I thought this was an interesting article, although not particularly surprising. I suppose I'm a little surprised that people change faiths so much, although increased information available means that people have more exposure to different religions and therefore an increased opportunity to choose the one that best suits them. Historically this information really wasn't available so people had to choose between the faith of their parents and nothing really.
I'm far less surprised by the fact that a lot of people are leaving organized religion altogether. I have a hard time dealing with someone who is given the power to decide what is morally right by an institution, especially when there is, it seems, little accountability. This is underscored, I suppose, by a lot of the recent church scandals, making people question why these particular people have such authority. THis also explains the heavy rate of attrition for Catholics in part. I also find it dangerous to give any institution the power over morality, since they can then bend it to their will. Look at the history of the Catholic Church. It is one of greed and bloodshed and powerhungry tyrants.
I'm not saying I'm against all organized religion for all people. Some people like it, and that's their choice. I just think that they should recognize its shortcomings.
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Agreed, this was an interesting article. In a way, I actually find it somewhat reassuring. For a topic that works itself into every aspect of a person's life, I've always found it frightening how many people have identical beliefs as their family. Not to imply that anyone in particular is wrong, but as a statistic that seems to indicate that many people have not fully thought through the issue--yet are willing to base their whole ethical system and devote their life to it!
You raise some interesting points on organized religion. To be honest, I've never really thought about the purpose before. I suppose it would be that (1) individuals with common beliefs desire to associate with each other and (2) having a religious authority provides a starting point for one's own beliefs. However in practice, it certainly has extended itself beyond that (which is why it makes sense to me that some people are withdrawing).
Out of curiousity nik (where does that come from btw?), are you religious?
Well, addressing your questions in order of importance
1. the name nik has a complicated origin, but basically it comes from the fact that I have a username that I use when I sign up for stuff online, the first few letters of which are nik. When I started playing poker, people started calling me nik, so I just went with it. And since I dont like to disclose any more than I have to online, I now use it as a convenient alias.
2. If I recall my post correctly (I can't see it as I type this), the things I wrote about organized religion are pretty much what I think about organized religion, so I am not religious in that sense. But I do think there are other ways to be religious, and there are things I believe in and of course, like most people, I often ponder questions that can be classified as theological. So I would not say I am religious in a traditional sense (church-going, etc...) but I do believe in a higher power, etc...
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