Why Belief in God Is Disappearing in the West | David Voas

Oct 18, 2024 | In this video Social Scientist David Voas examines the compelling reasons behind the gradual decline of religion and belief in God in modern societies.

About David Voas:
David Voas (rhymes with gross!) is Emeritus Professor of Social Science at University College London. His research is mainly concerned with religious change in modern societies, based on quantitative analysis of large survey datasets. Having returned to university life in his early 40s, he mostly does the usual academic things (papers, conferences, talks), while continuing to entertain himself in other ways. He used census data on the birthdays of 20 million married couples in England and Wales to show – in the largest test of astrology ever conducted – that there’s no special attraction or compatibility between people of particular sun signs (like Gemini, Libra and Aquarius).


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America Is Losing Religious Faith

Granger Wootz/Tetra images, via Getty Images
OPINION : NICHOLAS KRISTOFF
THE NEW YORK TIMES: While much of the rest of the industrialized world has become more secular over the last half-century, the United States has appeared to be an exception.

Politicians still end their speeches with “God bless America.” At least until recently, more Americans believed in the virgin birth of Jesus (66 percent) than in evolution (54 percent).

Yet evidence is growing that Americans are becoming significantly less religious. They are drifting away from churches, they are praying less and they are less likely to say religion is very important in their lives. For the first time in Gallup polling, only a minority of adults in the United States belong to a church, synagogue or mosque. (Most of the research is on Christians because they account for roughly 90 percent of believers in the United States.)

“We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in the history of our country,” Jim Davis and Michael Graham write in a book published this week, “The Great Dechurching.” » | Nicholas Kristoff, Opinion Columnist | Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Could this, perhaps, be called 'The Great Awakening'? – © Mark Alexander

Former Christian Music Singer Jon Steingard: I No Longer Believe in God

Aug 13, 2020 Jon Steingard was lead singer for the CCM band Hawk Nelson. On May 20, 2020, he posted on Instagram that he no longer believed in God, and his story went viral. Jon joins Seth Andrews for a candid conversation about his former faith, the word "atheist," the Christian Music industry, and the path forward.

Please note that I do not post these videos by ‘The Thinking Atheist’ up on my blog because I am pushing atheism, I am not. I post them because the discussions are always interesting and thought-provoking.

Actually, I am not an atheist; I am still a believer. Just! I do have many unanswered questions, however; and I certainly would not categorize my Christian belief system as resembling anything I hear from fundamentalist Christian America.

I was raised in the Anglican tradition. The Anglican tradition is Christianity-lite! My own version of Christianity is perhaps ‘liter’ still. But it is there; and I have always clung very closely and very seriously to living by Christian principles, which are very good principles to live by. They have been strong, civilising influences on the world. But increasingly I find myself asking one simple question: If God exists, does our belief in Him have to be anthropomorphic? The parts of Christianity I struggle with are the myths that have grown up around the religion. – © Mark Alexander

Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith
Dr. J. Anderson "Andy" Thomson discusses his new book, Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith, which provides a brief and accessible guide to the exciting new discoveries that allow us to finally understand why and how the human mind generates, accepts, and spreads religious beliefs

Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith -- Dr. Andy Thomson from Kurt Volkan on Vimeo.

Pat Condell: God or Nothing

Dawkins and Oreilly: Do you believe in God?

Faith Is Alive, Even Amongst the Non-religious
Did God create man or did man evolve from the ape? The answer is the subject of heated argument during Darwin Year 2009.

This year marks the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, father of evolutionary theory. During this commemorative Darwin year the argument between the religious and the non-religious, between creationists (“On the sixth day God created man in his own image and likeness”) and evolutionists (“Man is descended from the ape”) has flared up visibly. The existence of God is being called into question on British buses and 6 million Dutch households will soon receive a brochure in the mail that raises questions about evolutionary theory.

“It is funny to see how alive faith evidently is,” says sociologist Abram de Swaan. “One of the most dangerous mental disorders is after all to interpret a text like the Bible literally. But that also occurs among the non-religious, in Marxism or National Socialism for instance.”

Atheist buses

In the United Kingdom the confirmed atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, kicked off the debate. 500 British buses are now driving around with the slogan There is probably no God/ Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. When asked for a reaction a passer-by shrugged and told the BBC: “I have seen worse things on buses.” In Spain there are buses with slogans supporting God, as well as ones with slogans denying the existance of God.

In the Netherlands three humanist organisations have raised 5,000 euros for a similar campaign. There is little chance however that there will soon be buses driving around the Netherlands with the text Er is waarschijnlijk geen God. Durf zelf te denken. En geniet van dit leven! [There probably is no God. Dare to think for your self. And enjoy this life!]. The company that operates about 75 percent of the advertising on buses and about half of the bus shelters is not giving its permission.

According to the marketing director this is a case of a “fierce religious statement” that could be “offensive” to the public. “Our guideline is: no religious texts on our buses and bus shelters.” The initiator of the bus campaign, philosopher Floris van den Berg, is now looking for other avenues for his campaign. “If necessary we will work with advertising planes.” >>> By Laura Starink | Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

New Study Finds Belief in God Linked to IQ
Photo of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” from the Sistene Chapel, Vatican City, courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: People with higher IQs are less likely to believe in God, according to a new study.

Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average.

A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed.

But the conclusions - in a paper for the academic journal Intelligence - have been branded "simplistic" by critics.

Professor Lynn, who has provoked controversy in the past with research linking intelligence to race and sex, said university academics were less likely to believe in God than almost anyone else. Intelligent People 'Less Likely to Believe in God' >>> By Graeme Paton, Education Editor | June 12, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers
The Dawning of a New Dark Age –Paperback, direct from the publishers