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July 27th, 2013
08:33 AM ET
Why millennials are leaving the church
(CNN) - At 32, I barely qualify as a millennial. I wrote my first essay with a pen and paper, but by the time I graduated from college, I owned a cell phone and used Google as a verb. I still remember the home phone numbers of my old high school friends, but don’t ask me to recite my husband’s without checking my contacts first. I own mix tapes that include selections from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, but I’ve never planned a trip without Travelocity. Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I’m often asked to speak to my fellow evangelical leaders about why millennials are leaving the church. Armed with the latest surveys, along with personal testimonies from friends and readers, I explain how young adults perceive evangelical Christianity to be too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. I point to research that shows young evangelicals often feel they have to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith, between science and Christianity, between compassion and holiness. I talk about how the evangelical obsession with sex can make Christian living seem like little more than sticking to a list of rules, and how millennials long for faith communities in which they are safe asking tough questions and wrestling with doubt. Invariably, after I’ve finished my presentation and opened the floor to questions, a pastor raises his hand and says, “So what you’re saying is we need hipper worship bands. …” And I proceed to bang my head against the podium. Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing twenty-somethings back to church is simply to make a few style updates - edgier music, more casual services, a coffee shop in the fellowship hall, a pastor who wears skinny jeans, an updated Web site that includes online giving. But here’s the thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances. In fact, I would argue that church-as-performance is just one more thing driving us away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular. Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions - Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. - precisely because the ancient forms of liturgy seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and we find that refreshingly authentic. What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance. We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against. We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers. We want churches that emphasize an allegiance to the kingdom of God over an allegiance to a single political party or a single nation. We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities. We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers. You can’t hand us a latte and then go about business as usual and expect us to stick around. We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there. Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus. Now these trends are obviously true not only for millennials but also for many folks from other generations. Whenever I write about this topic, I hear from forty-somethings and grandmothers, Generation Xers and retirees, who send me messages in all caps that read “ME TOO!” So I don’t want to portray the divide as wider than it is. But I would encourage church leaders eager to win millennials back to sit down and really talk with them about what they’re looking for and what they would like to contribute to a faith community. Their answers might surprise you. Rachel Held Evans is the author of "Evolving in Monkey Town" and "A Year of Biblical Womanhood." She blogs at rachelheldevans.com. The views expressed in this column belong to Rachel Held Evans. soundoff (9,864 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Opinion by Rachel Held Evans, Special to CNN
As a "millennial" I can say that I'm not looking for Jesus and I'm not looking for religion. The reasons for my disenfranchisement though isn't out of some petty childhood rebellion I just honestly feel that religion has nothing to offer me. I don't need or want salvation because honestly I don't believe in it. I believe in personal responsibility and accountability for your own actions.
Well said Ben.
And you are correct in saying you are responsible for your decisions and actions. What you miss is that who you are accountable to. Man? Only within the scope of discovery and judgment. God? Everything you have done since the age of accountability, which is different in all of us. God knows your heart, and knows what you have done right, as well as wrong.
I think you are one of many who say "what's In it for me". Especially when it comes to the Church. I can tell you that "religion" is not Jesus Christ. That is what got him crucified. Pure faith in His message of John 3:17. Yes, 3:17' not just 3:16, is very important to us all. That and what He referred to as the greatest commandment when asked by His disciples. Love God and love your neighbor. Pretty simple, right?
If the world would just act on those two principles, think of how different it would be.
That said, also know He died for all, so we could approach a perfect God with total forgiveness.
I just wish you, and others like you, could accept that kind of love. It can change your life.
he is accountable to himself. not some imaginary deity.
That insinuates that ones life needs changing. Often times, the most religious people are the ones who have the most disastrous life here on earth. Some of us are leading honorable, fulfilling and wonderful lives without the story of the bible(or insert old book written by ancient people here) to lead us.
sounds a lot like Santa Claus...
"And you are correct in saying you are responsible for your decisions and actions. What you miss is that who you are accountable to."
The society in which you live. A main purpose of religion and churches is to encourage people to be better citizens in the societies in which they live, just as parents sometimes use tales of Santa Claus to encourage better behavior from their children.
"I think you are one of many who say "what's In it for me". Especially when it comes to the Church. I can tell you that "religion" is not Jesus Christ."
You just don't get it. None of your explanations have any value at all if there is no God, and there is no reason to believe there is a God.
"If the world would just act on those two principles, think of how different it would be."
Think of how different it would be if most of the world's population didn't believe in a wide variety of often contradictory fairytales and stopped thinking that belief trumps fact, evidence, and reason.
