Churches close their doors as fewer Americans attend
Churches close their doors as fewer Americans attend
Churches faced with empty pews are fighting to keep their doors open, while former houses of worship are being converted into bars, clubs and luxury condos.
Summary
Churches across the U.S. are grappling with dwindling attendance and financial instability, forcing many to close or sell properties.
The Diocese of Buffalo has shut down 100 parishes since the 2000s and plans to close 70 more. Nationwide, church membership has dropped from 80% in the 1940s to 45% today.
Some churches repurpose their land to survive, like Atlanta’s First United Methodist Church, which is building affordable housing.
Others, like Calcium Church in New York, make cutbacks to stay open. Leaders warn of the long-term risks of declining community and support for churches.
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Reading some of the comments here on this thread, I feel the need to remind people about the existence of a myriad of different belief systems out there that have nothing to do with Christianity (or the other Abrahamic religions which hold the majority on representativeness).
Luciferianism, Rosacrucianism, Thelema, Goëtia, Wicca, Satanism, Chaos Magick, Umbanda, Kimbanda, Candomblé, Bantu, Vodun, Yoruba... There are many, many belief systems out there that see things differently from the Christianity, many of which are often marginalized and misunderstood by the same people who criticizes Christianity. They're often attacked by Christians ("paganism, devil worshiping, heretical, sinful, etc, etc")... as well as by anti-religion people altogether, as if these belief systems were comparable to Christianity. It's sad to see this whenever this happens. Whenever this happens, I wish these people could know about the existence of these belief systems and ponder about them for a bit.
When people say things such as "imaginary writings", "imaginary gods" and, especially, "religious are bad", they're opening fire not just towards Christianity, but also towards these marginalized and less-represented belief systems.
Sure, Science doesn't empirically "prove" Lilith nor Lucifer nor Nuit nor Stolas nor Hecate nor Baphomet nor Pretos-velhos nor Pomba-Giras, but a bit of empathy towards the marginalized never hurts. It's not something to be scientifically accurate, they (perhaps we?) are just trying to find a sense of purpose and connection without hurting others.
that have nothing to do with Christianity (or the other Abrahamic religions which hold the majority on representativeness)
Lists Luciferianism as their first example
Bruh you trolling or what?
they're opening fire not just towards Christianity, but also towards these marginalized and less-represented belief systems.
We know? Why should we care that a belief system is less represented? It's still imaginary bullshit either way
Lists Luciferianism as their first example
So, what? Luciferianism has nothing to do with Christianity. Lucifer from Luciferianism isn't the "Lucifer" from Christianity. Same etymological origins? Sort of... Except that Luciferianism takes the etymology (Lucifer: Lux ferre, Latin for light bringer) really seriously, while Christianity just blames Him as "devil".
Also, there's an atheist branch of Luciferianism, one that sees Lucifer not as a spiritual entity, but as the ideal archetype to be followed, without any deities (not even Lucifer Himself), similar to how Buddhism sees Buddha not as a deity, but as an ideal to be followed.
Bruh you trolling or what?
Feel free to check out my Lemmy comment history and you'll see my reasons on why I'm advocating for such faiths. If pointing out how several faiths, including Luciferianism, are targets of misunderstanding, if it's "trolling" to you, I'm really disappointed.
We know? Why should we care that a belief system is less represented?
Because of Newton's third law: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". It's called "karma" on certain occult/esoteric faiths. Respect and be respected, attack and be attacked, simple as that! If it's a difficult thing for you, well... Nothing I can do to help with your bigotry. Because even when I say about Christianity, I try to be "respectful", even when they see me now as a "devil worshiper". Respectfulness is a must, and if you don't have it, again, nothing I can do.
So, what? Luciferianism has nothing to do with Christianity.
Ridiculous statement, holy shit. The only reason that name is relevant is Christianity, it absolutely is related from it's very beginning.
