There is a 43% drop in Christian church attendance between the teen and early adult years, he says.

Everyone has to grow up and give up their imaginary friend some time.

Awesome.

They're only going to go take up the causes of Amway, noni Juice or fascism. Every society needs safety valves. The kind of people who would have looked at working in a concentration camp as just a job like working in a cubicle have Hootie and the Blowfish CDs to buy. The kind of people who would otherwise be trying to convince you that Jesus died for you is now going to be hammering away at your willpower to get you to buy low-cost, off brand goods at low, low prices.

Our society is rotting before our very eyes. Remember The Cosby Show? 227? Amen? Now those were decent television shows. What do we have now? Risque talent shows and televised executions. Bring back Bill Cosby and repair the torn fabric of this once great nation.

It's almost like the values of ancient nomadic sheep herders don't translate well to modern times.

Mr. Coffee Nerves: A churchy friend-of-a-friend of mine says that declining membership is due to "the erosion of morality Bill Clinton inflicted upon our nation."


That's code words for a BJ.

It sounds like they don't want someone telling them there a consequences to their heathen lifestyles.

spentmiles: Our society is rotting before our very eyes. Remember The Cosby Show? 227? Amen? Now those were decent television shows. What do we have now? Risque talent shows and televised executions. Bring back Bill Cosby and repair the torn fabric of this once great nation.

Will he come bearing pudding pops? I could really do with a pudding pop right now

Mr. Coffee Nerves: A churchy friend-of-a-friend of mine says that declining membership is due to "the erosion of morality Bill Clinton inflicted upon our nation."

I guess the free market of ideas likes eroded morality better than the central planning model of most organized religions.

And the percentage of non-believers goes up every year.

The gods have been dead for ages. It's about time our species accepted that fact.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: They're only going to go take up the causes of Amway, noni Juice or fascism. Every society needs safety valves. The kind of people who would have looked at working in a concentration camp as just a job like working in a cubicle have Hootie and the Blowfish CDs to buy. The kind of people who would otherwise be trying to convince you that Jesus died for you is now going to be hammering away at your willpower to get you to buy low-cost, off brand goods at low, low prices.

Jesus died for somebody's sins
But not mine...

Most people will sooner or later reach that age of reason where they learn that what was dictated to them as children might not necessarily hold up as adults.

Then they start a "spiritual quest" where they will seek their own answers in order to understand the world they live in and be able to make peace with what they deem to be "god".

The people who stick with religion almost to the point of zealotry are those who are either afraid of being cast out and being cut off from their community, or are most likely crazy and are getting off on a power trip.

If only they didn't all spend twenty years "lost", and then go back to exactly the same churches claiming that they are "forgiven".

Just like every generation of young evangelicals before them.

Good.

I may not be able to live in a society free of persecution, but maybe my daughter or grandchildren may.

Going by that picture, I'm pretty sure they're going to start worshipping "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" any minute.

ManRay: It sounds like they don't want someone telling them there a consequences to their heathen lifestyles.

Pretty much this. That mean old preacher tried to tell me I was sinning. I'll show him!

cookiefleck: spentmiles: Our society is rotting before our very eyes. Remember The Cosby Show? 227? Amen? Now those were decent television shows. What do we have now? Risque talent shows and televised executions. Bring back Bill Cosby and repair the torn fabric of this once great nation.

Loved your epic saga in the virginia tech shooting thread.. my favorite part was when you engaged in fisticuffs with the shooter in the boiler room.

You are pretty. Let's meet for lunch today.

LegacyDL: Most people will sooner or later reach that age of reason where they learn that what was dictated to them as children might not necessarily hold up as adults.

Then they start a "spiritual quest" where they will seek their own answers in order to understand the world they live in and be able to make peace with what they deem to be "god".

The people who stick with religion almost to the point of zealotry are those who are either afraid of being cast out and being cut off from their community, or are most likely crazy and are getting off on a power trip.

This. I was raised Southern Baptist. I went to Jesus Camp, got saved every summer, then proceeded to sin every fall. It wasn't until I went off to college and took a comparative religions course (required for my lit major) that I realized Christianity wasn't any different than any other religion. I really grew up that semester, left the church, experimented with several different religions, then dropped them all. I'm not particularly religious now, but I try to live by some of the ideals I'd learned: be good to people, treat them like you'd want to be treated, help people as much as you can, and live a good life. I don't need religion to do any of that.

I work with some very "christian" people who, if confronted by the real Jesus, would be weighed, measured, and found wanting in their faith and its execution.

I_Am_Weasel: Sarah Palin's Conscience: Good.

I may not be able to live in a society free of persecution, but maybe my daughter or grandchildren may.

If society is still inhabited by humans, I wouldn't count on it.

Thanks a lot, Debbie Downer.

I like to think that society will be more open, someday.

the internet gives us near instant access to the sum total of accumulated human knowledge (and porn). Is it any wonder that informed is the norm for most young folks? Is it any wonder why informed people usually aren't fans of dogmatic propaganda? It's real easy to keep a flock of believers in line when you are the only person in the village that can read and can afford books. Not so much when the young folks are better informed than you are

I'd leave the church after being raped by a priest too.

/Why yes I do think the church is raping children in record numbers these days.

