LogFAQs > #891917001

Skye Reynolds posted...

- there's an ongoing association between Christianity and homophobia

Let's be honest; it's not an association. The Bible literally sets out rules for killing homosexuals (at least males that have sex), so it's not like it's just some random occurrence that those things are associated.

Otherwise, I'd have to see more stats. Personally, I see governments in the developed world tend to be distancing themselves from the idea of a single state religion, which in turn has meant that Christianity is no longer the economic or political power it once was. On the other hand, that has absolutely nothing to do with people's personal beliefs and whether they have any sort of rituals or rites they do in their free-time.

As well, society has made a swing towards individualism, which means that the role of religion has to change. In the past, religion served a unifying purpose. A church was a social club as much as it was a place of worship. They served as centers of the more philosophical sides of society and helped move society in different direcitons (sometimes good, sometimes bad). Nowadays, though, people view it as a largely personal matter. Religion is supposed to benefit you on an individual level. Your commitment to it is not about upholding your community, but about uplifting yourself.

So while it's impossible, with current stats, for me to say if it has declined, the place of religion in the world has certainly changed monumentally, at least in the developed world.