Uncategorized – Page 33 – The Faithful Watchman

Church Attendance Has Declined in Most U.S. Religious Groups

As Americans observe Ramadan and prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover, the percentage of adults who report regularly attending religious services remains low. Three in 10 Americans say they attend religious services every week (21%) or almost every week (9%), while 11% report attending about once a month and 56% seldom (25%) or never (31%) attend.

Among major U.S. religious groups, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also widely known as the Mormon Church, are the most observant, with two-thirds attending church weekly or nearly weekly. Protestants (including nondenominational Christians) rank second, with 44% attending services regularly, followed by Muslims (38%) and Catholics (33%).

Majorities of Jewish, Orthodox, Buddhist and Hindu Americans say they seldom or never attend religious services.

Twenty-six percent of Orthodox adults, 22% of Jewish adults, 14% of Buddhist adults and 13% of Hindu adults attend services regularly. Although Buddhist and Hindu adults have similar levels of regular attendance, Buddhist adults are much more likely to say they seldom or never attend (75%) than Hindu adults (51%). The largest segment of Hindu Americans, 36%, say they attend about once a month.

Americans with no religious affiliation, including those who say they are atheist or agnostic, are very unlikely to attend church. Nevertheless, 3% say they attend weekly or nearly weekly.

Major religious celebrations for people of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu faiths in March and April — which involve gatherings of the faithful at churches, synagogues, mosques and temples — will likely draw many more adherents than typical weeks.

Gallup measures church attendance and religious affiliation on nearly every U.S. survey it conducts. These results are based on aggregated data from Gallup telephone surveys conducted in 2021, 2022 and 2023, which yield enough sample to examine attendance among a larger number of religious groups than would be possible in typical survey samples.

Beyond Protestants, Catholics and those with no religious affiliation, other religious groups each represent 2% or less of the U.S. population. The combined 2021-2023 data comprise interviews with more than 32,000 U.S. adults and at least 200 respondents in each religion, except for Orthodox churches and Hinduism. Gallup also constructed similar aggregates using 2000-2003 and 2011-2013 data to assess changes in religious service attendance over time.

Two decades ago, an average of 42% of U.S. adults attended religious services every week or nearly every week. A decade ago, the figure fell to 38%, and it is currently at 30%. This decline is largely driven by the increase in the percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation — 9% in 2000-2003 versus 21% in 2021-2023 — almost all of whom do not attend services regularly.

Still, most religious groups have also seen a decline in regular attendance at religious services over the past two decades.

Museum Claims Dinosaurs Have “LGBTQ History” And Birds Are “Queer”

Says animal queerness has been “hidden from the public”

A museum in Britain has claimed that some birds are “queer” and that the history of animal queerness has been “hidden from the public”.

The Hastings Museum and Art Gallery is running an LGBTQ history exhibition funded by Arts Council England which claims that some birds are “queer” because they “change their sex from female to male.”

The Telegraph notes that the claims about birds such as pheasants are completely unfounded and have no scientific basis.

The exhibition, in association with a group called the Hastings Queer History Collective, further claims that arguments about “queer” behaviour in the animal world being “unnatural” are undermined by the behaviour of game birds.

A pamphlet available at the museum states “Despite queer behaviour in the animal kingdom being observed as far back as the 18th century, it is often ignored or hidden from the public,” adding “One example is of female pheasants changing their sex when they stop laying eggs and turn their brown feathers into the brightly coloured feathering typical of males.”

“Pheasants feature in some of the earliest European studies of queer behaviour in animals,” it continues, adding “With queerness visible in the natural world, the argument that it is somehow ‘unnatural’ begins to unravel.”

All of this is just totally made up nonsense.

While some older birds’ feathers change colour due to hormonal changes, to say they change sex is just flat wrong.

Biologist Dr Emma Hilton, who is also a board director of the gender-critical campaign group Sex Matters, noted that “The only vertebrates that change sex are all fish. Birds do not change sex.”

Hilton added that “Often in the process of ageing, female animals can produce male features as a result of hormonal changes, we can also see this in humans following the menopause, but we would not say that older women had changed sex if they have a bit of a moustache.”

After spewing total garbage about animals, the museum’s guide, designed by The They Them Studio, a “queer-led graphic design company,” goes on to claim that “Eighteenth-century colonialism is responsible for the destruction of many ancient gender systems in countries around the world.”

Without presenting any evidence, it claims that past important figures and cultures have a “queer history,” and believed in a “third gender,” and that it was all somehow covered up.