"I just wish you, and others like you, could accept that kind of love. It can change your life."
How do I "accept" something that isn't real?
How sad. Satan has blinded you to the truth. Without accepting Jesus as your Lord and savior, you cannot be saved. He is God and became man to save us all from our sins. In John 14: 6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life no one comes to the Father accept through me. John 3: 16 says : For God so loved the the world that he gave his only begotten son (Jesus) so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It's truly sad because God suffered to save us all, but unfortunely some won't realize it until it is too late. Accept Jesus now while you still have time. If you die today where will you spend eternity, in Heaven or Hell. These places are both real! You have to make the right choice now! After you die your fate is sealed. You can't make that decision after you die. Alot of times, we get caught up in our lives here on Earth where we all experience ups and downs. Satans desire is to distract us and to keep our eyes off the big picture. We often lose sight of the fact that this life is temporary. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says: that which is seen is temporal, but the that which is unseen is eternal. When you die you will not cease to exist. You will live eternally. The question is where? Satan desires your soul. The stakes are high, but God loves us too. Accept Jesus today as you Lord and savior. Its the best invest you can make and it doesn't you anything the price has already been paid!!!
When I read your post I couldn't help but picture it as one of those late night infomercials. Act now! Operators are standing by! Buy one and get the second at half-price plus s&h!
in this age of information i think it is becoming exceedingly difficult to convince people that any one of the myriad of religions in the world today and throughout history is actually valid.
Let's cut to the chase. The REAL divide today is that most people, groups, and individuals (not just Millennials) want a church that teaches relative truth and not absolute truth. Today's society fits very well into relativism, where all religion and all theology is acceptable. In fact, if a person holds to an absolute, that person is considered to be irrational, out of touch, intolerant, or a bigot. The Jesus that I read about in the Bible NEVER taught relative truth – He taught in absolutes. People today want to meet the god of their opinion that fits their lifestyle, not the God of Scripture. If the church that I attend dies because it holds to its doctrine and can't attract new members because it will not change to this age of relativism, then so be it. I'm ok with changing cosmetics, music, sermon style, whatever, to meet the needs of today's society. I am not ok with bending theology to meet the masses.
The Christian Church has done nothing but CONSTANTLY change over the course of it's history to fit whatever was the most acceptable at the time in society so that they could maintain their power. Your argument is completely laughable and nobody will take you seriously spewing nonsense like this that isn't in line with the real historical behavior of the church.
So true...
well said
Only the Sith deal in absolutes.
You know what, you are 100% correct. I think that combining this with what the author has stated would make for a HUGE attractant to those that are not currently involved in a church. I am a 33-year-old Youth Leader at a non-denominational church, an Elder, and a husband/father of 2 (soon to be 3). What drew me to my current church was the sense of real community, while continuing to stand for what they believed in, without compromise.
Where I see many churches fall is when they talk about how they should deal with things they don't agree with. Whether it comes to wealth, marriage, etc...they often fall back to purely Law. As Christians, we are called to *love*. Even Jesus, when having the option to have the adultress stoned to death, chose to recognize the Law – but opted for grace. We are supposed to do likewise. This should be the example not just for our reaching out to the poor, the widows, the orphans...but also those that are choosing to live in sin. We need to stop acting like they are beneath us (because we *all* are sinners), and try to love them. It's really not that hard, we just have to make the choice – who will you serve: God, or yourself?
The millennials are going to be alright. I have found them to be grounded and logical and smart. They will take what they are given and make a better world. Hopefully, they won't be as greedy and we are and will give a crap about their fellow humans. I do hope they ditch religion. Religion is holding us back.
This article is rumbling from one direction to another. It doesn't make sense to people with common sense. Long and boring at all.
skytag
That's not what she's saying at all. Thanks for sharing. Always good to hear from the judgmental, hateful Christians.
Skytag, the angel won wars for Israel. The put the Lord on their war banners and gave him the name Jehovah Nicea
The Lord our Banner. when people refer to their faith that comes with the seal of the Holy Spiirit, they have something special. lack there of is to be pittied.
its not hate ful. its not hate. it the unbelieving world is trying to ram rod an evil way down the face of the public, we might hate that, but not you. We love you.
2 Peter 1:19-21
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Yes, yes and sports teams put cool looking emblems on their uniforms and coaches give pep talks. At the end of the day it's still people that win or lose.
