Atheism & Agnostic Beliefs On The Rise In U.s.

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Statistics and polls of younger people 21-35 show a marked increase moving away from organized religions. Independent thought and the increase of this generation to distrust and not understand many long reaching ideas about faith have driven them to explore many of the other practices like Buddhism, Spiritualism, Shintoism etc.

I for one lived in Asia for 8 years. I met some of the best people I've ever had the priveldge to know in Japan etc. I still keep in contact with some via e-mail and all of them would be considered atheists by US standards.

They are all very happy, well adjusted, successful family people with professional jobs and networks of relatives, all live without traditional faiths. This knowledge of people living happily is a huge threat for christainity on many fronts.

Most Americans when they hear "Atheist" feel fear, perhaps due to their own inadequate level of faith, an internal mechanism triggering fears of mortality and death with no belief of living past death.

Fear should never be a motivating factor to beleive in christianity. It's nice to have that warm/fuzzy of a belief system to fend of the death thing but why do so many in Asia thrive without?

I think it's cultural to an extent, Americans are at best simple minded when it comes to life. Interestingly enough, it seems the older the country, the better the culture.

If you can't put your belief system to the acid test, confront it, question it, keep an open mind, validate it - it isn't much of a belief system. Blindly following is no system either, many christians are christians for the simple resaon that there are so many christians - so it must be true! BS, numbers don't prove anything yet we all understand death, the binding factor, not enough reason for a faith based religion.

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@DesertDave,

We'll see if you still believe that when your time comes?

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@DesertDave,

DesertDave;18915 wrote:

Statistics and polls of younger people 21-35 show a marked increase moving away from organized religions. Independent thought and the increase of this generation to distrust and not understand many long reaching ideas about faith have driven them to explore many of the other practices like Buddhism, Spiritualism, Shintoism etc.

I for one lived in Asia for 8 years. I met some of the best people I've ever had the priveldge to know in Japan etc. I still keep in contact with some via e-mail and all of them would be considered atheists by US standards.

They are all very happy, well adjusted, successful family people with professional jobs and networks of relatives, all live without traditional faiths. This knowledge of people living happily is a huge threat for christainity on many fronts.

Most Americans when they hear "Atheist" feel fear, perhaps due to their own inadequate level of faith, an internal mechanism triggering fears of mortality and death with no belief of living past death.

Fear should never be a motivating factor to beleive in christianity. It's nice to have that warm/fuzzy of a belief system to fend of the death thing but why do so many in Asia thrive without?

I think it's cultural to an extent, Americans are at best simple minded when it comes to life. Interestingly enough, it seems the older the country, the better the culture.

If you can't put your belief system to the acid test, confront it, question it, keep an open mind, validate it - it isn't much of a belief system. Blindly following is no system either, many christians are christians for the simple resaon that there are so many christians - so it must be true! BS, numbers don't prove anything yet we all understand death, the binding factor, not enough reason for a faith based religion.

The road to Hell is an easy one.

1 Reply

@DesertDave,

DesertDave;18915 wrote:

I think it's cultural to an extent, Americans are at best simple minded when it comes to life. Interestingly enough, it seems the older the country, the better the culture.

Must not be an American or he'd qualify this statement.

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@DesertDave,

Agreed!

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@DesertDave,

He must have a slow connection or slow computer too. I'm off for the night.

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@DesertDave,

Hey, I lived in Japan and Korea for a total of 8 years and meet some of the best human beings in my life. Most US christians are lame when it comes to practicing what they preech. Guess what, my friends in Japan etc are Buddhist and practice Shintoism. Translate that into American and it spells Athiesm or at best an Agnostic life style. These people live happy well adjusted lives, are family oriented successful, caring and don't need a crutch from a belief system to live well. So all of you that told me to wait unitl I'm on my death bed to see if I'll change my tune...... Grow up, I'd like to still beleive in Santa Claus too as far as organized religion goes.

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@DesertDave,

You will believe in what you want, no matter which way you go you have to use faith to get there.

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@DesertDave,

Well, not really. Buddhism and Shintoism are considered Athiest mostly because they are not religions, but practices. Faith never enters into the either philosophy, sorry to bust your faith bubble. These millions of Buddhist and people practicing Shintoism do not have a faith, it is a practice.

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@DesertDave,

They may be atheist or agnostic it don't matter. What i am saying is what ever manner you use, they have faith in what they believe to be true. Right, wrong or indifferent it takes faith.

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@DesertDave,

DesertDave;18915 wrote:

Statistics and polls of younger people 21-35 show a marked increase moving away from organized religions. Independent thought and the increase of this generation to distrust and not understand many long reaching ideas about faith have driven them to explore many of the other practices like Buddhism, Spiritualism, Shintoism etc.

I for one lived in Asia for 8 years. I met some of the best people I've ever had the priveldge to know in Japan etc. I still keep in contact with some via e-mail and all of them would be considered atheists by US standards.

They are all very happy, well adjusted, successful family people with professional jobs and networks of relatives, all live without traditional faiths. This knowledge of people living happily is a huge threat for christainity on many fronts.

Most Americans when they hear "Atheist" feel fear, perhaps due to their own inadequate level of faith, an internal mechanism triggering fears of mortality and death with no belief of living past death.

Fear should never be a motivating factor to beleive in christianity. It's nice to have that warm/fuzzy of a belief system to fend of the death thing but why do so many in Asia thrive without?

