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| | Wonder what Bill Maher's take on this is | |
A new study of census data from nine western countries alleges to show, statistically, religion in those countries is going extinct. Very interesting. If you question the study, just step on your average college campus for a few seconds. Our generation, by and large, doesn't believe the religious stories indoctrination that were pushed on our impressionable psyches as adolescents. Can you blame us? We don't believe in the Tooth Fairy or Santa Clause either, but that doesn't mean we are bad people.
The study seems to indicate a decreasing utility in religion in many secular democracies, causing fewer and fewer people to identify as religious. Netherlands is currently leading this trend, 40 percent of it's people said they were "non-religious." The Czech Republic came in at around 60 percent. The study shows that in the not so near future, all nine nations will likely reach a point whereby 100 percent of the population (or close to) no longer seek religion as an explanation.
Anyone that is surprised by this latest study, ask yourself, why? Juxtapose 2011 and 0 A.D. We live to our 70's, they lived until their mid 40's. We know natural disasters aren't the result of God punishing us. We know homosexuality isn't a sin (as 1500 + species commit acts of homosexuality in nature. Last time i checked, if it's committed naturally in nature, pretty sure it is then categorized as a natural act). Also, people use the internet, Google and scientific journals to solve questions they may have instead of seeking validation from a higher power. By and large, the question's that people pondered thousands of years ago have been solved by simple rational and logic through the application of testing and retesting scientific hypothesis's.
I think us agnostics have a duty to fight for the rights of religious folks to continue believing/practicing/promoting what they believe. I really do. Having said that, once religious beliefs begin creeping into the political arena and start having the effect of suppressing individuals rights (as they often do), we have a duty to vehemently defend such individual rights. Ultimately, I envision a much more tolerant society as religions is decreased.
