Sad for you Plain Ol': --- xianity is growing in some countries but not in America. and your xian resources are very suspect.
Americans overwhelmingly think religion is a Good Thing. But they seem to be ignoring their own opinion: religion in the USA is in steady decline. The number of Americans who describe their religious preference as "no religion" is now 20 per cent, according to a new study <http://sociology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/faculty/fischer/Hout%20et%20al_No%20Relig%20Pref%202012_Release%20Mar%202013.pdf>. There is "no evidence of a slowdown" in this tendency, which has risen from eight per cent in 1990 and 14 percent in 2000. Ethnic minorities remain generally more religious, but this has become less true as they have become increasingly integrated into American society. The number of Hispanics with no religious affiliation has risen by 9.7 per cent since 1990; the number of African-Americans by 13.7 percent. This is all bad news for the Republicans. Much of their strategy for winning Hispanic support is based on shared social conservative values – but, as these become less pronounced among Hispanics, Republicans will need to find alternative ways of appealing <http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timwigmore/100218460/the-republicans-worst-nighmare-losing-texas-and-becoming-extinct-could-it-really-happen/>. And, while churches remain an important source of political mobilisation and fund-raising – one that the Republicans tap far more effectively than the Democrats – the 2012 election suggested that the GOP is over-dependent on social conservatism to win support. American politics is increasingly defined by a religious faultline. And, as elsewhere, both parties are increasingly populated by echoing voices. While 39.6 percent of political liberals – a rise of 25 percent from 1990 – declare their religious preference to be "no religion", less than 10 percent of political conservatives do so. It's notable that the figure for self-declared political moderates, of 18 percent, is much closer to that of conservatives than liberals – suggesting a danger for the Democrats of ostracising religion too quickly. But the attitudes of America's young reaffirm the direction of travel: 32 percent of 18-to-24 year olds also prefer no religion. This trend is clear, yet we are some way off being able to declare America as secular as the rest of the West. Only three percent of Americans say that they do not believe in God. And Americans still regard faith as a Good Thing in a way that Europeans do not. A Gallup poll <http://www.gallup.com/poll/162803/americans-say-religion-losing-influence.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Politics>today showed that, even as 77 percent of Americans think that religion is losing its influence on American life, 75 percent think that society would be better off if more Americans were religious. As in other areas, the long-term trends in American society give the Democrats hope of establishing an era of electoral dominance. But they should be wary that their own secularisation is outpacing America's. On Thursday, October 9, 2014 1:09:40 PM UTC-5, KeithInTampa wrote: > > > Sad for you Plain Ol': > > > http://veritas.org/talks/resurgence-christianity-world-religion/?ccm_paging_p=5 > > > http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/study-shows-resurgence-in-christianity-islam > > http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2014/05/christianity-resurgent/ > > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8970031/The-return-to-religion.html > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 1:56 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > > Poor Keith.....Surrounded in life by muzzies. The world is filled with > muzzies! > > the Nation is becoming more and more "Zionist Xian" despite your > prediction to the contrary > --- > wrong again, yid-wanna-be. > > The decline of mainstream Protestantism in America over recent decades has > been well documented, but for much of that period Evangelical Christianity > appeared to be immune to that wider trend, as mega-churches continued to > grow and George W Bush took the White House. > > But now, according to Mark Chaves, a divinity and sociology professor > at Duke University and author of "America Religion: Contemporary Trends", > it seems that Evangelicals are now succumbing to the same forces of > secularization. > > Using data from the University of Chicago's General Social Survey > <http://www.norc.org/Pages/default.aspx>, Chaves discovers that among > White Evangelicals born in the decade 1981-90, some 22 per cent now say > they have no religion, a figure is close to the 24 per cent of mainstream > Protestants born in the same decade who say the same. > > What is interesting, is that if you go back a decade and look at White > Christians born 1971-80, just 12 per cent of Evangelicals say they have no > religious affiliation, compared with 19 per cent of mainstream Protestants: > the secularisation trends are clearly converging. > > This tallies with the anecdotal evidence that we picked up in Virginia > that suggested that non-belief was rising among the young Christian > community much faster than headline