As you get older and your parents pass on and your contemporaries start to peg it (Steve Strange yesterday:() you do start to realise you actually aren't immortal.
I'm sure a fair bit of the higher religiosity of the older generation is a search for answers as to what its all about and maybe a mellowing of the arrogance of youth.
I'd say it's more down to tradition and custom. Those older people were brought up with religion, but also not to question it so much. Your post makes it sound like you consider it arrogant to have no belief, but bear in mind the rise of no religon is across all ages. Also bear in mind that as people get older they may well turn to religion out of comfort, a fear of death with nothing to follow, etc. but as people grow older they also experience the loss of friends and family you describe, but that can also cause them to question the existence of a god that would take their loved ones away from them.
18-24 year olds: 60%
25-39 year olds: 52%
40-59 year olds: 41%
60+: 26%
Religion is most popular with Conservative voters and UKIP voters.
"Most 18-39 year olds have 'no religion'" except for one notable, predictable exception, which the Guardian barely mentions:
Although younger people are generally far less religious than their parents, there are reasons to think the reverse may be true for British Muslims, and atheism should not been seen as an inevitability.
As you get older and your parents pass on and your contemporaries start to peg it (Steve Strange yesterday:() you do start to realise you actually aren't immortal. I'm sure a fair bit of the higher religiosity of the older generation is a search for answers as to what its all about and maybe a mellowing of the arrogance of youth.
You seem to be suggesting that people become more religious as they get older, but the poll shows a snapshot of religious belief at one moment in time. It doesn't show a trend amongst individuals over a period of time.
Basically, it's saying that our children are less religious than we are and there's nothing to suggest they're going to become more religious as they get older.
Older people with no religion used to say 'church of england' because they married in a church
they still had no religion.
None of my Parents and Grandparents (I am talking here of some people born well over 100 years ago) believed in God but they all used to say CofE. It was just what people did back then. Actually my Mother who is 90 has just started to describe herself as an atheist.
As you get older and your parents pass on and your contemporaries start to peg it (Steve Strange yesterday:() you do start to realise you actually aren't immortal.
I'm sure a fair bit of the higher religiosity of the older generation is a search for answers as to what its all about and maybe a mellowing of the arrogance of youth.
My suggestion is that when the older generation were growing up, religion was a prominent feature in most aspects of daily life - and even national patriotism, and so it is ingrained.
The sooner the better we expunge all religion and religious influence from our society. It's a disgrace that people are still judged in courts of law and prisons on how religious they are. A person taking up and practicing a religion can have a direct effect on that person's punishment or freedom. The local vicar can give evidence that since committing your crime you have become a devout Christian and so are a better person. Judges will take that into account.
My suggestion is that when the older generation were growing up, religion was a prominent feature in most aspects of daily life - and even national patriotism, and so it is ingrained.
The sooner the better we expunge all religion and religious influence from our society. It's a disgrace that people are still judged in courts of law and prisons on how religious they are. A person taking up and practicing a religion can have a direct effect on that person's punishment or freedom. The local vicar can give evidence that since committing your crime you have become a devout Christian and so are a better person. Judges will take that into account.
I think you'd have to show that you had actually changed eg doing good works in the community like helping the aged, homeless etc. Just saying "Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord, can you let me off porridge now, m'Lud?" isn't going to cut it.
I think you'd have to show that you had actually changed eg doing good works in the community like helping the aged, homeless etc. Just saying "Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord, can you let me off porridge now, m'Lud?" isn't going to cut it.
If you are lucky enough to appear before Cherie Blair that does appear to be all you have to do*.
Yes, or, in some cases, because they'd been christened. My mother used to put CofE just because it was the status quo, the culture etc but she wasn't religious.
It's like in Norway where 76% of people officially belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway but only 3% attend church every Sunday, it has one of the lowest church attendance rates in the world and the overwhelming majority of Norwegians describe themselves as atheists or agnostics.
From Wikipedia:
"The U.S state of Alabama has a population roughly equal to that of Norway, but church attendance in Alabama is as much as 11 times higher than in Norway."
I'm not so young myself now (very middle-aged) and very few of the people I've known through my life have been overtly religious and, even those that were a bit, were cultural Catholics etc rather than deep believers. I've got a couple of cousins who are but I've got so many cousins I've lost count so that's not many. (I haven't sought out religious people by going to church etc so that would skew it, of course. I've lived in quite a few places, worked in various places, gone to various educational institutions so I'm not just talking about being in the same town all my life).
The atmosphere I remember is much as it is now, except that people were more prone in the past to put CoE on forms on a technicality (because they were christened).
