Young people’s belief in God drops sharply: poll

reply to post by windword



My name is Jodi, I am 37 years old and was raised a Christian. I however have doubted and subsequently decided that I no longer believe in the bible. I 'think' I believe in God, but I'd be lying to say that I don't question. I have had plenty of spiritual experiences. I have had my share of experiences with death even, like that of my daughter back in 2000. I still question the Christian God and am rather inclined to believe that it is nothing more than a bunch of nonsense written by men. Men with big egos and something to prove, but little to none of it having to do with the truth of the matter.

I was 10 when I started to question things. I read parts of the bible and thought "what sort of God would be like this? Why does God condone such hatred of women?.. and more of the like.

I was raised in a Christian household, we went to church, we said our prayers at night, we said 'grace' before meal times... blah blah blah.. it meant nothing to me. Just words, none of it proven, none of it meaning anything and certainly not believeable. I sometimes would envy those who could just blindly believe this stuff, but as for me I just couldn't bring myself to believe something like that.

So as an ATS member, that is what I have to say about that!

Originally posted by michaelbrux
What's most impressive is the general belief that Religion and God and synonymous.

This is a master stroke how the church has monopolized the notion of faith and belief with itself so that without the church there is no God...

I believe the reality is that young people's belief in church has dropped sharply. this i understand, as mine belief in church has been effectively non-existent for my entire life and I didn't know how to think about God, until I sat face to face with evil.

This is a good point!! I believe in God, I have however never had any interest, belief or faith in any church of any kind.

Originally posted by CrimsonKapital
Anyone else notice how with the decline of Christianity/Catholicism in the West, our moral and family values have also declined...

More likely they are just out in the open and not shoved behind closed doors anymore.

reply to post by CrimsonKapital


Funny how when a woman has the morals of a man, she is slut. I think it is your antiquated morals that are the problem.

And to refute your claim, crime is at a 60 year low in the US.

reply to post by nixie_nox

to be fair, it is common knowledge that the crime statistics are manipulated.

there is an ongoing case in milwaukee about just this subject. violent crime was underreported in order to drop the crime rate. this was done for political purposes to further the campaign of the democratic candidate for governor, tom barrett, who is the mayor.

The study found that 15% more young people doubt the existence of God than in 2007.

My first thought was: YIPEE! Less brainwashed kids..... we may soon see the end of religion!

My second thought was: Shame it’s only 15% more..... we may have to wait a while longer if the aliens don’t return soon.

I’m so glad the kids are waking up....

Mickierocksman

Originally posted by nixie_nox
reply to post by CrimsonKapital

 

Funny how when a woman has the morals of a man, she is slut. I think it is your antiquated morals that are the problem.

And to refute your claim, crime is at a 60 year low in the US.

Here here!

A man that "dates" a few woman, non exclusively, is a player. A woman that "dates" more than one man is less moral than her male counterpart, and called a slut.

I believe in a creator not neccessarily "God" that is the name I refer to him as, but the image I picture him as in my mind might not exactly match up to how he might really look. Does anybody really know for sure what image he takes as no one has really seen him in modern times unless he reappears for some reason. And at the rate this worlds going I wouldn't be surprised if we see our creator soon.

It's the internet bolstered by impostrous principals of every capacity, science, and general social acquiesce.

The truth will prevail.

Originally posted by Sampire
good.

Frankly, I am baffled when I encounter an otherwise, seemingly intelligent young person that still believes...

Making the assumption that there's nothing beyond our limited five senses is similarly baffling. Intelligence has led me to claim nothing in either direction, and to simply believe in possibilities.

reply to post by Mickierocksman


Believing in God isn't necessarily religion. From my point of view, all religions do have their ups and downs but in the end, they aren't meant to be perfect since they are created by man and NOT God. Having grown up in a Christian household, I was never forced to believe certain things. All I was told to do was to pray to God and let Him show me the way. I have questioned my beliefs many times in the past but EVERY single time that happened, I was always proven that there is a higher power.

god must want it this way

reply to post by GmoS719


You don't own your family. They are living sentient human beings and can think for themselves.

reply to post by AkumaStreak


Like the possiblity that God is telling you to cut off the heads of your chilldren?

So what good is an ignorant fence sitter? Maybe some day youll give a speech about how the genital mutilation of little girls MIGHT be a good thing?

reply to post by windword


I just saw this thread so I hope that I'm not posting something that someone else already has, but I don't really think this poll reveals very much because of the nature of the question.

"I have never doubted the existence of God"

Well, confirmation or denial of that statement really doesn't tell us much about a person's belief. For example, I am a strong believer, I have no doubt about the existence of God. However, that wasn't always true. There were times in my life when I lost all faith. So, I would have to agree with that statement, but then you say it would determine that I don't believe in God? That's not true, just not always, and that is extremely common amongst believers, maybe even more so than those who just always believed. The story of a person's coming to God is repleat even in the Bible. There are literally Biblical heroes who would have to affirm that statement. I just don't think the question really reveals what the OP is suggesting it does.