polls suggested. > > After several decades of doubt over the data, says Chaves, it is now clear > beyond reasonable doubt that America is secularizing, but that doesn't > answer a much trickier – and more interesting question: how far, and how > fast? > > America still feels highly religious on the surface, but is it possible > that attitudes to religion in the US could undergo a sudden shift – as they > have, say, on gay marriage – or is religion so fundamental to the US that > any change will continue to be incremental? > > Right now, the shift in attitudes to religion is, according to the famous > "nones" > Pew survey <http://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/>, > driven by so-called "generational replacement" – ie the younger generation > slowly becoming less religious and their attitudes filtering into society > and the polling data, as their parents and grandparents die off. > > If that trend continues, then change will be very slow. But there is > another scenario, which is when a shift in attitudes leaps across > generations, as happened with gay marriage, precipitating a much sharper > change which has seen those in favour of gay marriage leap from 33pc a > decade ago to 55-57 per cent today. (More trivially, a similar > cross-generational shift in attitudes has been seen, say, in attitudes to > smoking in bars, or wearing seat belts, or drink-driving.) > > Analysis of European secularisation might provide us some pointers for the > US going foward. There, according to analysis by David Voas, > <http://esr.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/2/155.abstract> a sociologist > at Essex University, it is clear that the rise of so-called "fuzzy > fidelity" – ie those with no explicit religious affliation, but who still > believe in some kind of higher power and go to church on Christmas – has > proved to be a "staging post on the road from religious to secular > hegemony". > > "Indifference," Voas writes in his 2008 paper The Rise and Fall of Fuzzy > Fidelity in Europe, "is ultimately as damaging for religion as scepticism." > > If that's the case in the US, then the belief among many Evangelicals that > the "nones" are still fundamentally religious may prove to be wishful > thinking. > > So will a gay marriage-like tipping point occur in the US? "Impossible!" I > hear you cry, but you only have to think of Ireland, where attitudes to the > Catholic church have shifted sharply in the last decade, or Quebec's "Quiet > Revolution" of the 1960s to realise that religion is not immune to such > changes. > > Despite the polling data showing the decline of US Christianity, there > isn't a single openly non-believing or secular member of Congress. There is > a huge disconnect there, which creates the potential for substantial latent > pressure for change: imagine, a decade from now, if attitudes towards > non-believers were to become as tolerant, say, as they have towards gay > marriage, how the dam might burst. > > This might not be so much a revolution, as a collective acceptance that – > as seems to have happened with gay marriage – people can be honest about > who they are, without fearing repercussions from friends, and family or > indeed, the moral collapse of society. > > > On Thursday, October 9, 2014 12:27:35 PM UTC-5, KeithInTampa wrote: > > Poor Plain Ol'.....Surrounded in life by Zionist Xians. The world is > filled with Zionist Xians! Tennessee is a State predominately of Zionist > Xians! > > What's worse? That the Nation is becoming more and more "Zionist Xian" > despite your prediction to the contrary! > > Wowzer! > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 1:11 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> > wrote: > > "The enemy of your enemy is your friend". > --- > say the subservient zionist xians who facilitate israel's extortion of > American weapons and tax dollars. > > Christians in Israel and the occupied territories protested a new law > passed by the Israeli parliament making it illegal for missionaries to > proselytize Jews. Protestant churches charged that the law had been > “hastily pushed through parliament during the Christmas period when > Christians were busily engaged in preparing for and celebrating their major > festival.” The law made missionaries liable to five years’ imprisonment for > attempting to persuade people to change their religion, and three years’ > imprisonment for any Jew who converted. The United Christian Council > complained that the law could be “misused in restricting religious freedom > in Israel.” > > Donald Neff has been a journalist for forty years. He spent 16 years in > service for Time Magazine and is a regular contributor to Middle East > International and the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. He is the > author of five excellent books on the Middle East. > > Nonetheless, it came into force on April 1, 1978, prohibiting the offering > of “material inducement” for a person to change his religion. A material > inducement could be something as minor as the giving of a Bible. Although > the Likud government of Menachem Begin assured the Christian community that > the law applied equally to all religions and did not specifically mention > Christians, the