To ask why religion is declining in Britain

[Jackieweaver2024]

Just that really I would be interested to hear everyone’s opinions?

@lazylinguist

Because most people are too lazy to get out of bed early on a Sunday morning and to commit to something.

You actually think that's the reason fewer people follow a religion? There are plenty of other things that people might rather be doing than going to church on a Sunday morning than going to church, particularly if they don't believe in god. Besides, churches do have services that aren't in the morning, don't they?

It's laziness generally, they can't commit themselves to it and certainly can't be bothered to do something that inconveniences their lives, ie having to get out of bed in Sunday's! Sad but true. "Church doesn't inspire me" = I am too lazy to be bothered to make a commitment

I find the position of churches in the UK (because, as has been pointed out, it's mainstream Christianity that's declining here) quite interesting, because I do think there's a place for it, but they've got masses of offensive baggage associated with them, but they could do so much good.
A GP friend told me she was chatting to a CoE minister, or whatever the role is called in England, and she was saying how it's frustrating how much of her time was taken up with people booking appointments to basically download to her worries that she really couldn't do anything about. And the minister was saying it's saying that that should be his job, that's what he was there for, to support people, listen to their concerns.

And so much of it is beautiful, the music, the singing, really missed carol services this advent.

And there's one church nearish me (lots of churches nearish me) and I went on remembrance, and the sermon was all about how we should remember not only the people who died in wars, but the people they left behind, that they always need support. And someone read out the poem about Gallipoli, without any prompts, it was so moving.

So I think there's a huge opportunity for churches to be places of beauty, and mindfulness, reflection and support.

But so much of the bible is offensive, and completely out of date. It's a shame they can't move away from that.

Why would we make a commitment to something we don't believe in?

It's laziness generally, they can't commit themselves to it and certainly can't be bothered to do something that inconveniences their lives, ie having to get out of bed in Sunday's! Sad but true. "Church doesn't inspire me" = I am too lazy to be bothered to make a commitment

Nah, I'm going to stick with 'it's made up, unprovable tosh'. I will back that up with literally every other time in my life I have kept to a commitment. I dont follow a belief, religious, personal, sociological, that has zero tangible evidence to back it up. Belief isn't fact, and I really have far better ways to waste my time.

"Church doesn't inspire me" = I am too lazy to be bothered to make a commitment

Why would I want to make a commitment to something that I have absolutely no desire to do? Or have no belief in? If I get out of bed early on a Sunday morning it will be to do something that I want to do or am paid to do, neither of which involves going to church.

The amount of people I see jogging/running, heading into the gym, or walking their dogs at the crack of dawn suggests otherwise.

Of course it's not laziness! It's that people don't believe in god and have no reason or desire to follow a religion. People are willing to commit to all kinds of things that require a lot more active effort than sitting on a pew for a bit once a week!

I wake up about 7 every day. Some of the things I can be bothered to do, often on a Sunday morning: work on learning a new language, go for long walks up mountains, clean my house top-to-bottom, go for a run, go canoeing with my family. All of those require more effort than walking 1 minute to my village church and sitting in it. I don't go because god doesn't exist!

It's laziness generally, they can't commit themselves to it and certainly can't be bothered to do something that inconveniences their lives, ie having to get out of bed in Sunday's! Sad but true. "Church doesn't inspire me" = I am too lazy to be bothered to make a commitment

Or because people don’t need to go to a building to be religious or have a faith. Hell, your belief/faith/religion shouldn’t be inconvenient or a chore in the first place. It is supposed to add to your life, your well-being, not make you dread it.

Religion has just taken on different forms. It's not about God anymore.

Think about the institutional capture of public bodies by gender identity ideology, which is just a set of beliefs like any other.

I’m not answerable to God as I don’t believe he exists and why would I get up and go to Church? I don’t need to make a commitment to something I don’t believe in.

@lightand - you’re not good at responding to other posters questions, you just coming back with the same bland statements

@yomommasmomma hahah are you joking ? Yeah, more like I prefer getting up at crack of Dawn on a Sunday to hike, play sports or do something else active and actually good for me, not sitting in a hard pew surrounded by judgmental people freezing my arse off in a church being preached at about a load of stuff that never happened

@lightand you sound unhinged

Because people have realised that the major religions are nothing but cults, attracting some of the worst people to work in them as a means to access vulnerable people who perceive them as powerful and trustworthy.

