How do feel about the fact that the Christianity is dying in the Western world?

[Anonymous]

In the western world (western Europe, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada) it is undeniable that Christianity is in decline both in terms of how many people describe themselves as Christians, and the church attendance of those who are.

Religious unaffiliated people have become the majority, the plurality or near plurality in Czech Republic, Estonia, England, France, and Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

There are so few new young nuns in the last few decades in the Catholic Church that there is likely to be almost no nuns left very soon across the west.

I myself am a Deist but I don’t discount the beliefs of the average Christian as long they aren’t a hateful fundamentalists.

So I’m not sure how to feel about this myself.

[BCRanger10]

I'm a Catholic and I'll say that while not at all surprising, it's still disappointing and discouraging. Many people might think that this is a good thing, but the effects will be worse than they realize.

One of the reasons we're seeing this is that faith formation in general is just plain dreadful. They don't know the philosophy, content, or context of their beliefs. Not helping there is also that many of the parents of the kids decide it's a cool idea to send them to some state college that's an alien environment to them where they don't have the support they had at home and encounter questions and challenges to which they don't know how to respond.

And of course, the scandals, hypocrisy, and lack of accountability on the part of faith leaders does exactly no good whatsoever.

As for your last point on young nuns, there are plenty of young nuns in more traditional orders. That's just standard with the Catholic Church, that traditional liturgy, devotion, and practice (as found in Traditional Latin Mass parishes) is attracting many young people and young and growing families. The problem is that Pope Francis has made it clear that he's more interested in laughing it up with Bill Clinton, Jeffery Sachs, the UN and waging war on the aforementioned traditional Catholics. His disturbing and sickening affection and preference for sexual predators and their fans and enablers doesn't help either. I think history will judge him with extreme harshness, but that's still a few generations off.

I should end this post here, or else I'll just keep renting.

[Asker]

Thanks for your perspective.

[BCRanger10]

Sure thing. I'm positive there's more that I could say, but that would take a book.

[RealMarek]

This is part and parcel of terminal cultural decline. First a sort of atheism rises and takes hold of the elites and cosmopolitan centers. In Indian culture this was Bhuddism, in Rome it was Stoicism, and in our case modern atheism. This is followed by a “second religiousness” during the latter stages of the decline. Christianity may bounce back, perhaps in the repetition of its Western form, probably reverting to more traditional expression than what we see today, or perhaps in a form imported by immigrants from elsewhere around the globe.

[jennifer_bloom]

I would say the religious mindset is about untainted growth more than it is about extracurricular religious habits and the non religious standard is about 80-90% similar to the religious standard, so it’s not that religion is declining, it’s that religion is becoming more subtle and commercially untraceable due to the increasingly private nature of inner religion and the non verbal forms of spiritual immersion that come with it. Religion has transformed from traditional church attendance in a church choir to non traditional acts of philanthropy at a homeless shelter in a hidden and isolated building.

[Anonymous]

As a Christian it does make me feel sad, but I’m not surprised it’s happening. Scripture pointed out that things like this would happen.

[LiamJHayden]

I only care inasmuch as the replacement seems to be Totalitarianism.

What I do find encouraging is the Worldwide numbers:

https://research.lifeway.com/2022/01/31/7-encouraging-trends-of-global-christianity-in-2022/#:~:text=Not%20only%20is%20religion%20growing,expected%20to%20top%203.33%20billion.

[genericname85]

i think religious delusions have already been along way too long and it's overdue that people finally get a mental awakening.

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

I don't care. Those who love the lord Jesus and believe on the gospel will be saved.

Those that don't, too bad. Hell it will be for them.

For many are called but few are choosen.

[Dargil]

It will be resurgent as it was after WW2 and the Depression.

[AngryCarl2]

Is it? I've seen no evidence of that.