United Christian Council of Israel charged that it was > biased and aimed specifically at Christians since only Christians openly > proselytized. Council representatives also cited anti-Christian speeches > made in the parliament during debate on the law. Parliament member Binyamin > Halevy had called missionaries “a cancer in the body of the nation.” > > The next year Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, considered a political moderate, issued > a religious ruling that copies of the New Testament should be torn out of > any edition of a Bible owned by a Jew. Israeli scholar Yehoshafat Harkabi > wrote that he was disturbed by “these manifestations of hostility-the > designation of Christians as idolaters, the demand to invoke the ‘resident > alien’ ordinances, and the burning of the New Testament.” Observed Harkabi: > “Outside of the Land of Israel Jews never dared behave in this fashion. Has > independence made the Jews take leave of their senses?” > > Desecration of Christian property and churches—arson, window breaking, > burning of the New Testament—had long marred relations between the two > communities. A small but fanatical group of Jews wanted no Christians, whom > they considered fallen Jews, in Israel. This virulent strain of prejudice > had been present since before the Jewish state was founded. > > For instance, after the capture by Jewish forces of Jaffa on May 13, 1948, > two days before Israel’s birth, there was desecration of Christian > churches. Father Deleque, a Catholic priest, reported: “Jewish soldiers > broke down the doors of my church and robbed many precious and sacred > objects. Then they threw the statues of Christ down into a nearby garden.” > He added that Jewish leaders had reassured that religious buildings would > be respected, “but their deeds do not correspond to their words.” > > On May 31, 1948, a group of Christian leaders comprising the Christian > Union of Palestine publicly complained that Jewish forces had used 10 > Christian churches and humanitarian institutions in Jerusalem as military > bases and otherwise desecrated them. They added that a total of 14 churches > had suffered shell damage, which killed three priests and made casualties > of more than 100 women and children. > > The group’s statement said Arab forces had abided by their promise to > respect Christian institutions, but that the Jews had forcefully occupied > Christian structures and been indiscriminate in shelling churches. It said, > among other charges, that “many children were killed or wounded” by Jewish > shells on the Convent of Orthodox Copts on May 19, 23 and 24; that eight > refugees were killed and about 120 wounded at the Orthodox Armenian Convent > at some unstated date; and that Father Pierre Somi, secretary to the > Bishop, had been killed and two wounded at the Orthodox Syrian Church of > St. Mark on May 16. > > Churches were again desecrated during the 1967 war when Israel captured > East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, completing the occupation of all of > Palestine. On July 21, 1967, the Reverend James L. Kelso, a former > moderator of the United Presbyterian Church and long-time resident in > Palestine, complained of extensive damage to churches adding: “So > significant was this third Jewish war against the Arabs that one of the > finest missionaries of the Near East called it ‘perhaps the most serious > setback that Christendom has had since the fall of Constantinople in 1453.’” > > Kelso continued: “How did Israel respect church property in the > fighting...? They shot up the Episcopal Cathedral [in Jerusalem], just as > they had done in 1948. They smashed down the Episcopal school for > boys...The Israelis wrecked and looted the YMCA...They wrecked the big > Lutheran hospital...The Lutheran center for cripples also suffered...” > > Nancy Nolan, wife of a physician at the American University Hospital in > Beirut, who was in Jerusalem during and after the fighting, charged that > “while the Israeli authorities proclaim to the world that all religions > will be respected and protected, and post notices identifying the Holy > Places, Israeli soldiers and youths are throwing stink bombs in the Church > of the Holy Sepulcher. > > “The Church of St. Anne, who crypt marks the birthplace of the Virgin > Mary, has been severely damaged and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem > also was damaged. The wanton killing of the Warden of the Garden Tomb > followed by the shooting into the tomb itself, in an attempt to kill the > warden’s wife, was another instance that we knew first-hand which > illustrated the utter disregard shown by the occupation forces toward the > Holy Places and the religious sensibilities of the people in Jordan and in > the rest of the world.” > > “The desecration of churches...includes smoking in the churches, littering > the churches, taking dogs inside and entering in inappropriate manner of > dress. Behavior such as this cannot be construed other than as a direct > insult to the whole Christian world.” > > Desecration has occurred not only in times of war. As recently as 1995, an > Israeli soldier, Daniel Koren, 22, entered St. Anthony Catholic Church in > Jaffa and went on a shooting