Millenials are turning against organized religion.

[Dawson Leery]

https://twitter.com/BruceBartlett/status/684029316955521025

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/04/millennials-views-of-news-media-religious-organizations-grow-more-negative/?platform=hootsuite

"Since 2010, Millennials’ rating of churches and other religious organizations has dipped 18 percentage points: 55% now say churches have a positive impact on the country compared with five years ago, when nearly three-quarters (73%) said this. Views among older generations have changed little over this time period. As a result, older generations are now more likely than Millennials – who are much less likely than their elders to be religious – to view religious organizations positively. "

[RKP5637]

1. Excellent, waking up to the farce religion is! n/t

[Gods Slayer]

13. A Star Wars wish to believers: May the Farce be with you

[RKP5637]

15. ...

[KittyWampus]

31. it says "organized religion" but doesn't say "religion" or "spirituality".

[LynneSin]

2. I'm a Christian but gave up on organized religion ages ago

I figured Jesus never went to church on Sunday so why should I? He was about treating people with respect and kindness everyday, helping others in need. Mind you I wish I could be that good bit I do try everyday.

[RKP5637]

4. When I was young, that's what a lot of religion was about. Now it seems much of religion has

turned into essentially oppressive persecuting hate groups. I have nothing to do with religion today, but I do

treat people with respect and kindness everyday, helping others in need.

I don't need some organization for that. It comes from within me.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

8. Religion now,

is all about recruiting the young. Its flailing and gasping for life. To which I say: its about time.

[The2ndWheel]

17. Any organized effort is about recruiting young people

Education, business, religion, etc. Everyone wants the young. Everyone knows it's when they're young that it's easier to implant your message, brand, etc.

[Arugula Latte]

34. Religion's basic purpose is to control people, especially women.

It has always been so.

[LittleBlue]

3. Spirituality has no meaning to me

Gave it up as a kid and never looked back. These results aren't surprising.

[Gods Slayer]

12. The word 'spirituality' has no meaning at all, imho

What is 'spirituality'? Here's the wiki definition, so vague as to be totally useless:

Definition[edit]
There is no single, widely-agreed definition of spirituality.[5][6][note 2] Surveys of the definition of the term, as used in scholarly research, show a broad range of definitions, with very limited similitude.[7]

According to Waaijman, the traditional meaning of spirituality is a process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man, the image of God. To accomplish this, the re-formation is oriented at a mold, which represents the original shape: in Judaism the Torah, in Christianity there is Christ, for Buddhism, Buddha, and in Islam, Muhammad."[note 3]

In modern times the emphasis is on subjective experience.[9] It may denote almost any kind of meaningful activity[1][note 4] or blissful experience.[3] It still denotes a process of transformation, but in a context separate from organized religious institutions, termed "spiritual but not religious".[10] Houtman and Aupers suggest that modern spirituality is a blend of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions.[11]

Waaijman points out that "spirituality" is only one term of a range of words which denote the praxis of spirituality.[4] Some other terms are "Hasidism, contemplation, kabbala, asceticism, mysticism, perfection, devotion and piety".

[Arugula Latte]

30. "I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual."

Okay, so you watch Oprah's network and you think sunsets are pretty?

[Gods Slayer]

43. No, on all 4 counts

No to: Religious, spiritual, Oprah and sunsets.

[edhopper]

5. like soda

people are realizing that it's just so much empty sugary calories.

[Juicy_Bellows]

11. But a Coke is at least tasty on occasion.

Organized religion doesn't go with whiskey quite as well.

[FrodosPet]

20. What's wrong with getting a little lit before church?

"Our Father, who farts in Heaven, Harold be thy name"

[cui bono]

21. *Maybe* classic coke. But not that new stuff.

Truth be told, I think coke tastes horrible now after I went through a 5 day bout of food poisoning. Couldn't wait to crack open a can and when I did I hated it.

Seems kind of like what's happening with religion these days.

.