As an example, it notes that children starting puberty in ancient Japan were considered a different gender and entered into a sexual relationship with adult masters, without pointing out that this is pedophilia, not some sort of transgender history.

The guide further claims that some Greek gods were bisexual, King William II was definitely gay because he was a bit effeminate and had no wife or children, and that an 11th century Archbishop had “queer sensibilities” and could be “considered a defender of gay rights.”

By far the most ridiculous entry on the guide is a description of a fossilised dinosaur footprint, that states “we cannot comment on the sexuality of the dinosaur who made this footprint, but we do know that the 11-year-old boy who found it is now grown up, happily married to his husband Greg in a pink house in Hastings.”

Talk about clutching at straws.

“Queer history takes many forms, and in this case, it makes up an important part of the fossil’s provenance,” the guide ludicrously adds.

Queerassic Park?

‘Apocalypse Now’? Solar eclipse, ‘Devil Comet’ & Red Heifer prophecy

On April 8, parts of the United States will experience a total eclipse — and a projected million people will travel to Texas alone to witness the state as it descends into total blackness.

While many are excited to see the celestial event of a lifetime, the blackout could also affect how much solar power is generated.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is lightly sounding the alarm, saying the phenomenon will affect solar energy production in Texas as the eclipse passes from the southwest to the northeast.

Texas is the second-largest producer of solar energy after California, harvesting 6% of its electricity from solar energy.

Keith, Jeffy, and Kris Cruz remind Pat Gray that this eclipse, its energy consequences, and the April 8 “devil comet” could be a sign of the “end times.”

The comet’s real name is 12P/Pons-Brooks, but it was given the nickname “devil comet” for its horn-shaped celestial body.

“That feels very apocalyptic,” Keith says while Gray notes that there’s a lot going on in the world that can be taken as “signs,” making this idea feel not too far-fetched.

One of these signs is the Red Heifer prophecy, which is the belief by some Jews and Christians that Texas red heifers are the key to rebuilding a Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

In addition, while recently listing the motives for the October 7 attack on Israel, a Hamas spokesman accused Jews of “bringing red cows” to the Holy Land.

“Signs of the apocalypse,” Gray says.

Fairfax Democrats Choose Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Visibility Day’

Fairfax County Virginia has named Easter Sunday 2024 as “Transgender Visibility Day,” in what many Christians see as a hijack of their most sacred holiday.

The Fairfax County School Board has added Transgender Visibility Day to its prior designations of June as LGBT Pride Month and October as LGBT History Month for a remarkable 62 days of LGBT celebration in the district’s schools.

The Rev. Emma Chattin, executive director of Transgender Education Association, praised the board’s decision, asserting that visibility can be “a heroic thing, especially for our trans women of color in our community, who face additional intersectional obstacles of prejudice regarding safety, housing, employment and health care.”

Writing for the Washington Examiner, however, Fairfax local Stephanie Lundquist-Arora said the board members are telling Christians they do not matter by turning “one of their holiest days into a celebration of an ideology that undermines the church’s core convictions.”

The school board’s nine Democrats all voted in favor of the measure, whereas the token Republican on the board, Patrick Herrity, did not show up for the vote.

“I’m looking forward to the day when we have a full dais for this proclamation, and that day will come,” said board member James Walkinshaw of Herrity’s absence. “One way or the other, that day will come.”

That sentiment was echoed by Democrat Dalia Palchik, supervisor for the Providence district of the county. “What we say at this dais matters,” she said. “What you say in the community, what our leaders say and the outcome of that really matters.”

“Our transgender students are depressed,” Palchik contended. “Nearly half have considered suicide. You see across the board in our LGBT community that it is the one community that stands out higher than any other demographic in our students of depression, attempting suicide, considering suicide.”

“To me, it is a moral imperative and also a public health imperative that we band together,” she said.

3 Very Unusual Things That Are Happening In The Heavens Right Now

Within the past few days, so much has been happening in the heavens. There has been an enormous geomagnetic storm that has caused “a major disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field”, a comet that only comes around once every 71 years is racing through the inner solar system, and a lunar eclipse just painted the sky red over much of the planet. And of course we are just a couple of weeks away from the Great American Eclipse of 2024, and I will have much more to say about that eclipse as it draws closer. But in this article, I want to focus on 3 very unusual things that are happening in the heavens right now…

#1 A massive geomagnetic storm hit the Earth on Sunday.

The good news is that this storm was not strong enough to damage our power grids.