Mr. Coffee Nerves: A churchy friend-of-a-friend of mine says that declining membership is due to "the erosion of morality Bill Clinton inflicted upon our nation."

Bill Clinton is the most powerful man in the universe!!! With a wave of his corrupting hand hundreds of millions are forced into a life of sinful(and joyous) fornication!!! Tremble in fear of Clinton!!! Behold and beware his awesome might!!!

I've been thinking for a while that the decline in church attendance is because the churches keep pounding away about social issues. They have always done so, of course, but with the internet, cell phones and social networking, young people have much more information than they ever have. Now when the pastor tells the youth group about all the common immoralities (living with a girlfriend is wrong, you'll go to hell if you have sex outside of marriage, rock music is satanic and rap is evil, etc) it flies against everything the kids know about the way the world works. Pretty soon the youth quit going on Sundays.

I see church parking lots that were overflowing 15 years ago now half-empty. I also don't know a lot of people my age (mid-30s) that go to church. But if the churches want to keep pounding away at telling people everything they do is immoral, well, nothing will save them.

I was always afraid to reference my live-in partner in front of churchy coworkers. In front of my rabbi? Notsomuch.

Confabulat: Eh, when I was a kid, I was amazed at how stupid old people were, with their horrible hard candy and National Enquirers, but I figured they'd just die off soon enough.

I'm in my 40s now, and there's just a new crop of stupid old people who act exactly the same way.

There will also always be new young evangelicals.

Bingo. Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.

Yeah, it's not like they signed up for evangelical Christianity or anything. I mean, sheesh.

LegacyDL:

The people who stick with religion almost to the point of zealotry are those who are either afraid of being cast out and being cut off from their community, or are most likely crazy and are getting off on a power trip.

Or are too terrified of everything to take on any responsibility for making decisions. Any decisions. I know a few evil angelical types who cannot decide to take a job, date a particular person, buy a car or name their baby without several consultations with their pastor. You'd be amazed at how many people are like that. They cannot fathom the concept of having their own opinion at all. It is utterly outside their realm of experience or ability.

HotWingConspiracy: It's almost like the values of ancient nomadic sheep herders don't translate well to modern times

I was at a Jewish house of mourning yesterday, and we were talking about the fact that it DOES work. Jewish law says that the mourners get to sit around their own home doing nothing, and people bring them food. I'm not one for an invisible sky wizard, but there are a few parts of the tradition that I think we can keep.

cookiefleck: Sarah Palin's Conscience: Good.

I may not be able to live in a society free of persecution, but maybe my daughter or grandchildren may.

Persecution complex, much?

Remind me again why I have to wait 48 hours before getting an abortion. Why my county is dry. Why I cannot purchase alcohol until 12 pm on Sundays. Why I was called a "bad parent" by my (then) good friend because I choose not to expose my child to Christianity and other religions until I feel that she is old enough. Remind me why I am viewed as an enemy, as an "illegal alien", as someone who needs killing by radical groups simply because I choose not to subscribe to their particular brand of crazy.

If you can tell me why all these things are the way they are without mentioning religion in the US, then I will drop my "persecution complex."

Rashnu: Yeah, it's not like they signed their parents signed them up for evangelical Christianity or anything. I mean, sheesh.

That image in the article is hilarious.



Blond hair and blue eyes, blond hair and blue eyes, OHCRAPNOWWELOOKSORACIST token minority.

Now, if only we could get them to stop continuing to identify as Christians too... I mean, they don't go to church, they don't pray, they don't follow the rules of the church, they don't follow even many of the basic commandments, yet, they're Christian for god's sake...

Being a conservative I've been saying this for years now. Republicans need to back off these ridiculous notions they have about gay marriage and abortion if they want to be considered a serious contender in the world of politics. They need to concentrate on being fiscally conservative and stop worrying about all that other crap.

Mr. Coffee Nerves: A churchy friend-of-a-friend of mine says that declining membership is due to "the erosion of morality Bill Clinton inflicted upon our nation."

And he's absolutely right. What earnestly felt, devout beliefs could possibly stand up against Clinton's "eating-ain't-cheatin'" philosophy?

Gergesa: Mr. Coffee Nerves: A churchy friend-of-a-friend of mine says that declining membership is due to "the erosion of morality Bill Clinton inflicted upon our nation."

Bill Clinton is the most powerful man in the universe!!! With a wave of his corrupting hand hundreds of millions are forced into a life of sinful (and joyous) fornication!!! Tremble in fear of Clinton!!! Behold and beware his awesome might!!!

He was the Justin Timberlake of the 1990's.

They don't appreciate being condemned for living with a partner, straight or gay...

If you don't know if your partner is straight or gay, then I think cohabiting is a really bad idea.

They are living a life that resembles a christian life, but isn't.
It's like playing a game like golf where you don't play it where it lies but can use a foot wedge and improve your lie and you get mulligans. It isn't golf.
And this isn't living a Christian life. It may be a honorable life, a good life and looked upon as decent, but it isn't honestly Christian.

I had an epiphany in my early 20s that the self-proclaimed atheists I had met in life were better than a lot of the "Christians" I had known my whole life. I left that church... my wife is still trying to convert me to become Catholic.

/I hate spending an hour a week in the SAME service as the prior 1,000.
//I really hate the verbiage changes that the Catholic churches instituted.