[colsohlibgal]

6. One Of Their Better Qualities

I just subscribed to "Free Inquiry" and as a perk got a book detailing harm that has been caused by religion, there has been a lot of it.

[LonePirate]

7. As their distance from religion increases, it also does so to conservatism/Republicanism.

[Duppers]

9. Zactly!

[Quixote1818]

10. I think things like youtube and Facebook have allowed opposing views of religion

to be in everyone's face when access to such info took real effort before the internet. Who hasn't seen this video clip for instance?

[el_bryanto]

25. Kind of a shame that Bartlett was also presented as a believer in God

and a Roman Catholic to boot. I guess you can't have everything.

Bryant

[arthritisR_US]

14. Thank gawd! nt

[HughBeaumont]

16. 70% of the nation identifies as "Christian".

Out of that 70%, more than a handful of it's loudest voices continue to display some of the most excluding, hateful, economically damaging and downright un-American actions toward all of it's citizens. " . . . how you treat the least of me" my ASS.

Either that, or the concept of being a grown adult and expecting an invisible sky daddy to make your life better (while, at the same time, making people you deem lesser than you worse off) just seems silly and counterproductive.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

29. I don't necessarily believe in a God, but I am a Christian, in a non-religious sense...

I try to follow the moral teachings of Christ (whom many or may not have existed) and use those teachings as part of the guide to how I live my life.

[The2ndWheel]

18. Replaced by the screen

Take the phone away, might start a holy war.

[randome]

19. This is what I hope churches look like in the near future.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[Mariana]

22. Oh, no, that would be terrible.

Many churches, especially the older ones, are lovely buildings that could be put to some useful purpose. It would be a shame to for them to go to ruin.

[randome]

23. Well, you got me there. You're right, sometimes the architecture is magnificent.

But it's a shame all the energy and focus that went into creating them couldn't be applied to something more useful.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[Mariana]

27. The church in that picture

would have made a great home, when it was in good shape. I'd love to live in a place like that.

OT - Near where I live there's a large state owned complex that has served at different times as a reform school, insane asylum/state mental hospital, and town poor farm. It's been totally closed since 2010, I think. The old buildings are absolutely beautiful and they're just being left to rot. Some of them already hadn't been used - or maintained - for decades. It's heartbreaking. All the fine craftsmanship that went into putting up those buildings, gone. The public are allowed on the land now, but eventually the property will probably be sold to some developer who will tear down all the ruined buildings and fill it with hideous McMansions.

[randome]

35. Yeah, why blame the buildings for their selfish builders? I get it.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[ProfessorGAC]

24. They Would Make Great Concert Venues

Or recording studios. Just a little baffling and lot of ambience. Better use of the building than now, and clubs and/or studios pay property taxes.

[Arugula Latte]

32. Better yet: bars, nightclubs, restaurants, book stores, and other cool stuff!

As a bonus, the Catholic Church has spoken out about this practice. Anything that pisses them off is usually good.









http://readysettrek.com/5-churches-converted-into-bars-around-the-world/

[randome]

36. I rescind my first post, already! Those are great uses for churches!

Spreading knowledge and music is more useful to the world than the promise that living quietly and following the rules means you'll still die, anyways.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[elias49]

48. Very well done!

Some people have a knack for design. Repurposing.

[KittyWampus]

39. Yeah, that would be a great place for AA meetings or a soup kitchen

[randome]

40. Or a love shack.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[KittyWampus]

41. Obviously I was being sarcastic. The anti-theist bigotry in this thread is disgusting.

Just because you have company doesn't make it any more excusable.

[Arugula Latte]

44. Because we think these supernatural belief systems are moronic, that makes us bigots?

Last edited Wed Jan 6, 2016, 01:59 PM - Edit history (1)

If you're on DU, I assume you dislike Republicanism and think it's stupid, so that makes you a bigot, by your definition.

[BlueJazz]

57. Hallelujah! Thou a-words haave sent this sinner to the light of coherent thought!

Per-aise thee.

