When New Gods Appear the Old One Cannot Compete


It is a tradition in the Christian faith to laugh off the ancient Greek gods. The same for gods of other religions like Hinduism. And, if other branches of Christianity look at the current God/Jesus differently than your own, pox on them.

But, what if some new form of spiritualism comes along that isn't necessarily about one particular god? This new form provides promise of happiness and maybe even some form of eternal life. If this new form takes so many directions there is no one villain like a "Satan" and no one "demon" it's a new game entirely.  That is happening. New numbers spell a long term decline in the old time religion.

In 2001 a British author penned a novel, American Gods, where the old gods of Christianity, Norse mythology, Greece and Rome were replaced by newly worshipped entities like technology, media and capitalism. He has been call prescient. Today groups consider Harry Potter, Star Wars and Game of Thrones to be scared texts. Wellness culture is a $4.2 trillion industry, half the size of the entire world health care market. 

Eclectic spiritual and magical practices like tarot cards and yoga, psychics and meditation all are growing while traditional Christianity is falling. Each of these started as general groups of like-minded fans then began to split and split again with no end in sight. These are on top of the millions who take a bit of Christianity and mix it with a bit of some other religion or religions. In the new book, Strange Rites; New Religions for a Godless World, those inside these new concepts of religion explain how each version fits what individual people want and need in their spiritual lives. Among those under 25 years the rate of atheism is 15%, about twice the rate of all adults.

The latter author does not claim this new world is "godless" but "Godless." There are lots of gods. But the old ones are not faring as well as the news ones.

I've read literally hundreds of posts by Christian authors who are trying to address falling Christian numbers. Not one has addressed the problem by talking and studying the nones themselves. The author of Strange Rites did so. Her description of the nones is much different than how Christian pundits describe them. They are often described by preachers as "unchurched" implying they need a church. They themselves, however, may be deeply into a spiritual life of Harry Potter or fitness and do not consider themselves "unchurched" in any way. 

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