What Societal Changes are Driving the Decline of Christianity Today


I'm reading Religion's Sudden Decline; What's Causing it and What Comes Next by Ronald F Inglehart. 

I've written here often about the internet and how easy it is for anyone wanting an argument against what preachers claim to find it. No longer do they have to go to the local library.

Inglehart has a broader perspective. Early in the book he explains the basic conclusions. It starts back in a time that encompasses nearly all of human history up until recently. There was an agreed upon observation among humans more babies were needed to replace people who died. Life expectancy was low and infant mortality high. This agreed upon observation found its way into religion. Most religions up to this very day retain the view that large numbers of children is good, low numbers bad. This is called a "pro fertility norm" in religions.

In addition, the high death rate, weather changes and everything else necessary for subsistence living resulted in agreement humans faced uncertainty. Over their 300,000 years of human history before recent times uncertainty was large. Finding enough food and shelter to stay alive was the preoccupation. Just as the high death rate put fertility into religion, uncertain food and shelter did the same thing. Religion became about certainty, a god or many gods were watching out for you. As Matthew 6:34 tells readers, "Worry not about tomorrow."  Genius 1:11-12 tells readers God provided food for humans. Religion of the mind provided certainty while events in real time were uncertain.

Today, both of these have been undermined. The globe does not need more people. The amount of food and shelter security outruns the uncertainty back when religions were founded. Need for the certainty of religion has diminished accordingly. 

It takes a few generations, Inglehart says, for the public to soak up what they see around them. For a few generations there have been lots of people and plenty of food and shelter. Only with this generation of young people is it recognized the premise or premises for religion have disappeared. Death, of course, remains but the other needs for religion do not. While people have been repeating to each other for thousands of years the need for religion they have now began to repeat to each other the need no longer exists. If religion keeps saying something the broader public begins to see as untrue there are consequences.

Falling numbers in religion reflect this problem today.

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