It's like in Norway where 76% of people officially belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway but only 3% attend church every Sunday, it has one of the lowest church attendance rates in the world and the overwhelming majority of Norwegians describe themselves as atheists or agnostics.
From Wikipedia:
"The U.S state of Alabama has a population roughly equal to that of Norway, but church attendance in Alabama is as much as 11 times higher than in Norway."
Yes, the CofE until recently had pretty much a monopoly on (nice) places to married and also to be buried and as local hubs of the community so that entrenches their position and people's attitudes to it.
100 years ago for most the church was the centre of their lives. They attended services each week and socialised in church groups/trips/events. That isn't the norm now so churches are less relevant.
Having no religion doesn't necessarily mean having no faith in God. The etymology is about being bound (to rules etc). The main churches are losing their hold on people with faith as well.
Some interesting and pleasantly surprising (for me) results there.
Of the irreligious, 45% describe themselves as atheist vs only 17% agnostic.
Less than 1 in 3 believe in a god although 1 in 5 believe alternatively in some sort of spiritual greater power.
Intrigued as to what that greater power could be that that didn't fit the definition of "God". I suspect a lot of them consider "God" to merely mean the God depicted in the OT (mainly) and having all those attributes.
Comments
I'd say it's more down to tradition and custom. Those older people were brought up with religion, but also not to question it so much. Your post makes it sound like you consider it arrogant to have no belief, but bear in mind the rise of no religon is across all ages. Also bear in mind that as people get older they may well turn to religion out of comfort, a fear of death with nothing to follow, etc. but as people grow older they also experience the loss of friends and family you describe, but that can also cause them to question the existence of a god that would take their loved ones away from them.
"Most 18-39 year olds have 'no religion'" except for one notable, predictable exception, which the Guardian barely mentions:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/12/religion-atheism-britons-god
We know that young British muslims are not only more religious than their parents but are even more likely to hold extremist views.
I certainly wouldn't say that's most. 60% isn't that far off the halfway mark and 52% is JUST crossing over the halfway mark.
By definition, that's 'most'.
You do know what "most" means don't you? Over halfway is most, so even at 52% it's still "most".
I take 'most' to mean not far from the end.
Then you're mistaken.
If you were ordered to give me most of your possessions and wealth, would you rather give me 51% or 99% of them?
You seem to be suggesting that people become more religious as they get older, but the poll shows a snapshot of religious belief at one moment in time. It doesn't show a trend amongst individuals over a period of time.
Basically, it's saying that our children are less religious than we are and there's nothing to suggest they're going to become more religious as they get older.
I did say:
Agreed with the latter! I am forever grateful that I was no brainwashed as a child into following a religion. Although I'm an atheist, not agnostic.
I thought this was a joke
60% is half as much again compared to the remaining 40%!
I assume you did remember to compare 60 to 40 and not 60 to 50! ;-)
None of my Parents and Grandparents (I am talking here of some people born well over 100 years ago) believed in God but they all used to say CofE. It was just what people did back then. Actually my Mother who is 90 has just started to describe herself as an atheist.
My suggestion is that when the older generation were growing up, religion was a prominent feature in most aspects of daily life - and even national patriotism, and so it is ingrained.
The sooner the better we expunge all religion and religious influence from our society. It's a disgrace that people are still judged in courts of law and prisons on how religious they are. A person taking up and practicing a religion can have a direct effect on that person's punishment or freedom. The local vicar can give evidence that since committing your crime you have become a devout Christian and so are a better person. Judges will take that into account.
I think you'd have to show that you had actually changed eg doing good works in the community like helping the aged, homeless etc. Just saying "Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord, can you let me off porridge now, m'Lud?" isn't going to cut it.
If you are lucky enough to appear before Cherie Blair that does appear to be all you have to do*.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/7154277/Cherie-Blair-spared-violent-criminal-from-prison-because-he-was-religious.html
*to be precise not jesus in this case but you get the idea.
It's like in Norway where 76% of people officially belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway but only 3% attend church every Sunday, it has one of the lowest church attendance rates in the world and the overwhelming majority of Norwegians describe themselves as atheists or agnostics.
From Wikipedia:
"The U.S state of Alabama has a population roughly equal to that of Norway, but church attendance in Alabama is as much as 11 times higher than in Norway."
Of the irreligious, 45% describe themselves as atheist vs only 17% agnostic.
Less than 1 in 3 believe in a god although 1 in 5 believe alternatively in some sort of spiritual greater power.
The atmosphere I remember is much as it is now, except that people were more prone in the past to put CoE on forms on a technicality (because they were christened).
Same here.
Intrigued as to what that greater power could be that that didn't fit the definition of "God". I suspect a lot of them consider "God" to merely mean the God depicted in the OT (mainly) and having all those attributes.