Freethought & Rationalism Archive

CaptainDave · 12-09-2002, 01:36 PM

<a href="http://www.wiretapmag.org/story.html?StoryID=14690" target="_blank">Here</a> is a killer article by a college freshman who begins to realize that we can do without religion.

missus_gumby · 12-09-2002, 02:21 PM

The article states that 27% of the British population attends church every week. I would say that this is a gross overstatement. The church of England, even with their own massaged figures, can only come up with a figure of less than 800,000 in their regular congregations. I would ask where are all the other church-goers are coming from in a population of between 60m and 70m? There's no way that the other denominations can make up such a high figure - I would put the number of British regular church-goers at nearer 10%.

It is quite possible I am wrong, but I doubt if I am that for out in my estimation. However, if anyone has current figures for Britain I'm sure they would make interesting reading.

Martin

[ December 09, 2002: Message edited by: missus_gumby ]

southernhybrid · 12-09-2002, 05:01 PM

Your comments made me curious missus_gumby so I did a search and found several different results. I was going to post a link but the results were so varried, I figured they were meaningless. On the low side, one article said 7.5% of Brits attend church and on the high side, it was 27%. Most of the articles said that 44% of Americans attend church and I find that number incredibly high, even in the Bible Belt. Sure we have a lot of church goers here, but most of my neighbors are home on Sunday morning, even though there's a huge, United Methodist Church, aka the party church, right on the corner of my street. I'd be willing to bet, most consider themselves Xians but not too many are very involved in church or trying to convert others.

I think that most people who believe don't think very much about it, and go to church mostly for socialization and support. A lot of us deconvert in college because we are away from our parent's influence and start to question what we have been taught. That's how it was for me. It's not surprising that others are still having similar experiences in this day and age.

LordSnooty · 12-09-2002, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by missus_gumby:

It is quite possible I am wrong, but I doubt if I am that for out in my estimation. However, if anyone has current figures for Britain I'm sure they would make interesting reading.

I think you're right. I've only ever known one person that went to Church, in all my 23 years.

I know that some churches in the UK only count occasions like Christmas day services when it comes to attendence - so they might have 100 people at Christmas, and count them all as church attendees. But during normal sunday mass they might only get three elderly and a stinking vagrant (or the vicar, as we like to call him - boom boom!).

Paul

Jeremy Pallant · 12-09-2002, 07:34 PM

I haven't heard a Basil Brush reference in a coon's age.

Godless Dave · 12-09-2002, 08:11 PM

I bet if you called a bunch of people and asked them if they went to church regularly, 44% would say yes. But if you actually had researchers sit outside a represenative sample of churches on Sunday morning you would get a much lower number.

It's like surveying teenagers about sex. When a headline says "85% of teens surveyed are sexually active!" it should really say "98% of teenage boys claim to be sexually active. 100% of teenage boys claim penis size above 12 inches."

[ December 09, 2002: Message edited by: Godless Dave ]

Godless Dave · 12-09-2002, 08:15 PM

From the article:

Quote:

I started to feel as if I was the last kid on earth who still believed in The Tooth Fairy.

Oh yeah. Preach it baby!

Shake · 12-13-2002, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Godless Dave:
I bet if you called a bunch of people and asked them if they went to church regularly, 44% would say yes. But if you actually had researchers sit outside a represenative sample of churches on Sunday morning you would get a much lower number.

It's like surveying teenagers about sex. When a headline says "85% of teens surveyed are sexually active!" it should really say "98% of teenage boys claim to be sexually active. 100% of teenage boys claim penis size above 12 inches."

[ December 09, 2002: Message edited by: Godless Dave ]

<img src="graemlins/notworthy.gif" border="0" alt="[Not Worthy]" /> HA HA HA! ROFL!

Seriously though, I too, thought that was a good article. I printed it out for further study later. There's hope, these kids aren't all bad!

12-09-2002, 01:36 PM	#1
CaptainDave Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Florida Keys Posts: 119	Losing Our Religion <a href="http://www.wiretapmag.org/story.html?StoryID=14690" target="_blank">Here</a> is a killer article by a college freshman who begins to realize that we can do without religion.

12-09-2002, 02:21 PM	#2
missus_gumby Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: UK Posts: 1,898	The article states that 27% of the British population attends church every week. I would say that this is a gross overstatement. The church of England, even with their own massaged figures, can only come up with a figure of less than 800,000 in their regular congregations. I would ask where are all the other church-goers are coming from in a population of between 60m and 70m? There's no way that the other denominations can make up such a high figure - I would put the number of British regular church-goers at nearer 10%. It is quite possible I am wrong, but I doubt if I am that for out in my estimation. However, if anyone has current figures for Britain I'm sure they would make interesting reading. Martin [ December 09, 2002: Message edited by: missus_gumby ]</p>

12-09-2002, 08:11 PM	#6
Godless Dave Contributor Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: With 10,000 lakes who needs a coast? Posts: 10,762	I bet if you called a bunch of people and asked them if they went to church regularly, 44% would say yes. But if you actually had researchers sit outside a represenative sample of churches on Sunday morning you would get a much lower number. It's like surveying teenagers about sex. When a headline says "85% of teens surveyed are sexually active!" it should really say "98% of teenage boys claim to be sexually active. 100% of teenage boys claim penis size above 12 inches." [ December 09, 2002: Message edited by: Godless Dave ]</p>

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

12-09-2002, 05:01 PM	#3
southernhybrid Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: heavenly Georgia Posts: 3,862	Your comments made me curious missus_gumby so I did a search and found several different results. I was going to post a link but the results were so varried, I figured they were meaningless. On the low side, one article said 7.5% of Brits attend church and on the high side, it was 27%. Most of the articles said that 44% of Americans attend church and I find that number incredibly high, even in the Bible Belt. Sure we have a lot of church goers here, but most of my neighbors are home on Sunday morning, even though there's a huge, United Methodist Church, aka the party church, right on the corner of my street. I'd be willing to bet, most consider themselves Xians but not too many are very involved in church or trying to convert others. I think that most people who believe don't think very much about it, and go to church mostly for socialization and support. A lot of us deconvert in college because we are away from our parent's influence and start to question what we have been taught. That's how it was for me. It's not surprising that others are still having similar experiences in this day and age.

12-09-2002, 07:34 PM	#5
Jeremy Pallant Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA Posts: 1,242	I haven't heard a Basil Brush reference in a coon's age.

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.