if only this were true…
A facebook status from a Christian woman reads:
” Did you know that 70% of children who grow up in Christian homes are walking away from their faith as young adults??? According to a survey done by Focus On The Family, the number one reason is because of hypocracy of their families and their own homes. Faith begins at home!”
Do they not get it, that religious faith IS hypocrisy? (I just had to spell it right.) Wouldn’t life be nice if there were 70% less Christians with each passing generation. I don’t mind so much, people who believe there’s a God but not in religion. It’s religion that ruins the entire concept of God. They take a fine idea and just ruin it all with a bunch of silly ethnocentric, egocentric and generation-centric, political-centric crap. How uppity to think the creator of the Universe would trouble himself with piddly crap like that. If you wanna believe the Universe was created by a consciousness, that’s fine. To start assigning a personality and motivation to it is just beyond ridiculous. To make life decisions and profess love for this force is even more ridiculous. Get a life, people.
I was one of the 70%. I grew up in a very religious Christian household and abandoned the religion shortly after moving out of my parents’ house. It’s nothing against them, they are wonderful people. I just couldn’t get the answer I was looking for. I’m the type that needs more proof than theory. “Just have faith” was awfully vague for me.
Unfortunately many of those young adults will go back to religion when they “grow up” and start families of their own. I’m 27 and I’ve seen many of my friends who hadn’t gone to church in years suddenly decide that religion is an important consideration when looking for dates/spouses and then deciding to raise their kids in the church. I don’t understand how something could suddenly make sense after years of questioning it without any satisfactory answers. Luckily I found someone who was more rooted in their atheism than I was =)
Yes, and people tend to go back to spirituality if they have a near-death experience, difficult life experiences, or are getting to be of advanced age.
Death is the most elusive of all concepts for us to understand. God and Heaven is the best, easiest, and most comforting way to deal with death.
As an atheist for about 15 years, now, I can understand it somewhat. I have four small children for whom I have great fears about. I worry that they will get hurt or injured and I will be helpless to protect them. Imagine the peace that relinquishing all that worry and responsibility to a God might bring to me.
That being said, praying to and giving responsibility to an entity that doesn’t really exist and partaking in religious ceremony is not really my thing.