tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5308923185697655557.post8805663973528883904..comments2023-07-06T03:24:58.768-04:00Comments on Your Big Girl Pants: Losing Our ReligionEmilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11713092722965430212noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5308923185697655557.post-41816394944891639112012-10-10T13:13:46.158-04:002012-10-10T13:13:46.158-04:00That's a good point. Most people don't kn...That's a good point. Most people don't know much about comparative religion, or even their or their family's own religion. So then the lens of religion from a public perspective gets completely dictated by the people who are there because they are not questioners (and who therefore spout the same three bible verses and think that answers everything), rather than by a community of interested, engaged people. To be fair though, many religious groups discourage questioning and the interaction of the faithful in a living, hopefully evolving-with-time-and-new-understanding, system.<br />Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11713092722965430212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5308923185697655557.post-72486739372562780722012-10-10T13:05:23.026-04:002012-10-10T13:05:23.026-04:00"But it also makes me sad to lose the communi..."But it also makes me sad to lose the community aspects of religion, and the focus on altruism and charity. Where I think religious communities have failed is in convincing our generation that they are not simply about telling people what to do, they are about a connection between what we believe and how we act - the choices that we make. Gen X is just too snarky and too anti-establishment for traditional religion. Snark is the anti-faith. Then the millennials (Gen Y's preferred term), a lot of them don't have the established routine and they have some of our snark tendencies."<br /><br />Word.<br /><br />I think, too, another factor is a lack of education in theologies (and, in some religions, a lack of rigorous theology in the first place). For example I am continually surprised (though I shouldn't be) by how little people, even Catholics, know about the Church's beliefs, and the reasons for those beliefs. It is very easy to dismiss what one doesn't understand, and it is hard to engage in a religious community if you don't really know what they are about.beadgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04545183481263349646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5308923185697655557.post-64925840711377532012-10-10T11:00:51.923-04:002012-10-10T11:00:51.923-04:00PS But we could also stand to lose the judge-y jud...PS But we could also stand to lose the judge-y judgerson aspect of some Evangelical communities.<br /><br />I also thought it was slightly disturbing how many Brits call themselves Jedis - religiously. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2757067.stmEmilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11713092722965430212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5308923185697655557.post-57623222029043322142012-10-10T10:58:06.280-04:002012-10-10T10:58:06.280-04:00I think the religious folks are more likely to go ...I think the religious folks are more likely to go Dem than the business ones. If the business ones go somewhere, it would be to creating a more robust libertarian party. <br /><br />But it also makes me sad to lose the community aspects of religion, and the focus on altruism and charity. Where I think religious communities have failed is in convincing our generation that they are not simply about telling people what to do, they are about a connection between what we believe and how we act - the choices that we make. Gen X is just too snarky and too anti-establishment for traditional religion. Snark is the anti-faith. Then the millennials (Gen Y's preferred term), a lot of them don't have the established routine and they have some of our snark tendencies.<br /><br />There's a problem on the order of Wall-E for us if we are all just sitting at home on the internet talking to cyber-friends and watching TV rather than going out and joining and doing. And religion, as many other pursuits, provides community and activity. We could use more of that. <br />Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11713092722965430212noreply@blogger.com