Over the past few decades, the number of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated—often referred to as “nones”—has grown rapidly. In the 1970s, only about 5% of Americans fell into this category. Today, that number exceeds 25%. Scholars have debated whether this change simply reflects a general decline in belief, or whether it signals something more complex. The research team wanted to explore the deeper forces at play: Why are people leaving institutional religion? What are they replacing it with? And how are their personal values shaping that process?

  • jaupsinluggies@feddit.uk
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    24 hours ago

    Not really; one guy died, by his own choice, but came back to life two days later. A real “cult of human sacrifice” would require it as an ongoing practice and for the victims to stay dead.

    • sangriaferret@sh.itjust.works
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      22 hours ago

      Jesus alone doesn’t make it a death cult. It’s a death cult because the whole religion is predicated on death. Dying is the entire point. Your entire life is a means to gain the rewards of dying and only then will you truly be happy.

      • jaupsinluggies@feddit.uk
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        11 hours ago

        So much wrongitude here I don’t know if this is genuinely what you think or if you’re just trolling.

        Jesus came to earth so that we could know God, here and now. To nick someone else’s quote: It’s not pie in the sky when you die, it’s steak on your plate while you wait. John 10:10: “I have some so that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

        I suggest you read the Bible some time. Start with the Gospels, either Luke or John. Not as a means to convert you, but so that you can understand what Christianity is really about, instead of spouting uninformed nonsense about it. You’re currently the equivalent of those Christians who say the equivalent of “evolution is just a theory”.

        • sangriaferret@sh.itjust.works
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          10 hours ago

          Your reward is in heaven right? So the endgame is death. You might get to eat steak while you are alive but you dont get the whole meal until you die. That’s a death cult.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      23 hours ago

      Just because there was only one sacrificial offering doesn’t mean jesus wasn’t a sacrificial offering.

      The whole thing about jesus being both fully god and fully man is that no “normal” human would ever be sinless- and therefore would be an inadequate sacrifice. Therefore god became man- that is, jesus- whose sole purpose was to be a “perfect” sacrifice.

      • not_fond_of_reddit@lemm.ee
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        23 hours ago

        But isn’t the whole trinity thing God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit the same entity? So God sacrificed himself for himself… wouldn’t really call a two day nap for some eternal being a sacrifice either.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          23 hours ago

          You’re expecting it all to make sense. It’s like a the lies a 2 year old tells to explain and justify having gotten into the chocolate cake, after having tried to lay it off like they hadn’t (missing the whole having it all over their face thing,).

          The longer they’re allowed to go, and the more you poke holes the weirder it gets.

        • Sc00ter@lemmy.zip
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          22 hours ago

          This was always my biggest struggle growing up in a catholic house. “He sacrificed himself to save everyone who came before and will come after.”

          Like, is that really that big of a deal? Shit if i was presented with the option of a much smaller number than infinity, idk say 1000, id sacrifice myself. AND i don’t know that I’m god or that my father is god and that ill be taken care of for all eternity.

          In all reality, that numbers way less than 1000 for strangers, and if you include anyone i know/care about, that number could be as low as 1.