Would this count as contradictory evidence of this article: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/495070/20130729/world-youth-day-2013-gathering-ends-sunday.htm#.UfZictKOTTo
In Brazil, not the USA. In the USA, the numbers are going down. Brazil still lacks the education system allowing its youth to get above their sky-gods.
Being a person of "reason" I am sure you are aware of the ability to travel internationally. I know a number of people who traveled from NYC to Brazil for Youth day. Lastly, for those so enamored of reason I would suggest reading the Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas. It does an excellent job of articulating faith using reason.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising. Many of you reading this will come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior very very soon.(Laugh now since it is time to do so, but very very soon the King of glory will be lifted up on earth and draw billions to salvation). You will be coming to Cnn, fox, msnbc for news of What God is doing on the earth. It was written for those who have an ear to hear.
Meuller?
You teeter on the verge of mental illness...maybe seek medical help
Seems to me you are missing the part about the 'one ring to rule them all' in your post.
Yes, every night darkness covers the earth, and every morning, the "Son (sun) of Man" casts his light down upon us all. As such, the Sun gives its life energy while the Earth, and all things living, receive this gift of life.
Simple, ancient allegory based more on astrology than theology.
2 Peter 1:19-21
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Say crazy stuff and people think you are crazy, say your crazy stuff is the word of a deity and you have half the world ready to worship you.
Damocles, you always say something bold that t's me off just a little bit. So you are loyal to your cause? also just a little ignorant and at times arrogant. saul killed christians before he had his domascus road experience. I persecuted the church as well, including my family. it really didn't start with anything more than a hobby like yours. but it ended with th truth that God is alive, He is not inside the book. Oh no, He is everywhere.
@austin
Nothing you said really had anything to do with what I said, but I'll respond to something you actually said in your post. 'Saul killed christians'. How many? When I ask 'how many', I'm asking how many believers your deity deemed a fitting sacrfice before changing Saul's mind? And the really sick thing is, believers read this story and go 'yay for Saul, he's a good guy because he had a change of heart'.
It's not my job to give you a raging case of the warm and fuzzies nor to tick you off. You can be whatever you want to be after reading my posts.
spend more time in the Word of God.
No better way to brainwash yourself than to immerse yourself in the propaganda.
Waste more time in the word of god...or live free and think freely
And hence the root of the problem. Spend more time reading a science book instead.
Which God(s)? The Roman/Greek gods such as Pluto, Zeus or Hera or maybe the Judaism/Christian/Muslim version such as Baal, EL or Yahweh and his wife Ashwer (the latter are listed in your Bible)
Why are we leaving the church? Where is Jesus? Where are the leaders who should lead by example? I saw a bunch of men who are fighting with the American Nun's over maintaining control when here are the facts: The Nuns are doing the work of the church – not the priest. I left the church because of their support for pedophiles and their complete lack of concern over the innocent children and families that they harmed so much. I did not find God in the Catholic church anymore – I'll find God somewhere else and I will take all of my money with me.
If millenials have "sensitive BS meters" I don't think organized religion will work for them as the latter is all BS
Yes, an evangelical claiming to havbe a "sensitive BS meter" is like the town drunk claiming to know when he's had one to many.
If they could detect truth at all, they would not have voted in such great numbers for Obama. The source of truth is God.
Feeling persecuted? What does Obama have to do with this? Is it the fact that he doesn't sway to your belief that states the LGBT, women and children should be abused and shut up? Is it the fact that he would like to see equal rights for all based on the one thing everyone has in common-the human factor? You reside in a secular country, not a theocracy...it is time to join the present and suck it up...times are changing and your belief system will go to the back burner like many others before it have.
Seriously? Stay on topic you little troll. Stop bringing Obama into an article that is unrelated to him in anyway.
Quote from “Jesus, interrupted” by Dr. Bart Ehrman
(page 275, Is Faith Possible)
“And so, just as I came to see the Bible as a very human book, I came to see Christianity as a very human religion. It did not descend from on high. It was created, down here on earth, among the followers of Jesus in the decades and centuries after his death.”
These are my same sediments and beliefs.
I don't see how it is possible to know much about the Bible, how it was writted, compiled, edited and changed over the centuries and NOT emerge from the process as an atheist.
Once a proposition has been accepted on faith, it cannot thereafter be examined in the light of reason.
Sagan (Ithink) made the same point in a similar fashion, "Reason did not lead them to their beliefs, so no amount of reason will dislodge them from their beliefs."
Not an agnostic?
Agnostic only defines knowledge not belief.