I think it's cultural to an extent, Americans are at best simple minded when it comes to life. Interestingly enough, it seems the older the country, the better the culture.

If you can't put your belief system to the acid test, confront it, question it, keep an open mind, validate it - it isn't much of a belief system. Blindly following is no system either, many christians are christians for the simple resaon that there are so many christians - so it must be true! BS, numbers don't prove anything yet we all understand death, the binding factor, not enough reason for a faith based religion.

You can't be happy if you're a Christian? If you're unhappy as a Christian or fearful of it, you're interpreting the faith wrongly. To say 'the older the country, the better the culture' ismaking an ignorant statement. Feudal Japan would not be recognized as related to modern Japan just as much as Native American and modern American cultures are vastly different.

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@Volunteer,

Volunteer;18930 wrote:

The road to Hell is an easy one.

so is the road to ignorance, just turn in your brain and pick up your bible

the farther we get from the year 2000 the more and more Americans will wander from Christian Judeo religion, it was the zero barrier of that faith. When the last of the Baby Boomers has passed away years from now I will be surprised if Christianity in the USA hasn't dropped to 50% nationwide (as opposed to 71% in 2005, down from 72% in 2003)

I was at a Christian Fundamentalist wedding over the weekend. They literally spent 20min before the vows going over that for marriage to work the man has to OBEY his church and the women has to OBEY her husband. They gave detailed information about how it wasn't godly for a women to question her husband and the importance of being submissive... even though "we're all equal". Poor girl

1 Reply

@DesertDave,

No, huge amounts of children are religious Christians, and not just the Bible Camp kind. The reason the Latin Mass is being restored by the Catholic Church is because of renewed interest among young people in the U.S. and other countries.

1 Reply

@Reagaknight,

Reagaknight;19031 wrote:

No, huge amounts of children are religious Christians, and not just the Bible Camp kind.

you are right, freethinking and not trusting whatever your parents tell you comes during young adult hood. There are many Christian Children, my nephew also belives in Santa Claus

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@DesertDave,

Oh, I just noticed, the movie was Jesus Camp, never mind. Which brings us back to that, those kids may be crazy, but they seem intelligent enough to spread their parent's idiocy with tracts and sermons, why not doubt it? And how many faithful young people turn away once they can 'think freely?' Out of those, how many just don't want to go to Church?

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@DesertDave,

what other reason would they have for not going to curch, it's either

A: They allowed themselves to be corrupted by the devil

or

B: They disagree with the Religion after considering it

nobody denounces Christanity on a whim once they're raised Christian, there's too much fear of damnation. No it takes much study and consideration to leave the church. Usually after many years.

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@DesertDave,

LOL, so Christians are brainwashed I suppose. And I also guess that if you do do some research and consideration, there's no way you would want to stay in the Church?

I'll tell you why young people usually convert- because they have an unwillingness to believe what they can't see, unless it's some vague conspiracy or scientific theory, but nothing Orthodox. Factor in the elitist, self-important attitude and unwillingness to accept or humble themselves before a higher power, and laziness and there's no way they'll stick with Christianity.

1 Reply

@Reagaknight,

Reagaknight;19040 wrote:

LOL, so Christians are brainwashed I suppose. And I also guess that if you do do some research and consideration, there's no way you would want to stay in the Church?

I'll tell you why young people usually convert- because they have an unwillingness to believe what they can't see, unless it's some vague conspiracy or scientific theory, but nothing Orthodox. Factor in the elitist, self-important attitude and unwillingness to accept or humble themselves before a higher power, and laziness and there's no way they'll stick with Christianity.

I affirm there is a god and I act accordingly, doesnt mean I'm a Christian because I don't think that only the "Jesus Club" gets in. It's ludicrous and an extension of a non inclusive "we're the only ones who aren't being dammed to hell" ideals that started with the racist faith of the Israelites.

As for brainswashing, what is brainwashing?

We claim that the Hitler Youth were brainwashed, and rightly so. They were taken in their innocence and had unfounded and in some cases provably wrong ideals forced upon them by society. They were punished when they failed to conform and this system led them to judge others.

I could say everything I just said about the Hitler Youth to the way Christian Children are raised

They are started when they are young
Their society forces it on them and punishes them for not conforming
It leads to the judgment of others
and it is unprovable (Jesus) and in some instances it is provably wrong (The great Flood)

But somehow you give it a pass without a second though, because you've traded in your free thought. What's the saying? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, etc...

I wonder how much success parents would have if they waited till their Children were 16 to convert them...

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@DesertDave,

If there's a God, he'll have some rules and a teachings, surely, and Christians accept Jesus's rules and teachings. The Hitler Youth was forced to join the organization, if Christians are being forced to be Christians, they and those forcing them are not Christian and are definitely missing the point. If you had a child, would you raise it in religious beliefs, just to give it a taste of a different view, and then ask him or her if they would choose religion or agnosticism at 16?

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@DesertDave,

I would teach my child that there was a god and that there was right and wrong, and encourage them to seek God there whole life through because when they die their actions will follow them. But I'm not concered with one religion or another because there is no one true religion.

Jesus's teachings? What will you tell your children about Jesus blasting the Pharisees for not stoning their disobediant children as written about in Mark and Matthew. What about when Jesus tells his folowers to rip out their own eye if they look lustfully on a women?

No I would think you'll teach them SOME of Jesus's teachings, and I wouldn't disagree with much of what you passed on.

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Atheism & Agnostic Beliefs On The Rise In U.s.

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