IK: 6. So you have heard from me

Well Ian, You're a first. Thank you for your reply.

IK: 1. I do not identify with any religion or spiritual belief’ and got a 32% response.

"I couldn't give a stuff either way," is a little more aggressive I suppose.

IK: 2. the ones I know came to Australia to avoid religious fundamentalism and because they belief in democracy. There is no way in a democracy where 2% can force any change.

The 2% factor is a debatable point. Look what happened in the fires in Victoria. The Greens forced the Local Councils to stop people clearing around their homes & lots of people were killed. Maybe a bit too far to say murdered. I asked them about that & they said that it wasn't their fault as it was the Council that made the ruling. Little things like Xmas, Easter, Segregated Public Swimming Pools & the like are being slowly changed to accommodate the New Comers because they might or are offended by our Culture for the sake of Multiculturism. & if we don't accommodate their demands, a bomb, knifing or shooting just might cause some (Lefties mostly) to say we should accommodate them. Just incase they ramp up their lone wolf attacks. As in one Lone Wolf breaking away from the Pack every now & again.

IK: 3. I find ‘God” a very complex term in this case within the practice and belief of a particular religion.

Actually I find it quite simple. It's the Dogma of any particular Religion that defines the Religion. Not eating meat, Not eating a particular meat, Archaic Beliefs not relevant in todays world. Flat Earth, Earth Centric System, built in gender inferiority, exclusion from the family & group & Doctrine differences beliefs (which aren't)
Cont

cont
IK: 4. Some religious condemn non-religious but the reverse happens just as often – read some of the other posts!

Yes I know & I have answered some myself, but these replies are usually in reponce to the accusation that non-religious are morally inferior.

IK: 5. We always need to define how we are using “Right” and “Left”. I consider myself centre-left.

On a scale of 1 to 10. One being Left & 10 being Right, is Centre Left a 3 or a 5. I would define myself as a 7. A little right of centre, although I can drift Left & Right according to the Subject, & with-in the Subject.

Religion is fallacy let me get that out there . leaders of religious institutions have take the brunt of the blame for a breakdown in there movements,not moving with the times, because of there conservative principles,letting pedophiles move from one institution to institution,people see them as naive, unworldly,and unsophisticated and untrustworthy,people don't see these institutions as the ethic and moral pillars of society.The Murdoch media Foxtel and the internet are big drivers for a breakdown in society,although l'm an atheist there has got to be a way to police some of the absolute junk that's being feed to especially children.You don't need a God to be a good person

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Dear Ian (the author),

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I don’t think the decline in the belief in God has anything to do with the so-called “elites”, as you say. I’m afraid “The Australian” is waging war against windmills if that’s what it thinks. The phenomenon is a little more complex than that. Authority at all levels in modern society is being undermined by a number of factors.

The growth and expansion of higher education among the general public is probably the main factor, combined with improved, instantaneous information from numerous, diversified sources, including the social media, is another. This has had the effect of desacralizing the political and church leaders and their opinions, whatever they may happen to be and whatever the subject.

Scientific explanations carry more weight these days than religious dogma and they’re usually more reliable. At the end of the day, people find that knowledge and understanding are more reassuring than faith in some intangible, hypothetical god.

In addition to all this, the Church has shot itself in the foot more than once by the revelations of its hypocritical attitude, worldwide, to the morals it preaches to its followers, as, for example, in respect of sexual abuse of children - as well, of course, as the various religious fundamentalist and terrorist movements that massacre innocent people in the name of their god. The Church and religion in general has lost a lot of its credibility.

All these factors and many more are contributing to the major undercurrent that is growing in momentum and will eventually engulf our modern societies, sweeping away everything in its path.

It has nothing to do with a few “elites” who, like the rest of us, will have to surf on the wave if they wish to survive.

The only thing that can help the Church weather the storm and survive, is to abandon its traditional, obsolete dogma and make an extraordinary effort of intelligence. Peter Sellick seems to have understood that. He is trying very hard but still has a long way to go and I’m not sure he’s going to make it.

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To Banjo Patterson,
Thank you for your response. I agree with you about Peter Sellick’s intelligent approach, but he is still working within the Christian framework e.g in one of his posts trying to justify the Trinitarian Doctrine.
I grew up in, and my belief system was moulded by, the Methodist Church and I appreciate this. What I am now trying to explore, is my feeling that we live in a Post-Christian and Post-Religion age and to discover what this means. I do not want to deny the traditions of the major religions but to try to move beyond them. This involves a recognition that despite their claims about “Divine Origins” they are all human constructs. But it also recognises tat there are questions that Science cannot answer.
Ian

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Dear Ian,

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The evolution of religion depends entirely on demographic factors such as the fertility rate and the percentage of the population of the age to procreate.

Religion is inherited … or it is not ! As a general rule, those who inherit it, are religious. Those who do not inherit it, are not religious.

It is dying out in the Western world and expanding in developing countries. Islam is predicted to replace Christianity as the world’s principal religion by 2050.

You mention that “there are questions that Science cannot answer”.

That’s true, but the list has to be constantly updated as answers are found and new questions arise.

Who knows what the future will bring ? Perhaps we shall discover (invent?) other sources of knowledge.

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