Politics What's wrong with Religion these days?

[Hibou]

These days, religious ceremony-goings are at an all time low. What caused this?

Personally, I think it is that children are raised as going to church is a chore. There's a class called CCD, some form of religious education for kids, and you have to take it in order to be married by the church. I think that kid's are being forced to go as children and when they grow up, they realize how much they dislike and don't go.

What's your opinion?

 

[Natalia]

Well, science has played a massive part in turning a lot of people I know off religion.

Also, while in Western cultures, fewer people follow a religion, in cultures where much of the society is uneducated - like India - religion just gets stronger and stronger.

I know that for me, as a Catholic, the Pope's stubborn refusal to recognise changes in society and in science have turned me away. Religion has to evolve with society. There's no point clinging to things that are no longer valid, or have been disproved by science.

Also, a small group of people (but I believe it is quite large in certain areas of the US - correct me if I'm wrong), are becoming more and more fundamental with their religion. That is scaring a lot of people away. Like the press in Australia has been reporting recently, it feels like we are going back in time, with opinions. about things like contraception becoming extremely conservative at a scary rate.

 

[Goonigoogoo]

You might not like what i have to say but here goes:

I think religion today is extremly unhealthy for society, i can't emphasize this enough. Today, religion breeds racism and intolerance of other cultures. Religion is the #1 cause of wars throughout history.

Religion in its purest form, like communism is great, but if you apply it to society it just crumbles on itself. When Christian kids say that if you don't believe in Jesus Christ or don't have faith in him then you're going to hell. I know its not their doing, but their parents'.

I do believe in God but STRONGLY disagree with religion, some people take it to the extreme which is what we see on the news today, its a shame really. Not one religion or its respective God is better than the other, and until most judgemental people get a grasp of that your "ticket into heaven" is probably not coming.

I saw a documentary on CNN about religion, more precisely Christianity and i saw this 7 year old girl ranting about garbage that if you don't devote your faith to Jesus then you're going to hell, and her mother was beside her smiling, this is what scares me.

 

[the_alliance]

you dont have to go to CCD to get married. you just have to be Catholic to be married by a Catholic priest. common sense isnt it?

 

[Espionage82]

I think that the decline of religion in modern society is the result of many inter-related factors but the one i see as most potent is that of money. To be more precise, capitalism and big business. Now don't get me wrong, I am not out to trash capitalism or big business but it just seems to me that the Church, like any other organisation, need funds to in order to survive. In an increasingly globalised world, western religion is in competition for financial support with an array of new religions and ideologies and this means taking some drastic measures to keep funds coming in. Just like big business now terminates hundreds or thousands of employees to stay in the black, Western religion has to turn back to its conservative roots (which are arguably narrow minded and now irrelevant) to attract followers of lesser intelligence and awareness.

Any agreements or disagreements about my comments are welcome.

 

[Sex-Dwarf]

You might not like what i have to say but here goes:

I think religion today is extremly unhealthy for society, i can't emphasize this enough.  Today, religion breeds racism and intolerance of other cultures.  Religion is the #1 cause of wars throughout history.

Religion in its purest form, like communism is great, but if you apply it to society it just crumbles on itself.  When Christian kids say that if you don't believe in Jesus Christ or don't have faith in him then you're going to hell.  I know its not their doing, but their parents'.

I do believe in God but STRONGLY disagree with religion, some people take it to the extreme which is what we see on the news today, its a shame really.  Not one religion or its respective God is better than the other, and until most judgemental people get a grasp of that your "ticket into heaven" is probably not coming.

I saw a documentary on CNN about religion, more precisely Christianity and i saw this 7 year old girl ranting about garbage that if you don't devote your faith to Jesus then you're going to hell, and her mother was beside her smiling, this is what scares me.

[post="1064094"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

I can not aggree withy you more , my religious choice is Buddhism (Nichiren Daishonion). The reason why i have chosen this religion is because at its core it says that we must absolutly respect people regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, race or religious beliefs , and also non violent means of resloving conflict. I really hate the dogma that christianity brings with it. To me the real sins in this world is the violence that people commit against each other and how we treat fellow human beings sometimes.

 

[cinders]

religion used to be a means to control society like in elizabethan times, kings could say, i have the divine rigfht etc, ppl were puppets for authority and would be good citizens if they believed in all this stuff, u can put it back to the beginning of humans, in my eyes its a way of enforcing power.

So, to try and recapture that power, religions have tried to move with the times and have become suffocating and thus pushes ppl away.

i am not totally against religion, just when my best friend bought me a book for my birthday basicaLLY SAYING 50 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD LOVE GOD I became angry, It's fair enough everyone agreeing to disagree, but we shouldnt try to convert ppl.
I actulally want someone to help me speak to god, cos sometimes I need it, butat the moment too much is contradicting, for me to do that.

 

[Hibou]

you dont have to go to CCD to get married. you just have to be Catholic to be married by a Catholic priest. common sense isnt it?

[post="1064596"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

I was just saying what someone told me ok, personally I don't go to church very often, but I know the scandals that are going on

 

[G$f3arl3ssG$]

Please don't get offended, but I think that nowadays people are more rational and smarter.

 

[aliascazUK]

I have to agree completely with Natalia. Science and education are the main reasons behind a decline in religion. 200 years ago religion was a form of discipline and a form of controlling fear, science has alleviated many of those fears by giving facts. People don’t need religion any more to gain answers in life and to be content in their life. Education has liberated the mind allowing people to think freely and come to their own conclusions that said im not saying religion is a bad thing the decline in religion I think has also led to a decline in faith in a god or just in your fellow human beings.

 

[Espionage82]

Cinder said: religion used to be a means to control society like in elizabethan times, kings could say, i have the divine rigfht etc, ppl were puppets for authority and would be good citizens if they believed in all this stuff, u can put it back to the beginning of humans, in my eyes its a way of enforcing power.

Cinder, i share your viewpoint when you say that religion is a way of enforcing power over the masses. If you read "The Davinci Code" you will find some references to this there. Religion in my eyes is just another form of social control similar to the institution of governments we have today. Our system of order is democratic-capitalist but back in the day, way before the advent of the modern political system, it was religion which served as the system of order. The clerics of religion controlled its followers by creating stories and myths (e.g. herecy, the idea of hell) to scare them into following the guidelines of that particular religion. Do i see a correlation with politicians of our times here? Think about the latest elections. Wasn't the Bush campaign laden with propaganda related to the war and terrorism? Bush will say something like "If you don't vote for me....then you won't be secure..blah blah and so on." Like the religious leaders of the past, Bush is simply using tactics that are intended to scare his followers into remaining loyal.

 

[ALIAS_RULES]

I know that for me, as a Catholic, the Pope's stubborn refusal to recognise changes in society and in science have turned me away.

Ditto for me.

 

[Leslie]

It has to do with the continual liberalization (and secularization as a result) of the international population.

 

[tippinlover]

I can't speak for other countries, but in America industrialization and the rise of capitalism has a lot to do with it...Espionage 82mentioned this before, but capitalism leads to a more individualistic society. Whereas when this country was first formed it was based on community and in those communities religion and the church was a centerpiece...

People use to go to church not just for religious guidance, but also for companionship and to discuss the different issues going on in their particular community...

 

[ALIAS_RULES]

I don't like the extreme rules that religions impose, and the fact that they REFUSE to bend with changes in society.

 

[ms.katejones]

I think less people go to church because more of the world population lives in cities now, so no one will know or care if they attend services. Church attendance is higher in small communities where people keep tabs on who goes to church and who doesn't.