Quote:
Originally posted by Kiss N Tell
Answering the original question, i'd say that it is definately dying out, I literally only know one religious person  It doesn't really seem like a common thing at all in the UK |
Second this. I can count the number of religious people I know on one hand, including my 3 grandparents. It's considered odd for someone my age to be anything more than agnostic from what I've witnessed.
Whilst anecdotal, our experiences seem incredibly common in modern day Britain. I don't believe for a second that the supposed percentage of "Christian households" revealed in censuses are practising. My Dad identified our family as such because that's our background (i.e. not Jewish or Muslim), despite the three of us being atheists. I feel this happens a lot and the reality is that the vast majority of Britain under 60 are not religious, and even if they are - they're pretty liberal. The most conservatively religious folk here are probably non-native.
In terms of the bigger picture, it's not a coincidence that developed countries are increasingly secular whilst developing/underdeveloped countries have a very high percentage of religious followers. It's likely only going to go one way, and that is eventual global secularism. Cultures will merge, education will become universal, the poor will be more informed and less dependent on charity (usually provided alongside religious teaching), and generally people will question the relevance of so many different ancient doctrines in a contemporary world.
Religions come and go. Catholicism isn't guaranteed anything, nor is Islam. The Abrahamic religions have only been around for a few thousand years, which is
nothing in the story of the human race so far - let alone in future.
