Religion losing its allure
By Roger Coombs for The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
July 03, 2007
ACCORDING to the census, religion in Australia is on the decline. Since 2001, the number of people saying they have no religious conviction has risen from 2.9 million, or 15.5 per cent of the population to 3.7 million, or 19 per cent. So, over a period during which the total population has grown by just under a million, the number of non-believers has risen by 800,000. Which means the percentage increase of non-believers is close to 30 per cent. Conversely, the percentage affirming commitment to some form of Christianity has hardly fallen – from 54 per cent to 53.2.
In numerical terms, the overall number of Christians has declined from 10,768,000 to 10,577,000 – hardly cause for the bishops to sweat. However, when the population is increasing, it's difficult to deny the emergence of a trend towards decline – and if the trend were to continue, as it has over the past three census periods, Christians will be a minority very soon. Those who fear that as Christianity declines, other religions will gain new adherents need not do so. In the past five years, the percentage of Australians claiming belief in "other" religions – Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and so on – has also slipped – from 30.5 per cent to 28.1 per cent. So, however you cut it, there are fewer of us, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, who believe in some form of religion than there were in 2001.
There may be some who will question the reliability of the ABS information, but whether we like the data or not, the bureau is the most reliable and statistically trustworthy guide to social trends we have. So it seems beyond dispute that, rather than cleaving to "new" religions offering new alleged truths and insights and rather than falling back on the age-old shibboleths of "traditional" Abrahamic religions, increasing numbers of Australians are rejecting religion altogether. And in Australia, that's our legitimate entitlement.
We're allowed not to believe – just as we are allowed to believe in God, in reincarnation, or in the Great Rainbow Serpent if we so desire. What we are not allowed to do in a pluralist and officially tolerant society such as ours is to force our beliefs or convictions upon others. Without being specific, there are some sects of some religions which go to great lengths to force people into compliance with restrictive codes and edicts – and there are followers of such sects in this country. Let's hope the trend away from destructive belief systems is gathering strength. If that trend were to be accompanied by a rise in the rational philosophy of scientific reason and a swing away from the idea of religion in general as a source of truth and understanding, some would argue such a trend would be a move in the world's best interests.
[So, it’s not just in Europe then? It would seem that the ‘Freedom from Religion’ idea is catching on in other Western countries too. Who knows where it might eventually lead.]
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9 comments:
The rise of unbelief in the Western world is news? I've got some 2,000-year-old texts that predict it.
If that trend were to be accompanied by a rise in the rational philosophy of scientific reason and a swing away from the idea of religion in general as a source of truth and understanding...
The idea that scientific reason and rational philosophy are the only paths to truth, while religion is not, is moldy Enlightment philosophy, and it is most definitely not Enlightenment philosophy or Modernism that is, at this late date, sweeping the Western world, it's Post-Modernism. The West is not searching for truth in 'the rational philosophy of scientific reason'; they are abandoning the idea of truth altogether. (Maybe N&E is finally kicking in.)
...some would argue such a trend would be a move in the world's best interests.
But what evidence would they provide to counter the evidence against such a claim? Where is the evidence that, in areas where religion is in decline, general well-being is on the incline? That would be news.
Who knows where it might eventually lead?.
We already know where it leads. Marx was wrong.
laughing boy said: The rise of unbelief in the Western world is news? I've got some 2,000-year-old texts that predict it.
It *must* be true then. [grin]. Personally I consider ancient predictions somewhat less than useful...
laughing boy said: The idea that scientific reason and rational philosophy are the only paths to truth, while religion is not, is moldy Enlightment philosophy.
Works for me (which will hardly come as a surprise to you or anyone who regularly reads my Blog.)
laughing boy said: it is most definitely not Enlightenment philosophy or Modernism that is, at this late date, sweeping the Western world, it's Post-Modernism.
I've heard that Post-Moderninsm is being overtaken by Post-Post modernism. They're going to think up a new name for the next one I think or it'll get *really* silly.
laughing boy said: The West is not searching for truth in 'the rational philosophy of scientific reason'; they are abandoning the idea of truth altogether.
I think the idea of 'Ultimate Truth' is being abandoned... and rightly so.
laughing boy said: (Maybe N&E is finally kicking in.)
Presumably made as a joke?
laughing boy said: We already know where it leads.
Really? Would you like to enlighten people on that point? I wouldn't want to put words in your mouth....
laughing boy said: Marx was wrong.
In many respects yes he was. But what has Marx got to do with the 'price of fish'?
I think we're about due for the end of all religions or a new age in philosophy incorporating the best parts of all of them.
united said: I think we're about due for the end of all religions or a new age in philosophy incorporating the best parts of all of them.
Maybe so.... though I wouldn't hold your breath quite just yet... [grin]
..and Welcome.
Thanks. I have very little faith in anythign right now, but I do have faith in the power of the human mind. When freedom becomes repressed, philosophers are born. It's coming. It's just a matter of time.
united said: When freedom becomes repressed, philosophers are born. It's coming. It's just a matter of time.
We can but hope... [crosses fingers].
But what has Marx got to do with the 'price of fish'?
As I remember, Marx assumed that society would voluntarily ween itself off the opiate of religion once his reforms were put into effect. That did not happen. This article seems to suggest similar things.
Would you like to enlighten people on that point? I wouldn't want to put words in your mouth....
Since many did not voluntarily give up their religion they were given, let's call it, an ultimatum. Exhibit A.
BTW: I said, "The idea that scientific reason and rational philosophy are the only paths to truth..." to which you replied "Works for me." But over at my blog you're saying rationality is a human invention and seem to be downplaying it's value. What gives?
united we lay: I think we're about due for the end of all religions or a new age in philosophy incorporating the best parts of all of them.
What are the 'best parts'? I'm guessing by 'best' you mean the parts that seem best to you. I'm guessing also that you won't be on the committee so: What if the best parts are the parts you like the least? What if the new philosophy incorporates one, some, or many parts you don't like, what will you do then?
laughing boy said: As I remember, Marx assumed that society would voluntarily ween itself off the opiate of religion once his reforms were put into effect. That did not happen. This article seems to suggest similar things.
I'm not sure what Marx said on the ultimate demise of religion. I guess he would've said that it would indeed fade away after the onset of Communism - much like the State would fade away as being unnecessary. However, the Soviet Union (I presume you mean the USSR when you said "once his reforms were put into effect") was not the Communist society he had envisioned so its obvious failure does not in itself invalidate Marxist ideology.
laughing boy said: But over at my blog you're saying rationality is a human invention and seem to be downplaying it's value. What gives?
I think you're assuming (please correct me if I'm wrong) that because science and rationality are human inventions that they have low value because of that. They do not. The best way we know of for discovering the truth of things is through the application of rationality and the scientific method.
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