rampage, firing more than 100 bullets in the > altar and the cross above it but causing no injuries. Koren said his Judaic > convictions forced him to destroy all physical images of God, and admitted > that he had staged a prior attack in Jerusalem’s Gethsemane Church. > > Perhaps the worst outbreak of organized desecration of Christian > institutions came on Sept. 10, 1963, when hundreds of ultra-orthodox Jews > simultaneously attacked Christian missions in Jaffa, Haifa and Jerusalem. > (One has to say “perhaps because reporting on this sensitive subject in the > U.S. media has been so poor over the decades.) At any rate, the attacks > were a concerted effort to intimidate Christians in Israel by a religious > vigilante group called Hever Peelei Hamahane Hatorati, the Society of > Activists of the Torah Camp. In an attack on the Church of Scotland school > in Jaffa, Christian children were beaten and considerable damage was caused > to the school by at least 200 rampaging Jews. > > Other attacks occurred at two nearby church schools, the Greek Catholic > missionary school of St. Joseph and a Christian Brothers school. In > Jerusalem, attacks occurred at the St. Joseph convent and the Finnish > Lutheran mission school. In Haifa, the American-European Beth El Messianic > Mission Children’s Hostel and School was attacked. No serious damage > occurred in any of the attacks except at the Scotland school. More than 100 > Jews were convicted in the attacks, none of them receiving more than small > fines and suspended sentences. > > The first half of the 1980s, with Likud governments in control, was a > particularly active period for Jewish bigots. On Oct. 8, 1982, the Baptist > Church in Jerusalem was burned down. Kerosene had been sprinkled on the > church’s wooden chapel, constructed in 1933. Although no one was ever > charged in the arson, the Baptist Center’s bookstore had been vandalized a > dozen times in previous years, and Jews were suspected. When the Baptists > sought to rebuild the church, Jews demonstrated against the project and the > Jewish district planning commission refused to grant a building permit. In > 1985, the Israeli Supreme Court advised the Baptists to leave the > all-Jewish area. > > On Christmas Day in 1983, a hotel in Tiberias where Christians held > meetings was set afire, the latest in a series of attacks on a small group > of about 50 Christians. Two Jews were arrested in the arson incident. Other > attacks included stones thrown through windows at the hotel while the group > was meeting and break-ins at the homes of members of the group. The > anti-missionary group Yad Le’Achim complained that Christian missionaries > were offering money, clothes, jewelry and tennis shoes to listen to > Christian lectures. > > Just over a fortnight later, on Jan. 11, 1984, suspected Jewish extremists > stacked hymnals on a piano in a Christian prayer room in Jerusalem and set > them afire. Also in the same week angry Jews protesting Christian > proselytizing caused Beth Shalom, a Christian evangelical group, to > withdraw its plans to build a multimillion-dollar hotel in Jerusalem. Beth > Shalom took its action after about 150 Jews showed up at a city council > meeting with placards reading “You can’t buy me” and “I didn’t immigrate to > live next door to missionaries.” A leader of the protest, Rabbi Moshe > Berlinger, compared Christian missionaries to Trojan horses. > > Jewish infringements on Christian rights became so bad by 1990 that on > Dec. 20 the leaders of Christian churches in Jerusalem took the > extraordinary decision to restrict Christmas celebrations to protest “the > continuing sad state of affairs in our land,” including encroachment by > Israel on traditional Christian institutions. Among concerns expressed by > the patriarchs and heads of churches were attempts by Jewish settlers to > move into the Old City and an “erosion of the traditional rights and > centuries-old privileges of the churches,” including imposition by Israel > of municipal and state taxes on the churches. > > The statement added: “We express our deep concern over new problems > confronting the local church. They interfere with the proper functioning of > our religious institutions, and we call upon the civil authorities in the > country to safeguard our historic rights and status honored by all > governments.” > > Anti-Christian prejudice helps account for the fact that the number of > Christian Palestinians in all of former Palestine had dwindled to only > 50,000 in 1995. They no longer were a major presence in either Jerusalem or > Ramallah, and they were fast losing their majority status in Bethlehem. > > When Israel was established in 1948, the Palestinian Christian community > had numbered 200,000, compared to roughly 600,000 Jews in Palestine at the > time. Now the Christians are not even one percent of the population of > Israel/Palestine. Of today’s estimated total 400,000 Christian > Palestinians, most now are living in their own diaspora, mainly in the > Americas. > > > > On Thursday, October 9, 2014 11:46:37 AM UTC-5, KeithInTampa wrote: > > "The enemy of your enemy is your friend". > > When your "Friends" from IS come to your house, and want to rape your > wife, behead your