The 10 year anniversary of my military enlistment happened recently and anyone who remembers me from the old times knows that I did most of my heavy posting while active duty. Argument kept my mind sharp among the mundane day to day. Not so much lately. Better job, yadda yadda. I get paid to argue with people.
However, I had an amusing thought of late when discussing long term demographic changes occurring here in the US with a friend on another forum.
75 years ago, nearly 3 quarters of the population here was protestant and nearly a quarter were catholic. Sum of ~90%
Now, while the percentage of Catholics hasn't really changed, the number of people within most Protestant denominations is about half it was when my grandfather was a young man. One in ten American's identify as non-denominational Christian and of the major denominations of protestant most are about half as large as they were 20 years ago. This is due to a wide variety of factors and I don't intend to get into it here, but suffice to say that even as decentralized as religious belief in America has been throughout it's history, the times we live in now may very well be the single most decentralized they ever have been.
So, why does that matter?
The funny thing about how religions influence a society overall has a lot to do with the majority acting as the majority does. 75 years ago, American religious belief was largely centralized, but now it isn't. Factor in the regional concentrations of Catholicism in New England and the country had a relatively even amount of "religious pressures" on the way everyone led their lives in most other places.
Now though? Now we don't have that. Last I checked Pew put the largest denomination of the largest relgious block in the US at under 10% and that block is "other baptist" (differentiating from southern baptists at 4%) and its not like thats an especially unified sounding group. So its safe to say that no more than 5-6% of the country is in a single protestant denomination (plus, roughly a quarter of the US falls under other, none, or undesignated)
Put simply, the level of social conformity in the US is at an all time low
So, what does that mean?
It means that, as far as it extends to Christianity, as a block, to influence how everyone else leads their lives is at an all time low, and losing ground every year. 38 states where gay people can get married. Pot legalization is on the rise. Acceptance of trans individuals is rising. Abortion remains legal. Fun stuff, all in all, for the most of the under 50 crowd.
What it means to me is that, for all the talk about correct metaphysics, for whether this or that theodicy is appropriate, for whether or not moral or teleological arguments prove god exists, for all of that, right now, it matters a hell of a lot less in the day to day lives of those who don't belong to the majority.
Christianity simply can't throw its weight around anymore. That classic, fragmentation and schizm, has finally reached a point where no one denomination can exert that much control nationwide and the number of states that can resist modern progress by clinging to religion are smaller than they've been, well, ever.
My Amusing Thought
How right you think you are is irrelevant. You've lost the ability to influence, meaningfully, how people acting in ways that aren't congruent with Christian morality, but are congruent with secular morality, live their lives.
How right you think you are is irrelevant.
I couldn't be happier,
-J
However, I had an amusing thought of late when discussing long term demographic changes occurring here in the US with a friend on another forum.
75 years ago, nearly 3 quarters of the population here was protestant and nearly a quarter were catholic. Sum of ~90%
Now, while the percentage of Catholics hasn't really changed, the number of people within most Protestant denominations is about half it was when my grandfather was a young man. One in ten American's identify as non-denominational Christian and of the major denominations of protestant most are about half as large as they were 20 years ago. This is due to a wide variety of factors and I don't intend to get into it here, but suffice to say that even as decentralized as religious belief in America has been throughout it's history, the times we live in now may very well be the single most decentralized they ever have been.
So, why does that matter?
The funny thing about how religions influence a society overall has a lot to do with the majority acting as the majority does. 75 years ago, American religious belief was largely centralized, but now it isn't. Factor in the regional concentrations of Catholicism in New England and the country had a relatively even amount of "religious pressures" on the way everyone led their lives in most other places.
Now though? Now we don't have that. Last I checked Pew put the largest denomination of the largest relgious block in the US at under 10% and that block is "other baptist" (differentiating from southern baptists at 4%) and its not like thats an especially unified sounding group. So its safe to say that no more than 5-6% of the country is in a single protestant denomination (plus, roughly a quarter of the US falls under other, none, or undesignated)
Put simply, the level of social conformity in the US is at an all time low
So, what does that mean?
It means that, as far as it extends to Christianity, as a block, to influence how everyone else leads their lives is at an all time low, and losing ground every year. 38 states where gay people can get married. Pot legalization is on the rise. Acceptance of trans individuals is rising. Abortion remains legal. Fun stuff, all in all, for the most of the under 50 crowd.
What it means to me is that, for all the talk about correct metaphysics, for whether this or that theodicy is appropriate, for whether or not moral or teleological arguments prove god exists, for all of that, right now, it matters a hell of a lot less in the day to day lives of those who don't belong to the majority.
Christianity simply can't throw its weight around anymore. That classic, fragmentation and schizm, has finally reached a point where no one denomination can exert that much control nationwide and the number of states that can resist modern progress by clinging to religion are smaller than they've been, well, ever.
My Amusing Thought
How right you think you are is irrelevant. You've lost the ability to influence, meaningfully, how people acting in ways that aren't congruent with Christian morality, but are congruent with secular morality, live their lives.
How right you think you are is irrelevant.
I couldn't be happier,
-J
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