Religions driving people away from God -- Leonard Pitts Jr.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090317/OPINION03/903170337

March 17, 2009

Religions driving people away from God

BY LEONARD PITTS JR.
McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

We are losing our religion.

That, with apologies to R.E.M., is the startling conclusion of a new study, the American Religious Identification Survey, conducted by researchers at Trinity College of Hartford, Conn. The poll of more than 54,000 American adults found a sharp erosion in the number of people claiming religious affiliation.

-snip-

Some have suggested our loss of faith is due to increased diversity, mobility and immigration. I'm sure there's something to that, but I tend to think the most important cause is simpler: Religion has become an ugly thing.

People of faith usually respond to that ugliness -- by which I mean a seemingly endless cycle of scandal, controversy, hypocrisy, violence and TV preachers saying idiotic things -- in one of two ways. Either they defend it -- making them part of the problem -- or they regard it as a series of isolated, albeit unfortunate, episodes. But irreligious people do neither.

And people of faith should ask themselves: What is the cumulative effect upon outside observers of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker living like lords on the largesse of the poor, multiplied by Jimmy Swaggart's pornography addiction, plus Eric Rudolph bombing Olympians and gays in the name of God, plus Muslims hijacking airplanes in the name of God, multiplied by the church that kicked out some members because they voted Democrat, divided by people caterwauling on courthouse steps as a rock bearing the Ten Commandments was removed, multiplied by the square root of Catholic priests preying on little boys while the church looked on and did nothing, multiplied by Muslims rioting over cartoons, plus the ongoing demonization of gay men and lesbians, divided by all those "traditional values" coalitions and "family values" councils that try to bully public schools into becoming worship houses, with morning prayers and science lessons from the book of Genesis? Then subtract selflessness, service, sacrifice, holiness and hope.

Do the math, and I bet you'll draw the same conclusion the researchers did.

Who can be surprised if the sheer absurdity, fundamentalist cruelty and ungodly hypocrisy that have characterized so much "religion" in the last 30 years have driven people away? If all I knew of God was what I had seen in the headlines, I would not be eager to make His acquaintance. I am thankful I know more.

-snip-

more...

21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

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That applies to most of the people Potts mentions.


Walt

fear of the priest/minister class. If you don't buy the party line you are going to.......gasp.....hell.

nice.

Msongs

But organized religion is having a much harder time working in this world. Rigid and strict doctrine has become much more loose in today's society. I see religion evolving into a more philosophical path of existentialism where is no one definition of a god or gods.

They are based on agrarian and nomadic societies. They are full of superstitions. They can't deal with women as full human beings. They just don't work in our society.

People see that those doctrines don't work in light of modern biology, sociology and psychology.

Good mental health does not include telling a congregation they are ALL horrible and worthless people, doomed to hell with no hope, just because of a fairy tale where two people were in a garden and one of them ate a forbidden fruit, urged on by a talking snake.

:wtf:

He's UCC.

The Congregationalists, who started Harvard and Yale. The Pilgrims who have meeting houses.

If you are into equality and social action, but do NOT state you are Christian, then you are a Unitarian Universalist.

He spoke at General Synod two years ago, and talked about his church and his pastor.


He's not UU, btw.