[Dawson Leery]

47. +1,000,000

[polichick]

26. Good on them!

[whatthehey]

28. And it couldn't happen to a nicer social convention.

[Arugula Latte]

33. This is the best trend of the new millennium by far.

[SammyWinstonJack]

37. Smart move on their part.

[LanternWaste]

38. Imagine... if religion

Imagine... if religion, economics, nations, politics and all the other imaginary constructs we hold as sacred cows were rejected with equal skepticism, hesitation and scrupulous measurement and observation.

We far too often focus on one and only one as a fanciful hallucination while allowing the other illusions not merely a free pass, but engender and justify them as yet necessary to collective survival... or worse, we rationalize both their usefulness and their fictitious nature concurrently, further illustrating the depleting rarity of mankind's rational mind in the face of imaginative follies.

[maveric]

42. Thank God.

[Shandris]

45. I'm sure the foolish will cheer this on.

The foolish cheer on lots of things, and seldom see the harm it does until long after it's done. Then, they call it 'progress'. Sometimes it is. Sometimes, it's the exact opposite.

This is the latter.

Edit: On reflection, it occurs to me to note that they do indeed still have a religion, it's just a different one. This one is called 'Hedonism'. It masquerades under the term 'modernism', and it's chief deity is Science. So a more apt title is that they're turning against established religions. Which isn't quite so bad as all religion (take from that what you will), but is still a bad step.

[Logical]

50. Why not cheer it on? nt

[Shandris]

53. It is foolish to cheer the loss of things that have good effects.

While ORGANIZED religion lacks the sort of soul needed for a spiritual searcher (these days, that is, and by intent and design), it is a solid springboard to send an individual on their own search for deeper mysteries. This function would be lost should organized religion fall almost, or totally, completely by the wayside. That loss will echo throughout the ages.

"You're just an animal, you're nothing special, there's nothing else but pleasure and fun, there's nothing else worth searching for. All religion is a lie, all denial of religion is good, if it feels good do it shall be the whole of the law (wait, how did that one slip in there?), all are equal and benevolent and social so long as we keep vigilant watch to excise those who aren't."

[Logical]

54. Science is mystery enough. Religion is what created the likes of the GOP. nt

[Shandris]

55. Science is not mystery. Science is pretty darn far from mystery, actually.

To be certain, they do study mysterious things. I always loved science when I was younger, before it was decimated by the Priesthood. But now, Science (as opposed to science) has become it's own deity, albeit one with no temporal power.

Religion creates nothing. It merely leads one to creation. That some people can take a tool and pervert it is not a reason to destroy the tool. Cell phones can blow up bombs and apps can drain the bank accounts of nations under the right circumstances, yet we don't cheer people on when they say they don't believe in cell phones. We do for guns, but that's for a wholly different reason.

[Logical]

56. If you need a list of science mystery's let me know. Also, make believe is fun I understand. nt

[Shandris]

59. I've got a decent enough list to work with for now, but if I run low, I'll let ya know.

My current list of study includes both those solved (former mysteries) and unsolved (current mysteries). And untold.

As for make believe, well, I'm not sure what brought that into the conversation (actually I am, but I'm nice tonight. Been sick all week, ugh), but I can tell you from firsthand experience that I greatly enjoy roleplaying games, good anime, video games, movies (mostly older, now), books, and so on so yes, make-believe is quite fun.

Besides, if I really wanted a list of science's mysteries, wouldn't I go to..the..Mystery..Science...Theatre...

[craigmatic]

46. Good. Once we get religious leaders out of the public sphere, we can progress.

[smirkymonkey]

49. Thank Dog!

[Logical]

51. Religion: Make Believe For Grown Ups nt

[treestar]

52. What is new

Nothing. Older people are more likely to turn to religion. It is natural.

[mwrguy]

58. About 100,000 americans convert to Islam every year

Women converts outnumber men 4 to one, and huge number of Latino americans have been coming over.