This is a remarkable piece by Gregory Paul & Phil Zuckerman - well 
worth reading.

It documents the decline of religion across the world, viewed from a 
US perspective. This confirms that the perceived increase in 
religiosity is in fact just the death throes of religion and 
religious belief:

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/paul07/paul07_index.html

A couple of quotes:

"America's disbelievers atheists now number 30 million, most well 
educated and higher income, and they far outnumber American Jews, 
Muslims and Mormons combined. There are many more disbelievers than 
Southern Baptists, and the god skeptics are getting more recruits 
than the evangelicals."

"Rather than religion being an integral part of the American 
character, the main reason the United States is the only prosperous 
democracy that retains a high level of religious belief and activity 
is because we have substandard socio-economic conditions and the 
highest level of disparity."

regards, Ian

On Jun 20, 10:03 am, Ian Smith 
wrote:
 than the evangelicals."
>
> "Rather than religion being an integral part of the American
> character, the main reason the United States is the only prosperous
> democracy that retains a high level of religious belief and activity
> is because we have substandard socio-economic conditions and the
> highest level of disparity."

> regards, Ian

Add that Xtians have a huge financial interest in the matter plus a
well oiled 2000 year old PR system.

On Jun 20, 12:03 pm, Ian Smith 
wrote:
> This is a remarkable piece by Gregory Paul & Phil Zuckerman - well
> worth reading.
>
> It documents the decline of religion across the world, viewed from a
> US perspective. This confirms that the perceived increase in
> religiosity is in fact just the death throes of religion and
> religious belief:
>
> http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/paul07/paul07_index.html
>
> A couple of quotes:
>
> "America's disbelievers atheists now number 30 million, most well
> educated and higher income, and they far outnumber American Jews,
> Muslims and Mormons combined. There are many more disbelievers than
> Southern Baptists, and the god skeptics are getting more recruits
> than the evangelicals."
>
> "Rather than religion being an integral part of the American
> character, the main reason the United States is the only prosperous
> democracy that retains a high level of religious belief and activity
> is because we have substandard socio-economic conditions and the
> highest level of disparity."
>
> regards, Ian

REPLY:  Your a Religionist too Ian    :

   1. Everyone is religious.
Did you ever notice that people often give their opinions about
religion but then caveat it by saying, “But I’m not a theologian”?
Well, the truth is everyone’s a theologian.  Some are more informed
theologians than others, but everyone has some set of religious
beliefs.  If we define religion as someone’s explanation of ultimate
reality—the origin, operation, meaning, and destiny of all things—
then
everyone is religious, including atheists.  While some people
devoutly
believe that God is the cause of all this, others are just as devout
in support of an atheistic explanation or that of some other
religious
worldview.  Even those who are devoutly agnostic or indifferent have
taken a religious position.  It’s not that they’ve never thought
about
an explanation for ultimate reality, it’s that they believe the
question is unknowable, undecided, or irrelevant.  That’s still a
religious position.


2. Everyone is a fundamentalist.
While Christians are often mocked for being fundamentalists, everyone
has fundamental beliefs about why things are the way they are and how
we should live in light of that.  Atheists, for example, believe that
there is no God; that life arose from non-life without any
intelligent
intervention; that there is no afterlife; and that science is the
supreme if not exclusive source of all truth. Those fundamental
beliefs usually result in moral fundamentals such as tolerance for
everything (except for those who don’t tolerate everything).  So the
question is not who is or isn’t a fundamentalist—everyone is.  The
question is “whose fundamentals are true?”


3. Everyone has faith.
If we define faith as believing something that lacks complete
evidence, then everyone has faith.  Since no human is all-knowing,
all
of us—even atheists—require some degree of faith to believe our
religious fundamentals.  Those that have more evidence for their
fundamentals, require less faith-- those with less evidence need more
faith.

Repeating the same lies will NEVER make them true, U FUNDY ASSHOLE