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Related: About this forumReligion Has Nothing to Fear From the 'Nones'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-eric-h-yoffie/religion-has-nothing-to-fear-from-the-nones_b_3033881.htmlRabbi Eric H. Yoffie
Lecturer, writer, and President Emeritus, Union for Reform Judaism
Posted: 04/08/2013 5:05 pm
Hardly a month goes by when we don't read about the decline or collapse of organized religion in America. But religion -- including the organized sort -- remains vital and vibrant, defying the predictions of doom that appear with numbing regularity.
The latest round of these discussions follows the publication of two studies showing that 20 percent of Americans claim no religious affiliation when asked to state their religious preference. The number of "nones" has doubled in the last two decades.
Writing in The Huffington Post on March 20, Professor Gary Laderman of Emory University argues that religion in America will never be the same. He suggests that the dramatic increase of "nones" reflects profound changes in American society. Americans, he says, have embraced individualism and consumerism and apply this ethic to their spiritual choices; they are greatly influenced by popular culture and increasingly look to film, television and the Internet as a source of spiritual authority; and they define religion very broadly, seeing many venues other than established places of worship as arenas for sacred activities.
Laderman's conclusion is that we are now experiencing "the end of religion as we know it." He urges us to "forget churches, forget priests and pastors; forget the Bible; forget organized religion generally." The future lies in a "brave new world" of spiritual possibilities that will be increasingly unhinged from traditional religious authorities.
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Religion Has Nothing to Fear From the 'Nones' (Original Post)
cbayer
Apr 2013
OP
Fortinbras Armstrong
(4,477 posts)1. Oh, brave new world, which has such people in it
I generally agree with Rabbi Yoffie. Religion is still around, and will be for the foreseeable future.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)2. Agree. I think the onus lies on religious institutions.
They need to re-evaluate their processes and adapt to a changing population if they wish to survive.
In the meantime, there appears to be a vacuum which new institutions may rise up to fill.
rrneck
(17,671 posts)3. Religion has more to fear from professional football. nt
cbayer
(146,218 posts)4. True that. Games that conflict with traditional Sunday services?
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rrneck
(17,671 posts)5. Football is just as much a religion as religion.
And religion is just as much entertainment as football.