religion – The Faithful Watchman

Christianity in the U.S. is quickly declining, May no longer be the majority religion by 2070

ETH – September 14, 2022

(OPINION) Christianity has remained at the forefront of the nation’s political and social conversations for centuries — but new research shows that could be changing.

A new report by Pew Research Center and the General Social Survey published on Tuesday found that the large numbers of people in the U.S who practice Christianity are declining. The religion’s demographic has been dwindling since the 1990s, the report said, as many adults transition to an identity of atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.”

In the early ’90s, about 90% of people in the U.S. identified as Christians, the report said. In 2020, Christians accounted for about 64% of the U.S. population, including children. Meanwhile, those who are not affiliated with a religion has grown from 16% in 2007 to 30% in 2020, according to the research. All other religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, accounted for about 6% in 2020.

Pew and GSS paired up to analyze how those numbers could change if the Christian decline accelerates or stops, and how other demographic trends, including migration and rates of birth and death, would influence the outcomes. The researchers only looked at religious identity, rather than religious beliefs and practices.

Four potential scenarios were considered: a stable rate of people moving in and out of Christianity; an increasing share of Christians leaving their religion as a decreasing number of people with no religious affiliation switching in; the same as the former but with no more than 50% of Christians switching their identity; and a scenario in which no person changes their religion.

“Depending on the future of religious switching, people who identify as atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular’ could become America’s largest (non)religious group within our lifetime,” Pew researcher Stephanie Kramer tweeted.

In all of the scenarios, even if nobody switches their religious affiliation in the coming decades, the number of religiously unaffiliated people is hypothesized to approach or exceed the number of Christians by 2070, the report found.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Now They Are Literally Bowing Down And Worshipping Baal Right In Front Of Our Eyes

Michael Snyder – August 4, 2022

They aren’t even trying to hide it anymore. During the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England on July 28th, a giant mechanical bull with glowing red eyes was rolled out into the center of Alexander Stadium. The bull was approximately 10 meters high, and it took more than five months to build. It had been given the nickname “Raging Bull”, and it absolutely dwarfed all of the human participants that were involved in the performance. The “hero” of the opening ceremony, a character known as Stella, calmed the creature down and then all of the human performers gathered around the giant bull and literally began to bow down and worship it. I have seen a lot of really weird things in recent years, but I have never seen anything quite like this.

A total of 72 nations participate in the Commonwealth Games, and so this opening ceremony was being viewed on countless television screens all over the planet.

The symbolism in this “ritual” was well planned in advance, and the organizers knew exactly what they were doing.

But they were also counting on the fact that the vast majority of the general population would not consciously catch on to what was actually taking place.

The bull has always been a symbol of an ancient deity from the Middle East known as “Baal”. The following comes from Christianity.com…

In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility.

This god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. And of all the foreign gods the Israelites came into contact with, they appeared to struggle the most with worshipping this one.

If we could go back thousands of years and roll out a giant bull with glowing red eyes for the people of the ancient Middle East, they would instantly understand what was going on.

Nobody would need to tell them that it was a statue of Baal and that they were intended to worship it.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

Francis Forgives Everyone

William Kilpatrick – July 20, 2022

In a recent article I made the case that the main thrust of the Francis papacy is to deemphasize sin. Whatever he might say about a moral issue such as abortion, same-sex marriage, or adultery, Francis has consistently given his support and praise to those on the permissive side of the issue.

By contrast, his harshest criticisms have always been reserved for traditional Catholics who worry about moral decay in the Church and society. Francis frequently attacks these “rigid fundamentalists” as the modern-day counterparts of the pharisees.

Judging by Francis’s actions, one might think that the Church was just emerging from a long dark night of narrow-minded puritanism—a real life Handmaid’s Tale. But the opposite is true.