children, and demand a tax from you because you think > that their "silly little religion" is just that, "Silly"; remember this > conversation. > > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 12:27 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> > wrote: > > you've obviously chosen sides between the jews and muzzies. > enjoy your silly religious war. > > On Thursday, October 9, 2014 9:43:49 AM UTC-5, KeithInTampa wrote: > > Which one of these women are you now going to claim is wanting to jump in > the swimming pool and is being discriminated against Plain Ol? > > [image: Displaying] > > Again, you are just flat out wrong here, and you refuse to see it. > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 10:03 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> > wrote: > > claiming it is a part and parcel of your religion won't cut it. > --- > > > > I have no clue what Mollie Fermaglich's lawsuit is about, > --- > reading comprehension deficiency noted. > > and don't care, but it has nothing to do with nor is it even similar to > Muslims trying to jam Sharia down Americans' proverbial throats. > --- > or similar to jamming judaic law and zionist extortion down American > throats. > > On Thursday, October 9, 2014 8:51:52 AM UTC-5, KeithInTampa wrote: > > Once again, Plain Ol' has confused one story with something that has > absolutely nothing to do with another. It doesn't matter if you are > Islamic, Jew, Christian, the swimming pool in question requires one to be > in proper swimming attire, and dressing as if you are in a Level B > Contamination Suit claiming it is a part and parcel of your religion won't > cut it. > > I have no clue what Mollie Fermaglich's lawsuit is about, and don't care, > but it has nothing to do with nor is it even similar to Muslims trying to > jam Sharia down Americans' proverbial throats. > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 9:44 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Mollie Fermaglich, 61, says when she protested working on Passover, a > colleague asked, “Just how Jewish are you?” according to her Manhattan > Federal Court lawsuit against the Greenwich Village college. > > Despite 20 years at NYU and a TV career working with Jerry Seinfeld, > William Shatner, Rita Rudner, Jackie Mason and others, Fermaglich claims > she was repeatedly passed over for promotion in favor of younger, male, > non-Jewish teachers. > > Fermaglich is seeking $12 million in damages. > > An NYU spokesman said Fermaglich still teaches full-time at the school, > and the university “believes the facts demonstrate that there is no basis > for her allegations.” > > > On Thursday, October 9, 2014 6:33:02 AM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > BareNakedIslam posted: " When Sabah Ali took her family to the > Commerce City Recreation Center to swim, her clothing conformed to her > religious beliefs, but not pool rules. "Why do I have to be half naked to > swim? To enjoy my time with my kids?“ Ali asked, sobbing. "I want to ha" > > New post on *BARE NAKED ISLAM* > <http://www.barenakedislam.com/?author=1> COLORADO: Muslim Baghead cries > when turned away from public pool because of her sharia-compliant attire > <http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/10/08/colorado-muslim-baghead-cries-when-turned-away-from-public-pool-because-of-her-sharia-compliant-attire/> > by > BareNakedIslam <http://www.barenakedislam.com/?author=1> > > When Sabah Ali took her family to the Commerce City Recreation Center to > swim, her clothing conformed to her religious beliefs, but not pool rules. > "Why do I have to be half naked to swim? To enjoy my time with my kids?“ > Ali asked, sobbing. "I want to have the same rights as every citizen." […] > > Read more of this post > <http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/10/08/colorado-muslim-baghead-cries-when-turned-away-from-public-pool-because-of-her-sharia-compliant-attire/> > *BareNakedIslam <http://www.barenakedislam.com/?author=1>* | October 8, > 2014 at 9:33 pm | Categories: Islam in America > <http://www.barenakedislam.com/?taxonomy=category&term=islam-in-america> > | URL: http://wp.me/p276zM-18un > > Comment > <http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/10/08/colorado-muslim-baghead-cries-when-turned-away-from-public-pool-because-of-her-sharia-compliant-attire/#respond> > > See all comments > <http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/10/08/colorado-muslim-baghead-cries-when-turned-away-from-public-pool-because-of-her-sharia-compliant-attire/#comments> > > > Unsubscribe > <https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com&b=sdRBnzFo2F2e7K%5B-FcUX%7E5NW%26CBjnpe1JC%5D%3D%25bPIPWH%2FCF%26%3FwW> > > to no longer receive posts from BARE NAKED ISLAM. > Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions > <https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com>. > > > > *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: > http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/10/08/colorado-muslim-bag > head-cries-when-turned-away-from-public-pool-because-of-her- > sharia-compliant-attire/ > > > > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. 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