Yikes! Am I really writing about religion? Well, yes and no. One of my comments on my A to Z reflection post was that I wish they had a category for religion. I am not interested in reading religious blogs any more than I am interested in reading political rants of others. (I know, I rant too.) I was very surprised when I had comments agreeing with me. Almost all of my friends are religious and I have no problem with that. I still celebrate all the holidays I grew up with and enjoy the basic principles of love of family and being thankful we are together.
I know very few folks who have developed my attitude toward religion (which I will not go into so you can thank me now). This past week a new study came out on religion in the United States. Lo and behold nearly 23% of folks are non-affiliated with any religion. And the numbers are even higher if we look at the younger generation.
I was raised Catholic and at the insistence of my husband I raised our sons as Catholics. None of us practice the faith today. I do not know their reasons, but mine are plentiful. A friend has a teen-age grandson who spent many years in Hebrew School only to decide he is a Pastafarian, The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He even has a T-shirt. Seeing as how it is organized - they have T-Shirts! - I won't be joining.
Check out the study if you are interested. I may still be in the minority, but the minority is growing.
I am not surprised by this because more people think and have seen/heard the problems within the Catholic church. I don't go unless it is a funeral or a wedding. Is this a good thing? I don't know. If it wasn't for faith, we would not have beautiful works of art or great architecture. There seems to be a link between longevity and faith. I think what most people get turned off by is how fear is used to rule people. This fear is used by the Church often. Also judgements. There are many who go to church only to judge others if they do not follow the same example which betrays the very notion of what the Church is supposed to teach.
ReplyDeleteI too only go to weddings and funerals, and not often to those. I label myself agnostic although Matt is an atheist. I certainly don't want to be ranted at by anyone whether it be by blog or by mouth. I'm a big girl and will make my own decisions thank you. I don't know what the stats are in the UK, but many of my friends are atheists and yet the Church of England is still extant with the Queen and family practicing the Christian religion.
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