Posted on 10/24/2017 10:13:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The media has talked quite a bit about the decline of Christianity in America, and not without cause. Between 2007 and 2014, the number of Americans who identified as Christian dropped from 78.4 percent to 70.6 percent. The drop is mainly because mainline Protestant denominations are shedding members at an unsustainable rate, but conservative denominations may be facing new "competitors" for the hearts and souls of millennials. Only 56 percent of millennials identify as Christians (as opposed to 70 percent of Gen X-ers and 78 percent of Baby Boomers). Many of the millennials who are rejecting Christianity are turning to the occult — specifically witchcraft and astrology.
According to an article by Kari Paul at MarketWatch highlighting the growing phenomenon, "more than half of young adults in the U.S. believe astrology is a science, compared to less than 8% of the Chinese public." The article went on to explain, "The psychic services industry — which includes astrology, aura reading, mediumship, tarot-card reading and palmistry, among other metaphysical services — grew 2% between 2011 and 2016. It is now worth $2 billion annually, according to industry analysis firm IBIS World."
Paul interviewed the owner of Catland Books, which is "Brooklyn's premier occult bookshop & spiritual community space." The owner of the bookshop, Melissa Jayne, said "she has seen a major uptick in interest in the occult in the past five years, especially among New Yorkers in their 20s. The store offers workshops like 'Witchcraft 101,' 'Astrology 101,' and a 'Spirit Seance.'"
Jayne told Paul that "whether it be spell-casting, tarot, astrology, meditation and trance, or herbalism, these traditions offer tangible ways for people to enact change in their lives. For a generation that grew up in a world of big industry, environmental destruction, large and oppressive governments, and toxic social structures, all of which seem too big to change, this can be incredibly attractive."
"With this overwhelming demand comes a rise of products claiming metaphysical benefits, not all of which take the cultural context of the occult into account, notes Layne."
Advances in technology have provided the occult with new ways to find and provide services to those seeking new outlets for spirituality.
A new astrology app named Co-Star that crashed three times in the week after its launch due to high demand says that "access to astrology this accurate has historically been restricted to those with access to personal astrologers—now these predictions can be anyone's."
Tapping into the yearning for spirituality, the app claims that "our powerful natural-language engine uses NASA data, coupled with the methods of professional astrologers, to algorithmically generate insights about your personality and your future. Astrology puts our temporary bodies in context with our universe's vastness, allowing irrationality to invade our techno-rationalist ways of living."
Because they’re , like , stupid dude
hollywood(perv central)
yep. If they are going to reject Christianity .. they should at least embrace something that will make them a better person like Mormonism.
Tell that to ST. Peter and see where it gets ya .
Because Christianity is hard. It demands personal responsibility, thought, sacrifice, hard work, dedication, and faith.
Witchcraft and astrology are for lazy people. It's bogus, make-up-as-you-go, something-for-nothing, tailored for snowflakes who have been told all their lives they are special while accomplishing nothing.
“The drop is mainly because...”
Because the MSM has dedicated much of it’s existence to portraying Christians and Christianity as loathsome? Did I get it right? Years of university and media indoctrination which falsely portrayed Christians as warped, hate-filled perverts? Right? Like the sickening movie “Cape Fear” in which a psychopath asks a girl he’s about to rape if she wants to be “born again”?
They probably know nothing about Christianity. Do you really think most of them went to church or Sunday school?
Yep, Moses came down off the mountain and his people were dancing around the golden calf.
Jesus kicked the money changers out of the temple.
I read a lot here about astrology becoming more popular. I did not read a lot here about witchcraft gaining equally in popularity. I’m not sure if I would describe astrology as a religion, although it does offer a specific template through which one can interpret their lives and their environment.
Witchcraft present the greatest clear and present danger, to the heart of society in my opinion.
Millennials = “Eloi.”
I know there are multiple causes for this, but one big cause is a failure of the church to be relevant in peoples’ lives. Feel-good, God-as-Santa Claus Christianity hasn’t worked to stem the defections.
Hmmm.... the newt population in my neighborhood has shown a dramatic increase!
True!
Many churches abandoned morality in order to get more cash into the collection plates but now there is nothing about those churches for any good person to identify with.
Part of the Last Days prophecy?
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