General News America becoming less Christian, more secular

I think this is extremely positive.

 

America may become less Christian, but many of it's laws and "acceptable" beliefs still stem from Judeo-Christian ways of thinking. You see this in mega-churches especially, where the focus is on the mega-church and very little on the faith; it's swapping one idol for another.

I'll take this lightly, though. Until I see our currency with "In Allah/Buddha/etc We Trust", too, this is still a heavily influenced Christian nation.

 

What a way to counter the positive christian thread in this news forum just saying hope it was not intentional

But I wil admit before you all jump on me America is no longer a christian nation even though it was founded on christians values and that is why I believe is separation of church and state. No religion or belief should have the ultimate power in this country.

 

I don't think Christianity is a problem.Just the attitude most people there have about it.

 

Well I believe in that no religious or non religious belief has a place in government meaning no one should be put in the the white house and declare this nation a pro christian, pro atheist, pro jewish and so on. What i mean is these deeply held beliefs we have should have in place in government despite the the founding fathers say and the founding fathers did not anticipate the diversity and differences that would change this nation so i think it is safe to say we should not take everything they said seriously.

 

Well it's unfortunate because I think people are leaving Christianity for the wrong reasons.

People think they have to choose between being in the LGBT community and being Christian. They think they have to choose between science and religion. They associate Christianity with bigotry, closed-mindedness and anti-intellectualism.

The more extreme Christians don't help. They enforce this kind of division. They try to alienate themselves more and more from the LGBT community and claim that LGBT people are a threat to Christianity. They try and make it into an us vs. them contest with Muslims and Islam. They try and get rid of evolution from schools. And they cause people to go away from Christianity because they are unwilling to go to that level.

If only more people would realize that Christianity (and any religion for that matter) doesn't "have" to be all these negative things. It doesn't have to be so divisive or discriminatory. You don't have to choose one or the other. You can be gay, scientifically-minded, and an intellectual and still be a Christian. You can enjoy other cultures and have Muslim, Hindu, and Wiccan friends and still be a Christian.

 

Agreed wholeheartedly!

 

You sound like that Jesus guy... you can't be a Christian! RAWR!




Lol.

 

Slowly but surely. And by the way, the United States was not founded on Christian values. If that were the case, we wouldn't have the First Amendment.

 

You don't totally understand the First Amendment and the reason behind it do you.

 

Actually he is right
Prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.
List of amendments to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lol i know i used wiki but i checked farther to make sure it was accurate.

 

Honestly, this is being driven by two factors.

1. The Religious Right. They are chasing people away from Christianity, because people don't want to be associated with a religion that is also associated with people like them. This, in particular, is what is the cause of the rise of people who identify as "spiritual" but not Christian or religious.

2. The Internet. Without the internet millions of people would still be trapped in religion, because the information, knowledge, and community would still be closed off too them. If everyone you know is a Christian, then the chances of you getting access to non-self-enforcing information is low. The internet changes that equation. Once you have access to that knowledge, you then have the ability to connect with other like minded individuals. It is hard for me to imagine fully leaving religion behind, had I not encountered like minded people online. It is one thing to doubt and lose your faith, it's another thing entirely to lose Christianity as an identity, and try to develop something separate from that. The New Atheist movement was extremely important when it came to me making my transition.

 

Well that is reassuring and i mean that.

 

actually not.
what prompted the addition of that clause.
hint, you might actually have to go back to the Federalist papers
one more hint, think about what was going on as far as religion in England at the time.

 

Good point I am well aware of what was happening in England but even the founders such as Jefferson and Washington were not exactly the most religious of people. I am a christian but even I can admit this was not exactly supposed to be a nation ruled by christian values. It is supposed to be a nation of the people all the people and I cannot change what the first amendment says but it does say there should be no law respecting establishment of religion Because when you have many views within a certain religion no view should overrule the other. That is why separation of church and state is a good thing. Do I love when people embrace christian values sure I do but as we live in such a diverse nation I believe my values should affect their way of life cause I belief in freedom.

 

I'm glad to see that we are starting to become more secular as a nation. It's a very good sign that religious dogma will stay out of the legislature in the future if we fight it.

 

See the Treaty of Tripoli Article 11. The treaty was ratified unanimously by the United States Senate on June 7, 1797. It was signed November 4, 1796 by founding father John Adams, the second President of the United States.

Article 11: "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims]; and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Muslim] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

It would seem that, had we been founded as a Christian nation, that not only the President but the Senate (which voted unanimously in favor) would have had a problem supporting this treaty. They did not.

This was not without controversy at the time. James McHenry, a member of President Adams' cabinet--the Secretary of War--wrote the Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott, Jr., "The Senate, my good friend, and I said so at the time, ought never to have ratified the treaty alluded to, with the declaration that 'the government of the United States, is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.' What else is it founded on? This act always appeared to me like trampling upon the cross. I do not recollect that Barlow was even reprimanded for this outrage upon the government and religion."

The United States, from the moment the Constitution was ratified, has been a secular nation. This has always been understood, as expressed by Thomas Jefferson in his letter to the Danbury Baptists: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."

The founders understood the importance of secularism, and it has been secularism that has allowed religion to flourish in the United States, whereas it has waned considerably in places like Western Europe. This flourishing has only been impeded because of the Religious Right, and their assault against the secular nature of our government, which has in turn resulted in the peoples rejection of their theocratic ideals.

 

Good. Religion has become a burden.