Starting in the early sixties, Church leaders increasingly took their moral cues from secular sources—particularly from psychologists. Middle-school religious studies texts were peppered with the theories of humanistic psychologists. In California, an entire order of 600 nuns left the Church in search of self-fulfillment. With the coming of the self-esteem movement, feelings of guilt were replaced with feelings of OK-ness. Almost overnight the long lines outside the confessional booths disappeared. Newly enlightened Catholics couldn’t think of any sins to confess. The new gospel was all about self-acceptance and self-love.

Many couldn’t think of any reason to attend Mass, either. The Son of Man came to save sinners; but since the label “sinner” no longer applied to those who had learned to esteem themselves, thousands upon thousands simply stopped going to church.

This doesn’t mean that they lost their faith entirely. Many simply re-adjusted their faith to bring it into conformity with the changing times. One Catholic writer recounts that until her mid-twenties, “I saw God as a permissive parent who was too ‘loving’ to enforce His own boundaries.”

This slide into permissiveness was slowed during the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI; however, the Church, at least in the West, continued to lose members.

https://www.frontpagemag.com

Supremes rule on state discrimination against religious schools

Bob Unruh – June 21, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the state of Maine cannot discriminate against religious schools by excluding them from a state program that lets parents use vouchers to pay tuition for their children.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 6-3 majority opinion that explained Maine’s tuition program, which blocked the funds from being used at religious schools, cannot stand.

The ruling echoes a similar ruling from just a few years ago involving religious schools in Montana.

In the Maine case, a family argued that by excluding religious schools from the voucher program, the state was actively discriminating against religion.

Michael Bindas, an attorney for the nonprofit legal group Institute for Justice, argued the case on behalf of the plaintiffs.

“Maine’s ‘nonsectarian’ requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment,” Roberts wrote in the case of Carson v. Maykin.

“Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise.”

Christopher Taub, the chief deputy attorney general for Maine, had claimed that the state shouldn’t be funding anything that instills religious beliefs, and that providing money for secular private schools does not do that, but that money going to religious schools does.

The state of Maine provides such vouchers to families of students who live where is no local public school to attend – but insisted that the vouchers not be used at religious or “sectarian” schools.

Roberts, during oral arguments, wondered openly about the state’s demands.

“You’re discriminating among religions based on their beliefs,” he said.

https://www.wnd.com

Stop banning Jews and Christians from praying on the Temple Mount, Orthodox rabbi tells ALL ISRAEL NEWS – it’s time to make site a ‘house of prayer for all nations’

Joel C. Rosenberg – May 25, 2022

JERUSALEM—Beginning the evening of Saturday, May 28, and running through Sunday, May 29, Israelis will celebrate “Jerusalem Day.”

This is the day on the Hebrew calendar (28 Iyar) that marks Israel’s reunification of the Holy City under its sovereign control during the Six-Day War of 1967, after the IDF defeated Jordanian forces that had previously controlled the city.

On the Western calendar, the “liberation of Jerusalem” occurred on June 7, 1967.

TEMPLE MOUNT TENSIONS RUNNING HIGH

With tensions already running high on what Jews and Christians call the Temple Mount and what Muslims call Haram al Sharif, Israeli security forces are bracing for trouble.

Just yesterday, ALL ISRAEL NEWS reported that Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled in favor of three Jewish teenagers whom the police temporarily banned from going to the Temple Mount after they had prayed at the site on May 15 saying that it constituted “a disproportionate infringement on their freedom of movement.”

However, the court also made it clear that “this [decision] does not intervene with the police’s job in enforcing public order at the Temple Mount, nor does it determine anything regarding freedom of worship at the Temple Mount.”

Judge Zion Saharay criticized police for barring the teenagers from the Temple Mount and said that a public statement made by the police chief “clearly suggests that all residents of the country are allowed to enter the Temple Mount and pray.”

https://www.allisrael.com

‘Family’ entertainment in red state features ‘Satan’ and ‘drag’ acts

Bob Unruh – June 8, 2022

What more could a family want for entertainment? Imagine an event that features Satan AND drag queens.