The Luciferian label—in the sense of Lucifer-worshipper—was first used in the Gesta Treverorum in 1231 for a religious circle led by a woman named Lucardis (Luckhardis). It was said that in private she lamented the fall of Lucifer (Satan) and yearned for his restoration to heavenly rule.
Feel free to check out my Lemmy comment history
Lost enough brain cells already, thanks
It's called "karma" on certain occult/esoteric faiths.
"Respect people's mythical bullshit because of mythical bullshit!" What an argument! Sadly: nah, fuck that
Respectfulness is a must
It absolutely isn't
it absolutely is related from it’s very beginning
Do you know that things can branch off, take different paths and become completely different things, so different that they no longer have anything to do with each other, right?
Take Chemistry, for example, a scientific field of knowledge. Do you know how Chemistry originated? Spoiler: it has to do with what you would call "mystical bullshit".
What about Biology and the discovery of genes? Do you know who first discovered the existence of genes, who they were, what they were?
Should we associate your (possibly) beloved science with Christianity too?
Going back to the Upper Paleolithic, when so-called "proto-religions" began to emerge, human associations between death and ritualistic practices were part of the contributing factors to where we are now, discussing on Lemmy, because their "mystical associations" and their "irrational" fear of death as an "unknown transcendental force" helped them try to avoid deadly things/predators/places, survive and reproduce, which propagated Homo sapiens as a species in the face of natural dangers. Here we are today, with 8 billion people, with better understanding of cosmic and natural phenomena through scientific inquiry, all thanks to our cave-dwelling ritualistic ancestors.
I don't get your point though. As an atheist, I don't reject just Christianity, i reject all forms of supernaturality. So i don't know why i would accord any lesser religioun more respect. It's all pseudoscience to me!
Have you ever heard about Satanic Temple? They're atheists, too. "Satan", to them, is not a spiritual entity or a deity, but "a symbol to represent the eternal rebel against arbitrary authority and social norms" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism#The_Satanic_Temple). It's an atheistic religion, and there are other atheistic religions as well (such as Buddhism, although you could say that Buddhism is rooted on some "supernaturality").
Oh I know about Satanism. I try to advocate for it myself although with much scorn from the people around me. I like to think of it's main purpose as, "If it is truly my fundamental human rights to practice whichever religion, surely I as a Satanist am completely within legal boundaries to marry the same sex, or carry out abortions".
I think it's name is what keeps it from widespread appeal, although you could also argue the naming is a necessity.
I like to think of it’s main purpose as, “If it is truly my fundamental human rights to practice whichever religion, surely I as a Satanist am completely within legal boundaries to marry the same sex, or carry out abortions”.
Exactly!
I don't think it's a misnomer, Satan is the archetypal symbol of nonconformity and fighting the status quo. However, guess what's one of the reasons they're "kept out of mainstream appeal"? The way many (not all) science-only atheists try to lump everything remotely "religious" into the same basket, as if it were all the same thing with the same views and practices. That was one of my main points in my initial comment.
Of course, the Christian/Abrahamic model of thought that still plays a role on laws and constitutions in every country is somewhat more vocal on maintaining the prejudice and social bias against terms like "Lucifer" and "Satan", when we, as modern humans, should have already abandoned this archaic mentality of prejudice and embraced non-conformist archetypes like Satan. I'm not talking about lighting red/black candles for Satan as a deity/spiritual entity, but understanding the archetypal story of resistance. Just like Lilith is also an archetypal symbol of women's empowerment and fight for women's rights.
Unfortunately, I was strongly misunderstood on my initial comment by many people here (implied by the downvoting amount). Sure, I was also advocating for "supernatural-based religions", such as Luciferianism, Wicca and Thelema, because it seems so unfair to me to compare them with Christianity, especially considering the negative things permeating the history of Abrahamic religions (Crusades, Inquisition, etc). No Luciferians, no Wiccans, no Thelemites, among others, no one of them persecuted people: they were the persecuted people (and they still are persecuted and harassed nowadays...).
All I took away from this is that there are lots of different variations of the stupid shit that stupid humans believe.