Sentiments*
@Emvaz, thanks for the correction, I hate spell check sometimes. 🙂
Of course
While millenials may say they are leaving the church over the perception the church is conservative, the fact is the most liberal churches are losing members...and have an especially acute millenials problem. So, try again, amybe study the problem instead of relaying a perpective that you feel connected too.
Problem? There is no problem. If millenials are leaving BS organized religious organization we will all be better off in the future. Educated free thinkers is a good thing.
What a troll. If you weren't so bias on the political spectrum you would realize that most "liberal" churches have a steady flow of believers because they do not force people to believe in what the priest wants them to believe, while "conservative" churches are loosing members due to the fact that they are forcing younger people to believe in only their version.
JESUS NEVER WENT TO A CHRISTIAN CHURCH",,,
That's because he was a Jew. Not a Christian.
More like never existed in the first place but you'll rarely see religious historians admit it. Too much money at risk and gotta keep the sheep bringing in the cash.
Probably because (i) Jesus was a Jew and there were no such thing as Christians until a few decades after his execution; (ii) the first churches were not built until the Third Century; and (iii) the theology of Jesus, from what we can tell, was so vastly different to Christians today that he would not even be considered a Christian.
@Rev Rick,
Do your research “Jesus” was an Ebionite Jew.
@ richunix – I suggest you go back and do more research on this one. I said he was a Jew, I didn't say anything else about what type of Jew he was (or was not).
I have to wonder how comfortable your LGBT friends would be if Jesus was really in the church.
I suppose they might be a little uncomfortable if he made a pass at them. Could be awkward.
It's Jesus! We'd be happy and at peace. Don't assume you know what Jesus would tell his children.
Quoting from the article, "We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there."
The question might be, which Jesus are we talking about? Is it the Jesus that man (religion) has defined over the last two millennia. That is, the Jesus of Catholicism, of the Baptists, of the Methodists, of the Mormons, or even the Jesus of Islam? Or perhaps it's the Jesus who was not sculpted by religious doctrine?
I certainly can't speak for all denominations. But in the Catholic tradition, you have it precisely backwards. Jesus Christ sculpted the doctrine ... not the other way around. It is true that the various councils annunciated the doctrines in a structured way but they all come from God.
Really?? You can say that with a straight face??
Can you point me to where Jesus said ANYTHING about the Catholic rituals of Communion, including transubstantiation, confession, infant baptism, the immaculate conception of Mary, his own virgin birth, the ascension of Mary into heaven, sainthood, saints "answering prayers", limbo, pergutory, hell, or the Holy Trinity?
Because all of these Catholic doctrines were made up well after Jesus died.
Where to begin??? You've asked about 15 questions. But lets look at one (and I'll simply refer you to something like "Catholic Answers" for the others): confession. Sure, sins may be forgiven in Baptism ... but we all continue to sin. And, in fact, Jesus told us to pray, "forgive us our trespasses", which clearly indicates that we need continued forgiveness. Jesus himself forgave sins regularly (Mt 9:6, 9:8 and note the plural "men" in the 2nd citation!). And Christ passed that mission on to his disciples (the 1st priests) by saying "As the Father has sent me, so I send you ... If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (Jn 20:21-23). Confession and forgiveness of sins was always done verbally and, in the early Church, publicly (see, the Didache. Circa 70AD). And the importance of confession before receiving the Eucharist was clear in 1 Cor. 11:27 and the Didache 4:14 and 14:1. Also see the Letter of Barnabas 19: "You shall confess your sins. You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light." Of course, there are more citations from Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Origen, Augustine etc. outlining the practice of confession in the early Church. The point is that this comes from Christ first ... the remainder of the references shows that the sacrament was followed even in the early, early Church.
As a former Catholic myself, I can say it is not the other way around. When scholars can't even figure out who wrote the Gospels (and those who did lied about who they were), it's difficult to say that doctrines come from God. As far as I know no one have ever discovered a single word written in God's own hand. Even Jesus never wrote a single word of scripture, Today many Jewish scholars don't even believe the Old Testament is literally true. That leaves the "prophesies" of and about Jesus on shaky ground.
Very true Rev. To quote from my upcoming book;
"there is a definite gap in time of about 250 years between the penning of the original gospels and the oldest complete copies we have. We don’t know how many iterations existed between the originals and these earliest copies. The Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus (the earliest complete gospels) may be copies of the originals, or copies of copies of the originals, or copies of copies of copies of the originals, or even more removed.
If we generously assume that a copy of a gospel lasted on average an entire generation as it was passed around, read in church, used to create other copies and generally handled, mishandled, used and abused, they are copies of copies of copies of copies of copies of copies of copies of copies of copies of the originals.