But it did create “a major disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field”, and CBS News is reporting that we should keep a close eye on the sun because “more X-class flares are possible through Wednesday”…

The planet was just slammed with what government officials dubbed a severe geomagnetic storm, the second-highest level of NOAA’s rating system. The event brought “a major disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field” that may have impacted infrastructure and made the northern lights visible farther than usual, officials said.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch on Saturday, saying that a coronal mass ejection was detected and expected to hit the planet late that same day with impacts into Monday. Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are when a large cloud of plasma and magnetic field bursts from the sun’s corona.

This particular CME exploded alongside a solar flare on Friday, an event that occurs when electromagnetic radiation suddenly erupts from the sun. NOAA says these flares can last hours and the eruption “travels at the speed of light,” meaning it can impact Earth as soon as it is observed. An X-class flare, like what was observed with the CME, is the strongest type of flare, although this particular one was not the strongest on record. NOAA forecasters did say, however, that more X-class flares are possible through Wednesday.

#2 The Devil Comet continues to race through the solar system and could soon be visible to the naked eye.

It only comes around once every 71 years.

Now the “Devil Comet” is here, and we are being told that it is likely that we will be able to see it with the naked eye by the end of this month…

“The Devil Comet” — a rare galactic phenomenon the size of Mount Everest that can only be seen by humans about every 70 years — may soon be visible with the naked eye as it barrels toward Earth.

The especially bright extraterrestrial treat — formally known as Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks — is making its way through the inner solar system and can currently be seen with a telescope or binoculars.

But by the end of March, the comet may be able to be seen with the naked eye at dusk in the Northern Hemisphere against the zodiacal constellation Aries in the western horizon, according to Space.com.

#3 A lunar eclipse painted the sky red over much of the planet on Monday.

In recent years, there has been a tremendous amount of speculation about what blood moons might mean.

Very early on Monday morning, we got to witness one of these blood moons…

On Monday, March 25, at 3 a.m. ET (adjust for your time zone), a lunar eclipse in Libra will paint the sky red … kind of. As the moon reflects the Earth’s shadow during a lunar eclipse (rather than the sun’s glow, as per a typical full moon), the moon goes through a visual transformation, shifting from its signature silvery glow into a dark, tawny red. And, thanks to these beguiling optics, lunar eclipses have their own spooky nickname: blood moons.

Interestingly, this blood moon just happened to fall on the second day of Purim.

Bank of Canada says the country faces a productivity ’emergency’

Canada has fallen behind most of its G7 peers, warns senior deputy governor

Canada must tackle weak productivity to inoculate the economy against factors that will drive future inflation, such as the pullback from globalization, said Carolyn Rogers, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada.

“An economy with low productivity can grow only so quickly before inflation sets in. But an economy with strong productivity can have faster growth, more jobs and higher wages with less risk of inflation,” she said in a March 26 speech in Halifax, adding that other drivers of inflation will include changing demographics, the economic impact of climate change and global tensions.

Canada’s productivity has fallen from a “not great” record of producing 88 per cent of the value generated by the United States economy per hour in 1984 to just 71 per cent in 2022, she said. And while weak investment has been a problem in Canada for the past 50 years, the gap between the level of capital spending per worker by Canadian firms and the level spent by their U.S. counterparts has become worse over the past decade or so.

“While U.S. spending continues to increase, Canadian investment levels are lower than they were a decade ago,” Rogers told her audience, adding that Canada has also fallen behind most of its G7 peers, with only Italy seeing a larger decline in productivity relative to the United States.

“You’ve seen those signs that say: In emergency, break glass — Well, it’s time to break the glass,” she said.

Increasing competition is among the solutions that Rogers proposed. She also urged policymakers to focus on sectors and companies that add greater value to the economy and to set the stage for increased investment, including in technologies that will improve productivity and efficiency.

“When a company increases productivity, that means more revenue, which allows the company to pay higher wages to its workers without having to raise prices,” Rogers said. “The bottom line is that the benefits from raising productivity are there no matter what your role is: for workers, for businesses and, yes, for central bankers, too.”

Rogers said policymakers should also focus on labour composition, or the skills workers bring to the job to improve Canada’s productivity.

This includes training and “re-skilling“ for existing workers and taking advantage of immigration.

“Too often, new Canadians are working in jobs that don’t take advantage of the skills they already possess. And too often these people wind up stuck in low-wage, low-productivity jobs,” she said. “Doing better at matching jobs and workers is crucial to the future of Canada’s economy.”

Rogers said her biggest concern, though, is competition, especially because certain sectors in Canada are not facing competition from firms in other provinces, foreign rivals or new entrants.