The Catholic church is particularly terrifying. The congregation don't seem to think any of it is odd as they've grown up with it (been indoctrinated into it by their parents) but if you go to mass because you're forced to as part of your job, the first time you go you think you've entered a real life version of the Wicker Man, with the chanting and prescribed way of doing things. It's so unnerving to see people you thought were intelligent just chanting along in a monotone and queueing up like children under the spell of someone more powerful.

I think some people attend because they find life difficult, or who are slight misfits, find that side of things comforting because it's a familiar routine with regular faces. They know what's coming next and who might sit where etc. I think some older people attend simply because it's just what they've always done and they know no different and enjoy some of the socialising. Plus they really have been so indoctrinated all their life that they feel terrible guilt if they DON'T go one week.

But God knows why (ironic phrase, huh? ). There are some really nasty people who attend church and who you have to socialise with. People with really fucked up family dynamics, people who don't talk to some of their family. People who are racist or have horrible values or attitudes. People who think that going to church absolves them of any terrible behaviour. People who only attend so their children can get into the school they want.

A religion won't make you into a "good person". You can do that without religion. But I guess without the perceived consequence of going to hell for misdemeanours or crimes that more people could choose to be bad people these days if they think it benefits them more than being "good". Religion is no longer the deterrent to doing bad deeds, or it is even used as an excuse to commit atrocities.

The only things I like about religion is the peace of an empty church, and some of the music...... The rest of it can do one.......does more harm than good, world wide.

@CurlyhairedAssassin I definitely know some people who attend church and devote a lot of time to it - coffee mornings, fundraising etc - not because they are trying to get to heaven but because they are sort of outcast/misfits who never quite found their place and they find a place to fit in, and have some power and authority- it would actually be really nice if the ones I know weren’t such arseholes who think they’re above everyone because they have a key to the church hall

And there's one church nearish me (lots of churches nearish me) and I went on remembrance, and the sermon was all about how we should remember not only the people who died in wars, but the people they left behind, that they always need support. And someone read out the poem about Gallipoli, without any prompts, it was so moving.*
So I think there's a huge opportunity for churches to be places of beauty, and mindfulness, reflection and support. But so much of the bible is offensive, and completely out of date. It's a shame they can't move away from that.

Yeah, I totally agree. It's a shame they can't just get rid of the actual religion from all the churches and make them all as you describe them. Have inspirational guest speakers. Uplifting music. Raise funds for charities. Run social events. Choirs. Playgroups could still happen etc etc.

Don't know the answer to the question but thought this was funny

Religion is outdated, we all know that the sky fairy does not exist. Why do we need religion anyway?

The religion of the day is the cult of me.

Just read a few of the threads on here & you see the hatred (how dare that old person own a house/want to live/how dare that disabled person want a toilet they can use/how dare that person have more than me/how dare that person be unemployed when I am not without actually dying on the street/how dare that person not accept whichever perversion I prefer & want it to be taught about in school etc...)
It's all I want with no consequences & nobody else should have anything if I can't.
Someone even posted a few months back that she thought the world owed her age group houses because the pandemic wasn't fair on them.
Didn't seem to care about any other age group other than the one that meant that she would personally benefit.

Religions tend to have an expectation of slightly less self centred behaviour & the cult of me won't stand for any criticism of their behaviour.

I'm not saying that religions are perfect, but they do expect more from people than most people nowadays seem to expect from themselves.

@Calyx72

@Snugglepumpkin yeah systematically abusing kids, pregnant unmarried women and disabled people isn’t self centered at all

[quote Blueeyedgirl21]@Snugglepumpkin yeah systematically abusing kids, pregnant unmarried women and disabled people isn’t self centered at all[/quote]
Don't forget the Spanish Inquisition!

@Cornetttttto lol yes. But the real problem is that The Yoof are selfish and don’t want to help others. Good old days, churches are the hub of the community, yadda yadda

@Calyx72

Don't know the answer to the question but thought this was funny

😀

@rosetylersbiggun

The amount of people I see jogging/running, heading into the gym, or walking their dogs at the crack of dawn suggests otherwise.

What do you expect in lockdown? Church services are online and can be accessed all around the clock, so people can exercise when it suits them. Also there are (in normal times) several church services a day, so how do you know those same people won't be going later?

It's so strange how people expect those who attend church to magically be perfect and never commit any sins. To the people who are angry with God, think he doesn't exist and want to criticise people who go to church as stupid, brainwashed sheep or whatever, WOW.

[quote Blueeyedgirl21]@Snugglepumpkin yeah systematically abusing kids, pregnant unmarried women and disabled people isn’t self centered at all[/quote]
Neither is expecting their congregation to help pay for a new church roof despite the CofE having a revenue of £1Billion in 2019 and paying virtually no tax.