Working Classes Are Leaving Religion In Droves

[Zacs-Master]

It would appear. What do you put this down to?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/13/uk-losing-faith-religion-young-reject-parents-beliefs

[mikey4444]

Doesn't surprise me one little bit.

The better educated people are, the less they are likely to believe in superstitious nonsense.

[Khandro]

I don't think it will always be so, no society can survive without some form of religion, Christianity has undergone many changes and has many complexions.

[mikey4444]

K....not sure why we need religion any more. We used to need it, as the vast numbers of ordinary people couldn't read or write, and relied on the Church, Mosque, etc, etc to tell them whats what.

I have survived my adult life managing quite well without the irrational belief in illogical circumstances.

[ummmm]

We have more money now. We go out for Sunday lunch rather than mass.

[Zacs-Master]

Mikey 'The better educated people are, the less they are likely to believe in superstitious nonsense.'

Surely the working classes TEND to be the least well educated?

[Baldric]

yes, I was surprised by that answer as well, does not read true.

[mikey4444]

Zacs....I don't believe that the working classes are actually leaving religion in droves at all. Dealing with Christianity, I am nor at all surprise that most now call themselves atheists.

With other religions, the lack of a modern education helps to explain why belief is still strong, As those communities gain a better education, then the same decline is inevitable.

[naomi24]

Christianity has survived on a mixture of rosy promises and fear and that still applies to some other religions, predominately Islam. However, subservience and respect for those who were once deemed more knowledgeable is no longer automatically accepted in the west and therefore people are now far more likely to ask questions. In receiving no satisfactory answers to those questions, those who are able to shake off the yoke of societal and cultural indoctrination realise that they are quite capable of surviving without superstition and therefore cease to believe. That said, many highly educated people cling to religion, so education is not a guarantee of rational thinking – and in my experience, educated or not, many, although not church-goers, continue to harbour a wishy-washy concept of a God that loves them and regards them as somehow special so I’m always wary of ‘statistics’ in this area.

[Baldric]

Then it would appear that the poorly educated are the ones who believe that the educated no longer believe in religious superstition

[-Talbot-]

Islam is expected to be the world’s largest religion by 2075.


Interesting that mikey thinks Muslims are going to be the section of society that resist education the most.

[Khandro]

naomi; //subservience and respect for those who were once deemed more knowledgeable is no longer automatically accepted in the west//

I don't think religion is, or ever had much to do with being subservient to those more knowledgeable. People didn't and don't follow Jesus or Shakyamuni Buddha because of their knowledge, but because they spoke the truth and taught how to live.

[ummmm]

Are you serious, Khandro?

[ToraToraTora]

perhaps our basic human intelligence is finally kicking in and we are, as a species realising what total BS it is. Recently saw this on Mr Robot, the best summation on religion I have ever heard:

[THECORBYLOON]

KHANDRO, many Roman Catholics (allegedl) do not practise birth control. Is that because of Jesus' teachings
or because of various Popes?

[ChillDoubt]

To follow TTT's excellent post.

I must admit that I'm always perplexed when anyone with a scintilla of education expresses belief in a celestial being who supposedly created the known universe, but that's just me.

[Khandro]

Corby; The Bible nowhere forbids birth control, so Catholics ought to take that up with the pope.

[Chris38]

It seems pretty obvious - when people lose religious belief , they do not believe in nothing - they believe in anything.

[ummmm]

Shock horror...Catholics also have sex outside of marriage.

[THECORBYLOON]

KHANDRO, are Roman Catholics not being subservient to their Pope then?

[mikey4444]

Chris....you have that 100% wrong.

The absence of belief in a God, isn't an excuse to believe in any anything. I haven't replaced my childhood and childish belief in a God, with anything.....I don't need to believe in anything, and that is the point.

If Christianity was a bit more rational, I might go back and look at the evidence, but it isn't rational or logical at all.....not even a little bit.

For me, religious belief is on a par with believing in fairies, goblins, pixies and the tooth fairy......its infantile.