization or un-tribalization of the world.

Like it or not as little as 60 years ago we were tribal.

The Happy Days tribe. Man, fresh from World War II into the Subs saying hello to everyone and knowing all his neighbors.

100 years before that people knew almost eveyrone in their towns.

Today people don't know more than one or two people in their apartment complex and they dead bolt there doors day and night, turn on their ADT alarm systems.

It is this tendency towards Xenophobianism that also contributes to it, for more and more people have less and less need to CONGREGATE.

I tend to think most here are xenophobic. You have alarams on your car, locks on your door, in short you distrust you fellow man and are VERY selective in whom you associate with.

Back in the 1900s people left their doors open most of the time (well, at least unlocked), everyone knew everyone and looked out for everyone (tribalism).

The movement away from Tribalism is part and parcel to it, for without tribalism we no longer solidly worship the Totem nor care much about the Taboo.

We get behind closed doors, lock ourselves away and then we don't have to worry what someone things of our eating habits, TV habits, drinking habits, drug habits, sex habits, what we do with our computers, what DVDs we play.

God, forbid, someone walk in and find out you watch Sponge Bob in your undies!

So the breaking of the social structure's side effects are a lesser need for Congregationalism.

There are no more town meetings.

No more social dances.

No more fireworks in the Park (we go to STaduums today with 500,000 people and pay $5 for a hot dog, better to stay at home and look out the window or watch it on TV).

It's a social phenomenon.

And it has little to do with God and Religion.

Saying "I'm not a Christian" will still be like saying "I don't support our young men fighting"

We don't do that.

We don't support Bush's war efforts but NO ONE will DARE say a word against the 19 year old BOYS out there doing his war work.

That is not PC. That is Taboo.

Answer 7

Because it isn't working. It is all based on promises and these promises are never kept. How many have given their life savings for promises of rich rewards from god? Healing? People are waking up as common sense slips into their conscious thinking. Religion is control of the masses which is nothing less than slavery. Spirituality is freedom of the individual and ones true will. Things are just starting to get interesting. ha

Answer 8

Well...I guess I would say a lack of; a) inconsistance in educating the youths with them actually seeing it in practice from their elders; b) not paying attention to what they are crying out in their music (seeing that they are replacing faith with tangible materialistic goods); c) blah blah blah. 100 people 10000 views. Many reasons why. There's a sick socialistic/socialogical game being played against the masses and those who know need to wake up those who don't. I don't see it happening because those who know are the minority. Anyway people (mainly the up and coming generation) are losing hope because they put their destiny in others hands. They don't the see the seed (their hopes) that they planted growing so they replace it with the quick and now. Talk about God and you'll find most people have created their own god. One who allows them to be who they want to be and don't worry about the consequences thereof as even if others are hurt in the process. Their views are then corrupted towards who God really is and within their soul they don't "truly believe in HIM". They believe in a god based upon their interpretation not based upon any of the major religious teachings. Why should they? They look at the world with fresh young brains being lied too since their begining and live life based upon learned social behavior (the norm). So faith requires patience and knowledge (understanding) while they are trading it all in for the "right now". So the scary thing is in 2042 what will they (call themselves) be then?

Answer 9

Same reason for the shift away from the Monarchy, bowing to kings and queens, all men and women being created equal. I used created for lack of a better word. Maybe born equal. I think the boomers will be the last big wave for org.rel. The first of them retire in 2011, it will be downhill from there.

Answer 10

Honestly, I think it's largely a factor of Christianity not being taught as a default religion.

When being non-religious is legally and culturally sanctioned, people grow up to have religious beliefs based on their beliefs, not on what they have been told they must do.

VERY FEW people raised in healthy non-religious families go out and seek Christianity as a religion, and more and more children of Christians realise it's not for them...

That leaves Christianity with a declining population. The only increase in Christian numbers are LATERAL changes.... evangelicals increase in numbers as Catholics, for example, decrease.

I believe the declining numbers are a result of the fact that Christianity pretty much fails logically when compared to any other religion.

If it did not have music and clothes and meeting potential spouses as subtexts, it would already be a tiny minority.


The truely, truely scary fact about this is that it means Christians in secular countries who fought against secularity were correct to be afraid- their religion is lesser in numbers because they can't compete with other religions on a fair playing field and win.