“Of course, every country has certain sectors that it champions, and there can be valid reasons to protect local businesses,” she said. “However, too much protection can lead to problems. It can also help to explain Canada’s weak record in business investment.”

Calgary judge rules woman with autism can seek Medical Assistance in Dying

Justice Colin Feasby said his decision will be stayed for 30 days so lawyers for the father of the woman can decide whether to file an appeal.

Preventing a Calgary woman’s medically assisted death would cause her irreparable harm, a judge ruled Monday in ordering an injunction stopping her from ending her life be lifted.But Justice Colin Feasby said his decision will be stayed for 30 days so lawyers for the father of the woman, identified only as MV, can decide whether to file an appeal.

The Calgary Court of King’s Bench judge said he had to weigh the potential harm an injunction would cause the 27-year-old woman, who has autism, against the harm her parents would suffer if the injunction was lifted.“The harm to MV if an injunction is granted goes to the core of her being,” Feasby said in his written ruling.

“An injunction would deny MV the right to choose between living or dying with dignity. Further, an injunction would put MV in a position where she would be forced to choose between living a life she has decided is intolerable and ending her life without medical assistance.

“This is a terrible choice that should not be forced on MV, as attempting to end her life without medical assistance would put her at increased risk of pain, suffering and lasting injury.”

But Feasby said he understood the desire of MV’s father, WV, and mother to try to keep their adult daughter alive.

The father was granted a temporary injunction the day before his daughter’s assisted suicide under MAID was to take place on Feb. 1.

Lawyers for the woman sought to have the injunction lifted, arguing the decision by the woman to access MAID was a medical one that wasn’t entitled to court intervention.

Feasby said despite finding the injunction would cause the daughter irreparable harm, lifting it would still cause great grief to her parents.

“The harm to WV if the injunction is not granted will be substantial,” he wrote.

“The pain of losing a child, even an adult child, is not something that any parent should experience. (The parents) have devoted their lives to raising MV from birth and have continued to support her since she has come of age.

“They will understandably be devastated by her death. For many parents, the loss of a child is a life-changing event that they never truly recover from. The loss is immeasurable,” Feasby said.

The daughter sought MAID last year and was initially approved by one doctor, but not by a second. She then sought a third opinion and was given the necessary approval of two physicians to have an assisted death.

Feasby said his ruling did not foreclose the daughter changing her mind before the procedure is completed.

Chicago health officials confirm 2 more measles cases, bringing citywide total to 12

Chicago health officials have confirmed two more measles cases, both of which stemming from the Pilsen migrant shelter. The latest case update brings the citywide total to 12 cases.

According to the CDPH, 10 of the 12 cases originate from the Pilsen migrant shelter, and the confirmed cases are split between six adults and six children.

The cases in Chicago come amid a nationwide resurgence of measles, with cases currently being confirmed in 17 different states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Gov. J.B. Pritzker directed the department, alongside the Illinois Department of Human Services and Illinois Emergency Management Agency, to assist Chicago and Cook County officials in containing the spread of the virus earlier this week.

“IDPH is working to coordinate state assistance to support our local public health partners as they contend with a measles outbreak that reflects an ongoing national rise in measles this year,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said. “While the vast majority of Chicago and Cook County residents are vaccinated for measles and not at risk, we strongly support the call from the Chicago Department of Public Health for all unvaccinated residents to get the measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine now. Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious complications for those that are non-immunized.”

Though the cases are currently in Chicago, Cook County Department of Public Health Chief Operating Officer Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck said health officials are currently tracking nearly 100 people who were potentially exposed to the virus.

In addition to assisting their Chicago counterparts with isolation and quarantine solutions, Illinois health officials are also providing infection control assessments at quarantine sites, medical assessments and assistance with testing.

The new cases come as a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived at the Pilsen shelter on Tuesday in an effort to curb the spread of the highly contagious virus.

Health officials said case investigations for those infected are ongoing to determine if any unvaccinated individuals were in contact with them while they were infectious.

“While we’re seeing new cases every day, this is not like the COVID-19 outbreak. The vast majority of Chicagoans are vaccinated against measles and therefore not at high risk,” CDPH Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo ‘Simbo’ Ige said. “But those who are unvaccinated need to take precautions and if they’re exposed, quarantine immediately and connect with your healthcare provider. Above all else, get vaccinated so you, too, can be protected from this virus.”

Health officials are encouraging all new arrivals and all previously unvaccinated Chicagoans to receive the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Officials said that approximately 900 residents inside the Pilsen shelter have received the vaccine in recent days while confirming immunity for the others, meaning they were either previously vaccinated or infected.

