The Implications of the Decline in American Religiosity

Conservative Brawler ^ | February 15, 2009 | Conservative Brawler

[Seth_Stuck]

Gallop recently released polling research which suggests the median proportion of residents worldwide who said religion is important in their daily lives is 82%. Not surprisingly, America's average was 65%, well below the worldwide average. What do these numbers mean, and how has America's declining religiosity affected it?

http://conservativebrawler.blogspot.com/2009/02/implications-of-decline-in-american.html

[CaspersGh0sts]

This is a very good read and gets even moreso the further along you go. The statistics on the moral erosion of society are particularly telling.

[Niuhuru]

The most obvious thing is the lack of self respect.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I blame a lot of the decline of religion in America to American religion.

There were several bad practices of religion in America that have come back to bite it, as seen by a decline in the faithful.

To start with, in early America there was a division between Protestant sects that were idealistic and pessimistic, rooted in Calvinism and New England, and the more realistic and optimistic sects, found in the Tidewater and later the West. This rivaled the split in England between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers, and may even be compared to the liberal blue States and the more conservative red States.

Add to this the 19th Century introduction of many idealistic new immigrant religions in western New York, and the widespread immigration of Catholics, who brought with them a pestilence that still haunts Catholicism today: “social Catholicism”. People who reject the doctrines of the church but still call themselves Catholics, to exploit the secular side of Catholic society.

But by far the worst thing to happen to American religion was the liberalization found in the 1960s. In this was found the rejection of what had been embraced for in some cases hundreds of years, in order to be trendy.

Endless rewriting of the Bible, rejection of doctrines in favor of silly ecumenism, a recreation of religion as mere entertainment. What might best be described as “relativism”, that religion should conform to whim.

So much of this was inflicted on religion by religion.

[Michael Eden]

Seth,

Thanks for posting this, as otherwise I may well not have come across it and the excellent data it contains.

It’s interesting that the LEAST religious “wealthy” countries all occur in those nations who have been protected by greater nations (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France, and Japan). And in the case of Japan, we not only have protected them from their enemies (such that they basically don’t have much of a military), but we rebuilt their economy and society and imposed OUR RELIGIOUS value system on them.

In any event, it’s easier to be able to get away with a vile worldview when you have others to shield and protect you.