Possible end times application. I notice that belief is reduced by a ‘third’. Wonder what that means?
Could it mean a third of the people are immune, or does it mean when once you believed in 10 commandments now you only believe in 6.66 commandments? 3.33 commandments have gone by the wayside?
The answer could be resistance of the person. It is neutralized by true believers, but makes non-believers, quasi-believers totally jump the shark.
One aspect of the ‘mark’ is that it can be resisted. That’s why it can’t be a simple tattoo.
Psychology surveys on faith and the religious ask how certain you are there is a god, how much you believe there is a heaven, how much you believe there is a soul, on scales of 1-10.
If the average religious person rated it a 9 and now a 6, you see a 33% decline. The person is now barely certain there is a god, or the person on the maybe side now says NO.