Which won't last forever.
“Predictably and sadly, none of the nine nations are Muslim. . . “
Well, not yet. But since non-believers do not replicate themselves all will become Muslim eventually — unless they experience a Christian revival first.
And, sadly, Christians aren’t often visibly present as missionaries in those countries, save the Czech Republic perhaps. Far too westernized and ‘wealthy’ to save, I guess. Our church devotes countless dollars to the poor in Africa, where there are many devout believers already, albeit living in abject poverty. It’s as though our Church mission has gone from saving souls to saving lives because it is more politically correct to do so.
There will be a religion in most of them. Islam.
The Christian religion is not what will become extinct. It is the traditional populations of these countries that is becoming extinct.
Demography is destiny. The new arrivals who are adherents of Islam have much greater fucundity. They will displace the current population. It is nearly inevitable.
In other words, worship the government like a true liberal.
From the article: “The idea is pretty simple,” said Richard Wiener of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, and the University of Arizona.
“It posits that social groups that have more members are going to be more attractive to join, and it posits that social groups have a social status or utility.”
In other words, people are like cattle and move with the herd. Or, in the case of Islam, they move in fear of the cattle-prod.
These predictions are usually the source of amusement later, like the ones about human innovation being complete. I didn't read this study, but most models that talk about one or another trait that is universal among mankind "dying out" assume a straight-line, no-feedback world.
That would be a universe where the culture is not changed when the religious people are the ones having all the children; where the sheer social chaos of having no moral law causes no discontent or push-back; where groups do not grow alarmed in the face of foreign invasion and unite around beliefs they formerly took for granted; and where people don't compete with each other and try new things when the old ones aren't working for them.
At least half of those who claim no religious affiliation are actually pagan earth worshippers.
The Catholic Church has taken a beating in Ireland lately, due to the malfeasance of its leaders. Going extinct? Hardly. 62% of Irish claim they go to mass every week (which is far higher than ever reported in the United States.)
Australia is only 24% (in 2004), but that’s nearly identical to the 25% who went weekly in 1995, and up from 21% in 1980.
Didn’t Karl Marx write the religion is the opiate of the masses?
Reminds me of what a famous philosopher in history predicted....
In 1776 (at about the time the Declaration of Independence was signed), Voltaire, the French philosopher, announced that, “One hundred years from my day, there will not be a Bible on earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity-seeker.”
Yet, one hundred years later, his very own house and press were being used to print and store Bibles by the Geneva Bible Society. Ironically enough, at a public auction held one hundred years to the day of Voltaire’s prediction, the first edition of his work sold for 11¢ but a Bible manuscript was purchased for over half a million dollars!
I don’t know about the rest of the countries, but Austria surprises me. My wife and I were in a church in Mariahilf (Vienna) last summer, and it was packed; Standing room only. And no, it wasn’t a Holy Day.
Offical members of the global warming cult...
http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm
The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring.
Here’s an idea: run the poll again, but this time include “Socialism” and “Environmentalism” in that list of religions.
1. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears (or big ears like Obama); and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables [Government and false doctrine].
2. Fire and Brimstone preaching has been lost because pastors and evangelist are ashamed of the gospel and shun from warning people about the fire and brimstone of HELL.
3. Humanism is on the rise and has successfully permeated Government leadership in the world. These humanism Government leaders have used humanism to supplant God as the source of man's subsidence on earth. Liberal are big proponents of humanism, i.e., believe in the Government, it will save us, believe in Christ rejecting leaders, they will save us, etc.
4. Satan's success program against Christians. Satan does not need to work with unbelievers to convince them, they are already in his grips and lost for ever [Islam]. Satan's entire effort is on a continual attack on Christians. Satan promotes false teachings and false doctrines to deceive many, particularity the weak Christians who have little or no doctrine inside their soul to resist Satanic false doctrines. Satan also attacks the "professing" Christians, deceiving them into thinking that they are true Christians, and then when hard times comes, they fall away, unable to handle it [Tares]. Satan heavily promotes false doctrines which are not Biblical for the Biblical grace of God today, like "salvation by works" [cults like Mormons, Catholics, Jehovah Witness], "tithing" [God's program for Israel], "false doctrine which do not follow the Apostle Paul" [too many religions to mention], "so called Bible scholars who destroy the teaching ministry of the Apostle Paul", "women preachers, who preach a feministic message, not a fire and brimstone message", "self-proclaimed bishops esteemed standing" today's gifts are not elevated bishops, but pastor-teacher and evangelist.
Turkey already catagorizes christianity as an extinct religion. IOW you can’t opress what is extinct.
Astonishing that Russia is NOT one of these nations ...
I am sensing a revival of religion there, Christianity, no less.
Religion is as necessary as air. There will no extinction of religion - just a replacement of one set of beliefs by another, and, if history is any guide, the old beliefs will remain bubbling just under the surface, showing up in the way holidays are celebrated and the idioms people use to communicate.
Of course, the replacement of spiritual religion by the economic religion of Marx is the wet dream of the West. It won’t happen because economics is a poor substitute for God. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised to see what kind of interesting iterations of God show up in those places where religion is supposedly going extinct.
And, yes, Islam is going to be a part of that. That’s too bad; their system of belief is rather barbaric, and that will be a shock to the comfortable middle-class securalists of central Europe and Ontario. Then they’ll have to make a choice, and I can bet it won’t be atheism.