Look what happend in Ireland..When will the decrease of Religion of this big magnitude come to America (churches, atheist)

[johnsweeting]

All of us have of course read about the massive abuses within the Catholic church the last few years. This and other factors such as the increase in wealth over last 15 years and the increase and importance of education, but mainly the scandals has taken its toll on the view on religion in Ireland.

This week there was a story that the main Catholic Priest in Los Angeles had to step down because he had been hiding several hundreds of abuses done within the church by several priests. There might be several more scandals to come out in the news so I'm wondering how this has affected the Catholic faith in other countries. Why is the outcome so extreme in Ireland and maybe not so much in USA because I don't think the abuse has been larger in Ireland than in any other Catholic country but I might be wrong about this one. One could only speculate.....

Look at the mighty Irish. They used to be one of the few "very" religious countries left in Europe (Poland is now almost the only one left I would say of being "very" religious). Now look what happened to the Irish:

1. Irish Consider Religion The Least Important Part Of Their Lives
The Irish consider religion to be the least important part of their lives, according to the results of a new survey.
As IrishCentral notes, the VitalSigns study, conducted by the Community Foundation for Ireland, revealed that of 119 possible options, the people of Ireland ranked religion and spirituality the "least important aspect of their lives.
(click on link below to read more).

Irish Consider Religion The Least Important Part Of Their Lives, 2013 Survey Reveals (VIDEO)

2. Religiosity Plummets In Ireland And Declines Worldwide; Atheism On The Rise
According to the global index, only 47 percent of those surveyed in Ireland said they considered themselves religious -- a 22-point drop from the 69 percent recorded in a similar 2005 poll. Moreover, 10 percent identified themselves as atheist.
(click on link below to read more).

Religiosity Plummets In Ireland And Declines Worldwide; Atheism On The Rise

I wonder how the decline in religiosity has been in the USA because of these horrible things done to young children by many Catholic priests.

I have a "Real Irish" guy at work (he was born and lived most of his life in Ireland) that I talk to about religion and he is telling me that the decline in religiosity in the last 5-10 years in Ireland has been staggering. He didn't think it would go this quickly...to which I responded......"Great news. Ireland, welcome to the 21st century. The century of reality, critical thinking and reason....keep the good news coming"...

In the comment section of the second article I found a really intelligent quote that I will just paste below. Figure out for yourselves what it means. It is pretty obvious to me:

Picture two lemonade stands: side by side.
One has a banner that reads: Brutal Truths.
The other has a banner that reads: Comforting Lies.
Unfortunately the booth of Brutal Truths has no customers.
While at the booth of Comforting Lies the line goes on for miles.

If the Irish is looking for a new faith after being so pissed off and leaving the Catholic church may I suggest that they look into Zeus and see what he has to offer them....

But seriously, has this had any effect among the Catholics within USA for example or other countries that could even be close to the destruction of the Catholic church in Ireland.

You don't have to be Catholic to respond.....

[BIMBAM]

I don't think the US will experience what Ireland has because it's not a predominantely Catholic country. What's happened in Ireland is not unique, they're following the same path Quebec, Spain and to a degree France followed before their populations collectively rejected the Catholic Church in a short period of time over the ways it got mixed up in the government and acted like a corrupt organization. The US as a profoundly multi-faith society with no state church is going to have a very different experience than European countries with one predominate church did.

[other99]

Originally Posted by BIMBAM

I don't think the US will experience what Ireland has because it's not a predominantely Catholic country. What's happened in Ireland is not unique, they're following the same path Quebec, Spain and to a degree France followed before their populations collectively rejected the Catholic Church in a short period of time over the ways it got mixed up in the government and acted like a corrupt organization. The US as a profoundly multi-faith society with no state church is going to have a very different experience than European countries with one predominate church did.

Well regarding Spain, even though most peple dont go to church there and it has gay marriages, it is still a culturally catholic country. Spain is still conservative regarding European standards.

Regarding Ireland, yes religion is on the decline in the Republic of Ireland yet it a different story for Northern Irish Catholics as religion is still very much part of the culture for them there. The number of Catholics has risen in Northern Ireland and at the same time the number of Protestants have declined.

here is the religious stats for Northern Ireland:

The census reveals 48% of the resident population are either Protestant or brought up Protestant, a drop of 5% from the 2001 census.
45% of the resident population are either Catholic or brought up Catholic, an increase of 1%.
7% say they either belong to another religion or none.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20673534

[johnsweeting]

Originally Posted by other99

Well regarding Spain, even though most peple dont go to church there and it has gay marriages, it is still a culturally catholic country. Spain is still conservative regarding European standards.

One of my friends when I went to the University of Colorado was Jewish and was culturally Jewish to some degree but his view of religion was like mine..meaning it has no part of my life.
I think you can be culturally Catholic but at the same time being a non-believer....Just saying...Maybe that was what you meant.

By the way. Did you see clip:

Moderator cut: delete

[other99]

Well a majority of people were christened as Catholics in Spain and so many of them that call themselves catholics don't believe in the teachings of the Church, even though they choose the Church to get married and have funerals.

With regards to Sex, outside the main cities of Madrid and Bacelonia people are a bit more conservative. The older men can look down on the women from Northern Eurpean countries and America as being too liberal for sex. In addition Spanish young people are more likely to live with their parents compared to young people of Nothern Europe and America. In addition foreign women are more likely to be hit on by Spanish men compared to places such as North Eurpope and Ameria as they are seen as sexually loose.

[overcastg4]

Originally Posted by johnsweeting

As IrishCentral notes, the VitalSigns study, conducted by the Community Foundation for Ireland, revealed that of 119 possible options, the people of Ireland ranked religion and spirituality the "least important aspect of their lives.

It was hardly ever otherwise. Lewd revelry and materialistic indulgence have always been raging in Ireland.

[overcastg4]

Originally Posted by BIMBAM

I don't think the US will experience what Ireland

What was happening in Ireland is already an epidemic in the US, and the war on drugs is not the only battle being fought.

[Packard fan]

Us "Irish" have changed a LOT as a people. We basically "grew up" and found out the Church is dropping the ball IMHO in 2013. Even heavy drinking in Ireland is not longer Ok with most Irish people.

[TAJR]

I am a bit skeptical of that study because, for many nations, they list their 2005 religiosity as way higher than most anything I'd seen. Still there's the bright spot of Finland in it as it lists religion as slightly up and atheism as 1% down, but I haven't seen atheists here make a compelling argument Finland's declining. It's one of the best educated nations out there.

As for Ireland it's a very different situation than us. Catholicism had been very dominant, almost like an official church, so the disaster in the Irish church had a bigger affect than any religious scandal could here. America is a religiously diverse nation so a scandal in one church can just lead to going to another. Ireland has other churches, but it's not the same. Also Ireland went through a rather rapid modernization process that could cause some degree of cultural transformation or change. Still the scandal in the Irish church did upset me more than that of the US church. It is deplorable.

[sanspeur]

More good news....A study using census data from nine countries shows that religion there is set for extinction, say researchers.

The study found a steady rise in those claiming no religious affiliation. Those countries are Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland. BBC News - Religion may become extinct in nine nations, study says



Drastic church membership decline in Finland after a gay debate on TV - YouTube