Christianity in Decline

Here’s an interesting article on the decline of Christianity in the United States, in which the author speculates on the reasons for the erosion: the Cold War, 9/11, and the Internet.

I would suggest that Americans’ spiking interest in politics is a big deal here, and there are numerous forces driving this:

• If nothing is done in the public sector to mitigate climate change, young people know that they are going to face great misery as they age. If anything, religion works against our efforts here, as the bible explicitly states that only God can harm the Earth.

• If we don’t pay attention to it, there is a good chance the United States’ democracy will collapse, as it almost did following the 2020 presidential election and the attempted coup.  The fact that the religious right favors Trump does not play well with even moderately intelligent people.

• COVID-19 is probably not the last pandemic that will shape how we live, work, go to school, etc.  Praying doesn’t seem to help, though epidemiologic science does.

• Christianity is even more disconnected from the teachings of Christ than it’s been in the past, and many of its most visible leaders are some of the worst people imaginable.

As people apply reason to find solutions to the existential threats they face and become more attuned to science, they come to realize that religion doesn’t add value to their lives.

Of course, some people say that religion and science can coexist peacefully, but that’s never seemed true to me.  As I once told one of my nephews, “You can’t have your metaphysical cake and eat it too.  You either believe in things that are provably true, or you don’t.  The choice is yours to make.”