This raises the prospect that these oldest copies from the Fourth Century do not accurately reflect what was originally written by the authors of the gospels about 250 years earlier. In fact we know this must be the case, because there are over three thousand differences between the versions of the four gospels contained in the Codex Sinaiticus and those in the Codex Vaticanus. It has been said by one biblical scholar that it is easier to find two consecutive verses in which these two versions differ than two consecutive verses in which they agree. One can only imagine how they both must differ from the original gospels, penned some 250 years before.
@ Colin – very true! I recently heard Bart Ehrman discuss this very point on a radio talk show, as well as use this chronology to make his points during a debate with an evangelical Christian.
Indeed. What you have is a time gap of between about 40 (Mark) 50 (Matthew and Luke) and 65 (John) years between Jesus being executed and the gospels being written. Then you have another 250 years of material being added to and subtracted from the (sometimes inadvertantly, sometimes intentionally) until we get to Vaticanus and Sianaticus from about 340 C.E. – and they don't even agree!!
This is why it is historically impossible to state with any degree of confidence where the mythology of the gospels stops and the historically reliable information starts.
If Jesus existed he was a rebellious insurgent, maybe also making ridiculous claims about being "divine"; kind of of like Joseph Smith Jr or Muhammed.
Rev.Rick, Can we safely agree the Jesus and his epitome of ideas can not be followed as he never left us with written gospel of his own...but all we point to his followers gospels...what they understood as his teachings? I have no issue with that...Problem starts when Church and preachers sitting in a pulpit think they have duty to ask there followers to vote for a politician no matter they want peace or war ? That kind of Preaching is certainly not what Jesus would have preached.
@NJ – I agree with you on this. However, even the accounts of his "followers" should not be viewed as inerrant. The New Testament is useful as long as it is not used as a tool of judgment, but of guidance. The Gospels are not literally "gospel."
Couldnt agree with you more!!
Unfortunately you avoided the issue followers and preachers who are asking paritioners to vote for politicians for a reason while they turn a blind eye to so much of the things the same politicians promise which is anti-jesus.
@ NJ – While I did not address the issue in my response, but neither was I "avoiding" the issue. In fact, if ministers, priests or other clergy are going to endorse a particular political candidate, the I believe that church/denomination should be subject to tax for crossing the church vs. state separation boundary.
now... that is exactly what jesus would have said...wouldnt he? Precisely what i was getting at.
Any moment clergy thinks its being subjucated by any means...it takes up an alliance with a side. This is exactly where i feel clergy moves away from Jesus. Question is Tax vs blood of inconsequential tribal people in remote part of the world.
And clergy in USA prefers tax(which is mere money) over blood of the people who are inconsequential for us.
The ability to find neutrality of church in such cases is what is driving many from churches. If only you can understand this...then i think christianity would be as christ envisioned(christianity based on sacrifice). Well what would i know!!
People are leaving the church because they realize it's an archaic system that is male-dominated fixated on acquiring power and wealth.
Yep, just an ancient telephone game.
the only problem with that theory, is it isnt true. Even churches headed by women, are losing members.
the reason is simple, people dont believe the bible is Gods word, or holy, or relevant.
And that's great in my view. The sooner the better. 😀
I believe the reasons are far simpler. People are finally starting to see if for what it really is – the greatest show on earth!
If the Christian God is a fake why is there so much hate in many of the comments? Are you not being as intolerant as the “religious freaks”? Just saying.
Don't be naive because the peddling of the concept of your desert deity has caused misery and you know it.
@MAR: "If the Christian God is a fake why is there so much hate in many of the comments?"
If he's real why did he make you so stupid? If you really are that clueless I'll be happy to elaborate on the reasons.
"Are you not being as intolerant as the “religious freaks”? Just saying."
How tolerant should I be of people who base their world view and political agendas on fairytales and myths, think belief trumps fact, reason, and evidence, and consistent embrace some of the worst logic imaginable to justify their beliefs? Just askin'.
Well I don’t think I’m clueless just asking a question. Of all of the religions it appears Christians are attacked more frequently and with more hate than others. This could be because it is the dominant religion here in North America I’m not sure. But if Christianity goes away tomorrow how would that change people’s world view and political agendas for the better? Wouldn’t one set of stupid ideas be replaced by another? What is the alternative?
Faith is a control mechanism used to keep people blind and "in check". The bible is a book of moral stories, nothing more. There's no god, heaven, or hell. We live and then we die. No afterlife... As bleak as that may sound, it is reality.