That’s what’s coming to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for this weekend’s “family friendly” celebration of homosexuality, lesbianism, transgenderism and probably more.

The Idaho Tribune confirmed that the Satanic Temple will be participating, along with museums, restaurants, business and even churches at the coming “Community Village & Artisan Market.”

Specific groups taking part include Calvary Lutheran Church, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Community United Methodist Church, Ecogoat Design, a library network, Museum of North Idaho, Pride Foundation, Reiki Healing Tent, Safari Pearl, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Satanic Temple Idaho.

But now the publication confirmed that multiple “drag performers” also will be there for children, who will be attending “at the direction of their parents.”

“At least one of the drag performers billed for the event has an Instagram account labeled ‘Adult Content” – the drag performer also has an Onlyfans account,” the publication confirmed.

That “performer,” teases online, “Let me take your breath away then let my art breathe it back into you!

As the details about the “Pride in the Park” celebration have been uncovered, there’s been a reaction, and at least one group now has gone silent on its plans.

It was a “Rowan Astra” that had been publicizing the coming event, and abruptly deleted its account.

https://www.wnd.com

China has now banned the word ‘Christ’ on Social Media platforms claiming it causes ‘Incitement’

Michael Foust – April 7, 2022

China has banned “Christ” and other religious words from social media apps under a new policy that went into effect on March 1. According to a new report, the policy also requires licensing and training to post Christian and religious content on the internet.

The Chinese Communist Party’s new law – dubbed the “Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services” – prohibits individuals and organizations from posting religious information on the internet unless they have first obtained permission from a provincial government department, according to China Aid, which monitors religious freedom within the country.

Early Rain Covenant Church, a Chinese congregation, recently discovered the far-reaching impact of the new law. Using the messaging app WeChat, a church member tried posting the names of eight books for members of a reading group, asking them to vote on their favorite. Among the titles: The Defense of the Faith by Cornelius Van Til, Tradition and the Individual Talent by T. S. Eliot and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis.

But the WeChat app rejected the post, saying the word “Christ” was not allowed.

“The word ‘Christ’ you are trying to publish violates regulations on Internet Information Services, including but not limited to the following categories: pornography, gambling, and drug abuse; excessive marketing; incitement.”

The issue could only be resolved by editing the post, which the church member did.

“Unfortunately, the group administrator had to replace part of the word ‘Christ’ to pass censorship,” China Aid said.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

American Bible Society survey finds ‘unprecedented drop’ in Bible reading

Ryan Foley – April 7, 2022

There has been an “unprecedented drop” in the number of Bible users in the United States since last year, according to a report released by the American Bible Society.

The 2022 State of the Bible report, released Wednesday, based its findings on responses collected from a survey of 2,598 U.S. adults conducted in January. The 12th annual report asked Americans a variety of questions about their Bible use and their thoughts on its role in society.

A preface to the report also highlights changes in the percentage of Bible users in the U.S. over time. The American Bible Society defines Bible users as “those who use the Bible at least 3-4 times each year on their own, outside of a church setting.”

After reaching a high of 53% in 2014, the share of Bible users among the U.S. adult population consistently remained between 48% and 51%. Just last year, 50% of Americans were Bible users. However, in 2022, Bible users in the U.S. accounted for just 39% of the adult population, the lowest in more than a decade.

The State of the Bible report described the 11% decrease as an “unprecedented drop in the percentage of Bible users in the United States.” When applied to the U.S. population as a whole, the figure suggests that the number of Bible users in the U.S. dropped from 128 million in 2021 to 103 million in 2022.

https://www.christianpost.com

Greece: Muslim Migrants Desecrate and ‘Turn into Toilets’ 2,339 Churches

Raymond Ibrahim – March 14, 2022

According to a new report published by Greece’s Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, there were 2,339 incidents of church desecrations in the country between 2015 and 2020, when tiny Greece, seen as Europe’s eastern gateway, was flooded with migrants from the Islamic world. As the Greek City Times writes in regards to the report, “There appears to be a correlation between the increase in illegal migration and the incidents of attacks on Greek Orthodox religious churches and religious spaces during the five year period which occurred during the peak of the migration crisis.”

