I like to think of it as The Emperor's New Clothes Syndrome on a mass scale. (Reply #65)

In the discussion thread: Why Americans Are Losing Their Religion at a Startling Rate [View all]

Sun Apr 6, 2014, 11:11 AM

65. I like to think of it as The Emperor's New Clothes Syndrome on a mass scale.

Last edited Sun Apr 6, 2014, 11:52 AM - Edit history (1)

Previously people went to church and gathered amongst their own kind every Sunday, and reinforced their "faith" (which, as Mark Twain knew, is believing what you know ain't so). Atheists and agnostics had no such outlet, and church-attending doubters didn't want to rock the boat by voicing their doubts. The Internet changed all that.

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96 replies	Author	Time	Post
Why Americans Are Losing Their Religion at a Startling Rate [View all]	madokie	Apr 2014	OP
IMO people are getting a better grasp of reality via the internet. For many	RKP5637	Apr 2014	#1
Interesting Concept	ProfessorGAC	Apr 2014	#2
Kick!	Heidi	Apr 2014	#3
Good morning to you Heidi	madokie	Apr 2014	#6
Oh, my gosh! You had me at "wild onions"!	Heidi	Apr 2014	#8
It's stunningly beautiful where you are	madokie	Apr 2014	#11
Grill season officially opens at our place today!	Heidi	Apr 2014	#12
Wow	madokie	Apr 2014	#16
Happy to have made your day better, madokie.	Heidi	Apr 2014	#21
Thank you	madokie	Apr 2014	#27
One theory I have	marions ghost	Apr 2014	#4
Precisely correct	Freddie	Apr 2014	#7
That is our family also. The rw has declared war on the people and all of religion is blamed. Of	jwirr	Apr 2014	#13
I'm not a churchgoer	marions ghost	Apr 2014	#30
They have never stopped	nadinbrzezinski	Apr 2014	#93
Find "The Christian Left" on FB	Freddie	Apr 2014	#43
Thank you.	jwirr	Apr 2014	#56
I knew an Atheist couple	LiberalElite	Apr 2014	#35
I think you are correct	sorefeet	Apr 2014	#10
It's been twisted all to hell	marions ghost	Apr 2014	#32
It's not just the rightwing bigots. People are figuring out it's all based on preposterous myths.	Arugula Latte	Apr 2014	#63
Bingo! Gone are the days when people shuffled their feet with downcast eyes	stopbush	Apr 2014	#77
You can thank Calvin for that one	nadinbrzezinski	Apr 2014	#94
That's a good theory.	Enthusiast	Apr 2014	#39
"Jesus, protect me from your followers"	marions ghost	Apr 2014	#85
It sure is ugly to witness.	Enthusiast	Apr 2014	#86
Exactly	onecaliberal	Apr 2014	#53
Thx for reply and	marions ghost	Apr 2014	#84
Thank you!	onecaliberal	Apr 2014	#90
I think that's a big part of it, too.	OnionPatch	Apr 2014	#60
I think part of the reason why internet use might affect religious	LuvNewcastle	Apr 2014	#5
I think that's part of it	Uben	Apr 2014	#14
That association with food still exists.	LuvNewcastle	Apr 2014	#49
Can I get an Amen!	Uben	Apr 2014	#69
Amen! nt	ChisolmTrailDem	Apr 2014	#79
Not nearly fast enough.	99Forever	Apr 2014	#9
I agree with you. The damage has been taking place for a long time.	ladjf	Apr 2014	#20
+ 100 bazillion n/t	MANative	Apr 2014	#33
I've always considered religion to be an evil invention of mankind and among	RKP5637	Apr 2014	#40
Yes. A million times yes.	Arugula Latte	Apr 2014	#68
Agreed.	Vashta Nerada	Apr 2014	#72
I wouldn't be too sure about INTERNET causing the decline in Religion. nt	ladjf	Apr 2014	#15
I do think there could be a correlation between access to information (Internet)	Heidi	Apr 2014	#18
Correlation yes but not the whole cause. Don't forget that along with some good	ladjf	Apr 2014	#23
Well said! n/t	RKP5637	Apr 2014	#42
Internet lets us share that the evangelicals do not practice what they preach as an antichrist.	DhhD	Apr 2014	#57
Religion relies almost exclusively on the indoctrination of children to survive...	MellowDem	Apr 2014	#17
