Goodbye Religion? How Godlessness Is Increasing With Each New Generation

[[deleted user]]

This demographic transformation has been in progress ever since World War II, but in recent years it's begun to seriously pick up steam.

More here: http://www.alternet.org/story/151947/...

[Betsy]

Very encouraging. I hope it's true.

[MadgeUK]

If a Tea Party candidate gets to be President, I expect there will be some backsliding on any progress which has been made:(.

Other Western countries have made a lot more progress than America, which is still in the grip of fundamentalism, the more so since 9/11 and the Bush 'Crusade', which followed on from the Moral Majority under Reagan. No European or Scandinavian country exhibits the same sort of religious fervour in public or private life as does America
.

[[deleted user]]

I met a lot of people at college (in a small city in Missouri) who, if not outright atheists, certainly didn't care for any organized religion.

I think what's going on with the religiosity of the US (and I believe this is what the article gets at as well) is a backlash by the older generations. As the youth membership declines the religious conviction amongst the older churchgoers intensifies. Possibly they see this as a confirmation of their fears of a secular society on the horizon, but for whatever reason it seems that as youth participation goes down the believers double down on their convictions.

[MadgeUK]

...is a backlash by the older generations.

I agree Donegal and of course the older generation have all the power - over education, the media etc etc. It isn't until the present young generation break free of this, as they pursue their own careers, that we will begin to see real change but I do believe it is on the way, although it might have more impact on Europe first.

I am not a film goer these days but is there a change taking place in that genre? I notice there are a lot of science-fiction type films around - do they have atheistic content? Gone are the days of John Huston's bible films, although Mel Gibson had a go recently with The Passion of Christ, which was a huge box office success:( Here is a damning review of it by Earl Lee though:-

http://www.seesharppress.com/passion....

[Tom]

I agree with the 'backlash' theory, and think it goes even farther than religiosity, into politics and 'family values' and the whole tea-party phenomenon is part of that. It's like the white people who did NOT protest during the 60's are protesting now that they're old - I call it the 'revenge of the baby boomers' but it's their last stand. demographics and modernity are going to sweep them and their phony nostalgia out of the way, and their religio-hypocrisy along with them.

In other words, to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and this happens with social movements as well

[[deleted user]]

MadgeUK wrote: "I am not a film goer these days but is there a change taking place in that genre? I notice there are a lot of science-fiction type films around - do they have atheistic content?"

I would say yes, and not just in sci-fi. Horror, thriller, drama, period: I can think of examples from each genre. If you want to know more about atheism in film, I'd check out the movie recommendations thread!

And not just atheism, but general skepticism and appreciation of science (although there are also plenty of examples of glorified pseudoscience).

[MadgeUK]

It's like the white people who did NOT protest during the 60's are protesting now that they're old - I call it the 'revenge of the baby boomers'

Interesting idea Tom!


In other words, to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and this happens with social movements as well

Yes, an Hegelian concept which Marx and Engels called dialectic materialism.