Of the most recent year in the recording period, 2020, there were 385 incidents against Christian churches and buildings, including “vandalism, burglary, theft, sacrilege, necromancy, robbery, placement of explosive devices and other desecrations.”

Over the years, a few of these desecrations made it to English language media.

In April 2021, Muslim migrants entered into and utterly desecrated a small church. Proud of their handiwork, they also videotaped portions of the incident and uploaded it on TikTok (available here). It shows a topless migrant dancing to rap music as he walks towards and inside the church. The next clip shows the aftermath: devastation inside the church, with smashed icons and the altar overthrown.

In 2020, Muslim migrants ransacked and transformed another church into their personal toilet. This public restroom was once the St. Catherine Church in Moria, a small town on the island of Lesvos, which was flooded with migrants who arrived via Turkey. “The smell inside is unbearable,” said a local. “[T]he metropolitan of Mytilene is aware of the situation in the area, nevertheless, he does not wish to deal with it for his own reasons.”

While there are many such examples from between 2015-2020—in 2016, the Church of All Saints in Kallithea near Athens was set aflame by “Arabic speakers”—historically conscious Greeks see a continuum in the Islamic targeting of their churches. As one report on the desecration of Greek churches explains,

We should remember that Greece spent 400 years under Turkish Islamic rule and that the fight for freedom was bloody. With that in mind it is even more dramatic seeing these images of fighting age migrants desecrating Greek holy places and having no respect for the country they are allegedly seeking refuge in.

https://www.frontpagemag.com

Freedom of Religion on Trial in Finland

William Kilpatrick – February 25, 2022

Päivi Räsänen is a member of the Finnish Parliament, a former minister of the interior, a public speaker and the mother of five grown children.

She faces a heavy fine and two years in prison for quoting the Bible. In response to the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s affiliation with the Helsinki LGBT Pride event, she posted the Bible passage from Romans 1: 24-27 which condemns homosexual behavior.

Finnish prosecutors stated that the use of the word “sin” could be harmful, and alleged that Ms. Räsänen’s comments were made to cause intolerance, contempt, and hatred toward homosexuals.

But couldn’t the prosecutor’s remarks cause intolerance, contempt and hatred toward Ms. Räsänen? If criticizing another person’s beliefs or behavior is a hate crime, then isn’t she the victim of a hate crime?

The court prosecutors worried that the word “sin” could be harmful. One supposes they mean harmful to one’s self-esteem. And, indeed, the list of sins in Romans 1: 24-32 is meant to make you feel bad about yourself. From a Biblical perspective, acknowledgment of sin, followed by repentance, leads on to salvation. In other words, feeling bad about your behavior is, in some cases, a good thing. It’s not only homosexual behavior that is condemned in Romans I. The extended passage condemns all manner of sins including idolatry, deceitfulness, envy, gossip, slander, and disobedience to parents.

From one point of view this is highly offensive and insulting to those disposed to deceitfulness and slander. From another point of view, it can be looked upon as highly therapeutic—a moment of self-recognition that leads on to change.

Prosecutors should have no difficulty understanding the concept. After all, they apply painful therapeutics as a matter of course. They hope that a heavy fine or a dose of prison will force the criminal to recognize his crimes and put himself on the road to rehabilitation.

Increasingly, however, prosecutors are prosecuting “thought crimes” rather than real crimes, and courts are using hurt feelings as a criterion for making decisions. Take the case of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, an Austrian woman who was found guilty of “inciting hatred” by an Austrian Court because of her assertion that the prophet Muhammad was a pedophile. In 2018, the ruling was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights which held that her right to freedom of expression was outweighed by “the right of others to have their religious feelings protected.” In short, feelings trumped facts, and the alleged pain caused to Muslims by the “slander” of their prophet became the deciding factor.

https://www.frontpagemag.com