Originally posted by GmoS719
I would blame it on T.V. & mainstream music. The programs that teenagers & young adults watch these days continuously make a mockery out of God & Jesus. Someone has an agenda, I'll make sure they don't brainwash me or my family though.

edit on 14-6-2012 by GmoS719 because: (no reason given)

Funny that you'd interpret the increase in rational thought to be a "problem". Have you not considered that, JUST POSSIBLY, you and your family have been brainwashed by a book? FYI, Christianity doesn't have exclusive rights to "God"; the concept has pre-dated Christianity by several thousand years.

well of course.

the NWO has targeted religion for elimination and we all became compliant, since in the end no one wants to even think of the possibility that there is something to God after all.

Even if God turns out to be Gods and they are in fact trans-dimensional beings, that made us so they could use bio-mechanical bodies in this realm.

I don't know. The fact is that for many thousands of years our ancestors honored them and were grateful to them/ it whatever.

I will not presume that because some hipster jackass now thinks life is more agreeable without God that there is no God after all.

My ancestors honored him/ her/ them/ it, and I will as well.

My generation would become communist fascists if it were sold correctly to them. I wouldn't count on history remembering much of them. Fickle lazy and self serving. I would´nt put any weight into what those dumbasses say.

Give religion 20-30 years and natural tendencies to honor our ancestors Gods will return. It is unavoidable. There is more than just conditioning going on here. It is very real to the truly awakened. There is an other worldly intelligence guiding us that prepare to hear it. You can say what you will but I know my God. I am the sort of person that questions everything especially authority. I don't doubt for a second there is a God (Whatever Name)

I know him.

But hey you could fall in line and get with what's trendy. If we all question God together maybe he wont exist.

It's amazing how many stereotypes there are regarding christians. I don't mean this in a negative way; however, one would think christians are a group of monsters from how we are described. The people who attend my church are from a wide spectrem of life. You have old concervative couples to teens with piercings and gauges. All people are welcomed. Our pastor is very down to earth and knowledgable to answer many tough questions. In fact, we are encouraged to ask questions about faith and the bible. No one is brainwashed, we are encouraged to examine our lives in how we walk with Christ. We actually had to expand our church due to outgrowing the old building. Our church membership has tripled in the last four years. We are actually a "young" church. In other words, about 70% of our members are 35 and younger.
I do feel bad about those who have had negative experiences with the christian church, not allowed to ask questions about the bible, and explore thier faith. This is unfortunate, as you can not grow in your walk with Christ if those things are suppressed. If you open your heart and mind, you will know if a church is alive or dead in the spirit. It makes ALL the difference in how you worship.

I wonder if the Romans and Egyptians thought the same thing when their gods' were going out of style. Be tolerant of other people's beliefs. I could care less if a person is religious, but I have a problem when said person starts pushing his or her religion onto me. Live and let live; let the youth decide for themselves instead of pitying or worrying for them. If your god really exists then I'm sure he'll have no problem damning us all to hell, anyway.

Originally posted by Siberbat
It's amazing how many stereotypes there are regarding christians. I don't mean this in a negative way; however, one would think christians are a group of monsters from how we are described. The people who attend my church are from a wide spectrem of life. You have old concervative couples to teens with piercings and gauges. All people are welcomed. Our pastor is very down to earth and knowledgable to answer many tough questions. In fact, we are encouraged to ask questions about faith and the bible. No one is brainwashed, we are encouraged to examine our lives in how we walk with Christ. We actually had to expand our church due to outgrowing the old building. Our church membership has tripled in the last four years. We are actually a "young" church. In other words, about 70% of our members are 35 and younger.
I do feel bad about those who have had negative experiences with the christian church, not allowed to ask questions about the bible, and explore thier faith. This is unfortunate, as you can not grow in your walk with Christ if those things are suppressed. If you open your heart and mind, you will know if a church is alive or dead in the spirit. It makes ALL the difference in how you worship.

The Christian Church you are a member of, and are describing, is not of the "brand" of Christianity that is responsible for the stereotyping you mention. As a non-Christian who has actually read the Bible and many other religious texts, I think there are many positive and important values to be taken from it. But there are also plenty of malignancies within it, and I think that reflects the long chain of translations, interpretations, revisions, and omissions that have resulted in the Bible that is, today, the foundation for most of modern Christianity.

Any religion or church that practices an unbiased acceptance of its members sounds pretty good to me. The problem people have is with what I'll call "Fundamentalist Christianity". It is in these churches and sects that the message intended has been completely warped and distorted, leaving little more than a tax-exempt hate-group.