Why is religion in decline?
When I was in first grade, we had daily bible readings. Each child was allowed a turn to read a verse or two from their bible. This was in a public school. The problem of how to manage verses from, e.g., Muslim or Hindu children was solved by the fact that in East Tennessee there *were* no Muslim or Hindu children in my class. Still, as a little Catholic boy, I was somewhat embarrassed to read from the Douay-Rheims bible, the RCC-approved version, with its awkward and stilted phrasing. I don’t recall whether there were readings in second grade, but for sure, there weren’t any in 3rd grade or after.
I grew up right at the inception of Vatican II. When I started going to mass, it was in Latin and the priest faced away from the congregation. With Vatican II, the mass was (mostly) in English and the priest stood behind the altar, facing the congregation. I remember as a young Catholic boy embracing the new spirit of ecumenism and religious tolerance. In fact, I was shocked when I went to college and discovered intolerant conservative Catholics at the UT-Knoxville Newman center. It was the beginning of my divorce from the church and religion.
There’s an article up at “Informed Comment” by a Canadian professor of sociology and legal studies on “How the US religious right is making religion unpopular.” He notes:
“In 1961, less than one per cent of Canadians identified as having no religion. In 2021, 43 per cent of those between 15 and 35 considered themselves religiously unaffiliated.
“Organized religion — and especially Christianity — is in decline. Secularization is advancing apace. Most sociologists of religion agree on this. What they disagree about, however, is why.”
*snip*
“The prevailing account of secularization focuses on rationalization (the rising authority of science and reason), individualization (increased individualism and materialism) and pluralism (diversity is believed to weaken religious authority), as well as what are called the three B’s — belief, behaviour and belonging.”
He goes on to add a fourth B-branding.
“Our findings indicate that the decline of organized religion in Canada is caused by a significant shift in the country’s religious imaginary: while “religion” was once widely seen by Canadians in positive terms, among younger people especially, it is increasingly seen in a negative light.
Many of the Canadian millennials we spoke to tended to view the word “religion” as:
(1) anti-modern;
(2) conservative;
(3) American; and
(4) colonial.”
Read the link for more details.
I’m not Canadian, but I’m not surprised by the diagnosis in this article. And since I’ve been a practicing atheist for decades, I’m not the one to offer a solution. America is certainly *not*, nor has it ever been, a Christian nation, nor will it be improved by becoming one. What America is and should be is a nation of diverse philosophical beliefs that welcomes diversity.
https://www.juancole.com/2025/01/religious-religion-unpopular.html
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