The more fascinating question is why the widespread availability of knowledge and information hasn't done a better job of overcoming provincial superstitions.
How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
31–40 of 77 posts
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, though I wouldn't be surprised if it were true right now. The Internet is undoubtedly the greatest tool that has ever been created for spreading religion, but in the short term it probably just magnifies whatever the larger social/religious fads are, e.g. new atheism.
It's also the greatest tool that has ever been created for destroying superstition and myth. We're in the golden age of critical thinking, something that is very destructive to religious belief.
> Source/citation/justification?
Case in point.
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#33I remember reading a piece about how Catholic church is trying to ban people from using condom and thought it was pretty ridiculous that they were against safety. A fellow Android developer was catholic and started a long rant about how condoms promote infidelity and adultery -_- and he literally sat in front of the screen for hours writing a huge rebuttal to what I have said.
Another time I advised him against purchasing mutual funds because as a Economics/Finance major, we learned that mutual funds have many lot of questionable hidden costs and their market performance aren't the most sound vehicle for investing one's salary but he basically told me that he trusts the sales person because he is also Catholic. He was newly wed, living with his parents, had a baby on the way, and made the same salary as me which wasn't much. I didn't feel bad though.
What I got from this is that even with the face of evidence and hard facts, some people are just that attached to religion, an old artifact for a time when science and logic were persecuted and laughed at, it was just shocking to see it continue so rigidly.
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, though I wouldn't be surprised if it were true right now. The Internet is undoubtedly the greatest tool that has ever been created for spreading religion, but in the short term it probably just magnifies whatever the larger social/religious fads are, e.g. new atheism.
It's also the greatest tool that has ever been created for destroying superstition and myth. We're in the golden age of critical thinking, something that is very destructive to religious belief.
I'm critical of atheism, because it is itself a religious belief and those that believe and evangelize it refuse to recognize it as a religion in and of itself.
I live in the U.S. where the country was built by those that wanted freedom of religion.
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there will be regions where it will be much higher (the south, bible belt, etc), but there are parts of this country where it will also be much lower (New England/the west coast). If immigration is opened up at the farm labor/blue collar end of the skill spectrum, there will likely be an up tick in religious observance in areas that might otherwise trend downward (California).
I think you switched lower/higher around (the GP was talking about people _without_ religious observance.)
You are correct. My brain was thinking those with observance. Early morning/tired posting victim. Thanks
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#36Allen was my professor at Olin. In a facebook comment to when another prof posted an article about this "study" he did (which was purely for computational statistics purposes, not to really make a theological statement), his response:
"I'm so proud. Structure of all responses to my paper: (1) New study says Internet is a tool of Satan, (2) correlation does not imply causation, so this paper is stupid, (3) here, on the basis of no evidence at all, is the real cause of religious disaffiliation."
The way the internet has contorted the original study to make sensationalist commentary is pretty hilarious.
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#37When my mother went to Catholic schools in the US in the late 1940s and 1950s, every teacher was a member of a religious order. When I went to Catholic schools from the late 1970s to the 1980s, about half the teachers were in religious orders, half lay people. My cousin goes to Catholic schools right now. None of his teachers thus far have been religious, all have been lay people. Such a shift in the past half centur…
> as the moderates leave, the fundamentalists make the churches more and more fundamental and fanatic, driving out the moderates still left, which gives the fundamentalists even more power and the church drives out those moderates still left and so on.
That's a fascinating point. The question is, as this circular process reaches a new equilibrium, what are we left with?
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#38The more fascinating question is why the widespread availability of knowledge and information hasn't done a better job of overcoming provincial superstitions.
To the downvoters: what did you find objectionable about my contribution?
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, though I wouldn't be surprised if it were true right now. The Internet is undoubtedly the greatest tool that has ever been created for spreading religion, but in the short term it probably just magnifies whatever the larger social/religious fads are, e.g. new atheism.
It's also the greatest tool that has ever been created for destroying superstition and myth. We're in the golden age of critical thinking, something that is very destructive to religious belief.
Also, online communities and communication could go some way to replacing what some people enjoy about the community aspect of churches.
Re: How the Internet Is Taking Away America’s Religion
#40When my mother went to Catholic schools in the US in the late 1940s and 1950s, every teacher was a member of a religious order. When I went to Catholic schools from the late 1970s to the 1980s, about half the teachers were in religious orders, half lay people. My cousin goes to Catholic schools right now. None of his teachers thus far have been religious, all have been lay people. Such a shift in the past half centur…
> as the moderates leave, the fundamentalists make the churches more and more fundamental and fanatic, driving out the moderates still left, which gives the fundamentalists even more power and the church drives out those moderates still left and so on. That's a fascinating point. The question is, as this circular process reaches a new equilibrium, what are we left with?
In some cases, maybe a secretive minority willing to die for the incredible belief in their cause and not enough moderates to criticise their behaviour?
Bit like what you can see with friends who push their partying too hard. They alienate more conservative friends but find agreeable social partners elsewhere, gradually re-filling their social circle with other hard partiers. Over time, perhaps what was normal seems boring and the behaviour gets worse?