The MMR vaccine is available at most clinics, medical provider’s offices and pharmacies. Children 6 months and older can get vaccinated, while children 7 and older can also get the MMR shot at pharmacies under Illinois law.

A first dose of the MMR vaccine is recommended at 12 months of age while a second dose is recommended at 4 to 6 years old.

Haiti gang are ‘eating people they’ve killed’ on the streets as violence erupts

Haiti is “in a state of chaos” as brutal gang members attack police officers with machetes, a journalist in Port-au-Prince has claimed.

Violence has plagued the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince for years, but the situation has escalated drastically as gangs demand that Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign. A state of emergency has been declared in the country after gangs attacked two prisons, setting many criminals free. It is now thought that 80% of the Haitian capital is controlled by these gangs.

Describing the violence in the country, a journalist said that cannibalism has been witnessed on the streets as the violence reaches “unprecedented” levels, reports the Express US. Speaking anonymously, they said: “Haiti is living in a total chaotic situation right now. It is total chaos everywhere, especially in the capital where I am right now.

“Haiti has a leader, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, but he is not inside the country right now. In the meantime you have gangs waging full attacks on key institutions.

“You also have attacks on police stations. The officers were in there for three hours crying for help, and after that, we saw images of officers being cut by machetes being shared on social media. The gangs are heavily armed with guns from the US, but they are also equipped with high-level technology like drones.

“The level of violence is unprecedented. The gangs seemingly want to kill as many people as they can. They are in a fear campaign where they want to appear as murderous and as violent as possible.”

After the interview, the journalist sent a message reading: “Cannibalism is not widespread, but definitely an indication of the worsening situation. It definitely happens on a few occasions.”

There’s a power struggle among gangs in Haiti, but one of the most feared figures in Port-au-Prince’s underworld is Jimmy Cherizier.

Churchgoing Has Some Pretty Incredible Results When It Comes to Happiness, Survey Finds

A new poll found a near-record low of Americans are “very satisfied” with their lives, with just 47% of adults expressing high fulfillment and contentedness.

This is only the third time in the past two decades that Gallup has seen the proportion dip below 50%, with a three percentage point decrease in the last year, as the polling firm noted.

Lower life satisfaction comes amid concerns over the state of affairs, inflation woes, and other sentiments. But it seems a few groups stand out regarding their higher-than-average satisfaction. Among them: faithful churchgoers.

In fact, a total of 56% of U.S. Adults who attend religious services weekly say they are very satisfied with how things are going in their personal lives, with 52% of those who attend nearly weekly or monthly saying the same.

Just 41% who seldom of never attend express the same, showing the full benefit of faith.

Meanwhile, 58% of people who have an annual household income of $100,000 or more, 57% of people who are married, and 54% of college graduates say the same.

Two other groups who cross the 50% threshold are Democrats (52%) and people aged 55 and older (51%).

“Americans are currently less satisfied with their personal lives than they have been since 2011, whether that is based on the percentage satisfied or very satisfied,” Gallup noted in its conclusion. “This lower satisfaction level coincides with weak economic confidence.”

The text continued, “However, some groups of U.S. adults are still registering majority-level high satisfaction with their lives, including higher-income, married, more religious, college educated, older Americans and Democrats.”

Gallup’s finding that church attendance and faith yield happiness fall in mine with previous research on the matter.

As CBN’s Faithwire has reported, numerous studies show the power and importance of faith in Americans’ lives. Last years’ the American Bible Society’s 13th “State of the Bible” report revealed “Scripture-engaged individuals were shown to have the highest levels of persevering hope.”

A past Barna Group survey exposed a stunning relational disparity between practicing Christians and U.S. adults more generally. While 61% of practicing Christians said they are flourishing in friendships and relationships, just 28% of U.S. adults said the same, according to The Christian Post.

Church attendance also seems to yield some intensely positive benefits. Gallup Senior Scientist Frank Newport reported last year on statistics found by his polling firm backing the notion that attending religious services has a compelling impact on people’s life views.

“The January Gallup data indicate that 92% of those who attend church services weekly are satisfied, compared with 82% of those who attend less than monthly,” Newport wrote. “The difference is even more evident in terms of the percentage who report being very satisfied — 67% of those who attend weekly are very satisfied with their personal life, compared with 48% among those who are infrequent attenders.”

Meanwhile, 44% of weekly churchgoers told Gallup they would describe their “mental health and emotional wellbeing” as “excellent.” This compares to 46% who said the same in 2020 and 42% of regular congregants who reported “excellent” mental health in 2019, holding relatively steady.