+1 n/t	LittleGirl	Apr 2014	#28
Definitely, and most have indoctrination centers under the pretext of being schools. n/t	RKP5637	Apr 2014	#44
I think a lot of people are secretly atheist, but just can't admit it	OKNancy	Apr 2014	#19
This ^	Uben	Apr 2014	#34
Definitely!!! n/t	RKP5637	Apr 2014	#45
I believe you are on to something.	Enthusiast	Apr 2014	#46
I like to think of it as The Emperor's New Clothes Syndrome on a mass scale.	Arugula Latte	Apr 2014	#65
i am always suspicious of this phrasing. why is this happening, lets look at it	mopinko	Apr 2014	#22
Prepare for the backlash	Android3.14	Apr 2014	#24
"...ferevent, more dogmatic and more militant."	Snarkoleptic	Apr 2014	#36
I'm sure the internet factors into dropping religious affiliations somewhat..	glowing	Apr 2014	#25
During the Viet Nam era almost every Religious organization signed on against the war	randr	Apr 2014	#26
RC Cardinal Spellman was a big hawk back then nt	LiberalElite	Apr 2014	#47
Well that was an excellent post.	Enthusiast	Apr 2014	#54
Atheists Own the Internet	RadiationTherapy	Apr 2014	#29
If that's true, porn is #2.	rug	Apr 2014	#38
Maybe people are becoming more spiritual/philosophical and less dogmatic.	KittyWampus	Apr 2014	#31
I hope people are not making decisions based on what they read on the internet.	rug	Apr 2014	#37
Right, they should be making decisions based on a collection of stories from	Arugula Latte	Apr 2014	#64
I see you get your information from the internet.	rug	Apr 2014	#80
Actually that info has been available	JNelson6563	Apr 2014	#81
That should belie the inference from the OP.	rug	Apr 2014	#82
I was ahead of the curve.	JNelson6563	Apr 2014	#83
I am 75 years and was an atheist	RebelOne	Apr 2014	#87
That's the way to do it.	rug	Apr 2014	#89
Factual Information. Isolation within the group and been the key to holding........	Bonhomme Richard	Apr 2014	#41
They can't sit still without technology that long. Plus, Americans don't want to be called sinful.	WinkyDink	Apr 2014	#48
For me...aliens, well maybe...	SoapBox	Apr 2014	#50
the religious right is rich and powerful	mountain grammy	Apr 2014	#51
Hypocrisy and Extremism	They_Live	Apr 2014	#52
I think it's coincidence	notadmblnd	Apr 2014	#55
"Ever notice how people who go to prison, get religion?"	yortsed snacilbuper	Apr 2014	#61
Regarding prison, I heard an interesting idea the other day	DireStrike	Apr 2014	#70
Yeh, I've read about religious programs in prisons too.	notadmblnd	Apr 2014	#75
I thought it was MTV	albino65	Apr 2014	#58
I'd have to see detailed survey data, but it'd be easy to draw an incorrect conclusion here	OmahaBlueDog	Apr 2014	#59
People can't afford religion anymore.	L0oniX	Apr 2014	#62
Thank God	wheniwasincongress	Apr 2014	#66
It is hard to indoctrinate people who are swallowing a firehose of information every day. nt	bemildred	Apr 2014	#67
I hope it is only a 1 inch	nadinbrzezinski	Apr 2014	#95
Or you could feed it into the other end. Sort of a bottle rocket.	bemildred	Apr 2014	#96
Maybe it's because people are finally realizing that religion is a bunch of crap.	Vashta Nerada	Apr 2014	#71
I don't care about religion anymore	kimbutgar	Apr 2014	#73
My rejection of religion	nilesobek	Apr 2014	#74
Yeah, same here. He never said anything to me, no skywriting, no messages at all.	Manifestor_of_Light	Apr 2014	#91
Now, THIS is truly good news for modern man	Tom Ripley	Apr 2014	#76
Losing religion or spirituality?	SomethingFishy	Apr 2014	#78
To me, it's really kinda sad	Jamaal510	Apr 2014	#88
There is a common sense answer for that. Because the rapture is coming soon and the anti-Christ	Douglas Carpenter	Apr 2014	#92

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