Fewer and fewer people in the world consider themselves religious and atheism has become a legitimate factor. The only exception - Israel
From the beginning of the 20th century, despite the rise of secular education for the masses and the spread of scientific knowledge into popular culture, the predictions about the death of the deity did not come true. In some cases, such as in the USA, religiosity even increased. But the relationship between religious and secular is changing. In 2013, the German Bertelsmann Foundation conducted a survey as part of its Religion Monitor project with the participation of 14,000 people in 13 countries (Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, Canada, Brazil, India, South Korea, Great Britain and the USA). The survey found widespread public acceptance of the idea of separating religion from the state and a decline in religiosity over the years and at young ages.
Even in very religious America, only 25% agreed with the claim that "only politicians who believe in God are fit to hold public office" [in Israel, too, the rate of agreement was 25%*] and 28% agreed with the claim that "religious leaders should have an influence on government decisions" [ 21% in Israel]. In all other countries lower rates were obtained (Spain in last place with 8% and 13% and Germany in the middle of the list with 10% and 21%, respectively). Moreover, in most of the countries surveyed, a decline in religiosity was found over the years, especially among the youth. In Spain, for example, 85% of the respondents over the age of 45 answered that they are very or moderately religious, but only 58% of the respondents under the age of 29 answered that way. [Israel is the only country in the survey where the rate of religiosity increases with age.] In general in Europe, only 30% to 50% answered that religion plays an important role in their lives. [The survey editors singled out a separate place for Israel, whose results deviated considerably from the trends in the other countries.]
In the same topic on the science website:
- Research: Atheists are smarter than believers
- Has the way been found to stop believing in God?
- Citizens in the West are becoming more secular
What is behind this decline? One of the factors is the dramatic spread of democracy throughout the world during the last half century. Most of the respondents, regardless of their religious beliefs, agreed that democracy is a good form of government. One of the characteristics of democracy is the separation between religiosity and secularism because in religiously pluralistic countries no one can ask for a special legal status based on his religious belief. The higher education rates and more extensive education systems in democratic countries increase the tolerance for the faith of others. This tolerance, in turn, weakens the superior status that religions had in the past and undermines the "absolute truth" of one religion over the others.
Another factor is the opening of economic borders, as happened in the European Union. This eliminated the zero-sum game that was being played between the religious tribes and replaced it with financial trading whose sum is not zero. Free trade and the division of labor are the most powerful engines in history for the emergence of abundance. This is how the editors of the religion survey summarize it, based on the data they collected: "Socio-economic well-being is usually created when the social significance of religion in society decreases and when the number of people who base their lifestyle on religious norms and laws decreases." What are the reasons for this? One of the social functions of religion is to help the poor, therefore, when poverty in a country decreases (and as happens in Sweden, and in other European countries, when government social programs help the poor), religiosity also decreases. In most countries, the middle classes grow from youth and above, and this may explain the assessment of the survey according to which "in almost all the countries surveyed (with the exception of Israel), a decrease in the centrality of religion and its significance in everyday life was found with the decrease in age. The young are generally less religious."
Despite all this, the authors of the report warn readers not to reach Nietzsche's conclusion that God is dead: "This does not mean that religiosity and religious behavior have disappeared or will disappear completely from people's lives: between 40% and 80% of European citizens hold at least a moderate degree of religious belief according to an index The centrality of religion." And yet, one cannot mistake the trend that emerges from other statistical data indicated in the survey. A considerable proportion of the people defined themselves as "not religious or not very religious", and in the USA their proportion is similar to that found in other studies (about 31%). [In Israel the rate is 68%, the highest outside of Europe.]
For example, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Institute in 2012 found that the segment of the population that grew at the fastest rate in America in this context is that of the "non-religious" (people who did not identify themselves with a religious affiliation) - 20% (and 32% among adults younger than 40). This group is divided into atheists and agnostics (6%) and unaffiliated (14%). And the absolute numbers are amazing: if the USA has 240 million adults (over the age of 18), then there are 48 million "non-people", 14.4 million atheists and agnostics and 33.6 million unaffiliated. And that is a powerful voting bloc.
*All comments in square brackets are by the editors of Scientific American Israel.
A link to the full survey can be found here: Click here for a link to the full report
About the author
Michael Shermer is the publisher of Skeptic magazine (www.skeptic.com). His latest book, The Believing Mind, was recently published in paperback. Follow him on Twitter: @michaelshermer
The article was published with permission Scientific American Israel
44 תגובות
Ohana d.
Your entire response is based on something that is not necessarily true. You claim that religious people are more moral than non-religious people - I would love to hear what studies you base this on.
I know of several studies that show that this is not the case. And I don't know of any research that shows otherwise.
Your very attitude is not moral - you want to strengthen the expression of religion in the country - contrary to the wishes of other people. The integration of religion in the country today causes tremendous harm to many people: it harms many democratic values, such as freedom of expression, freedom of occupation, freedom of movement, the right to die with dignity, the right to love and so on.
Are you talking about the hell of the legal system in Israel? Do you really want me to start quoting you from the law system of the Torah? Dina of a daughter who is raped for example? Really want to get into it?
You wrote "A religious person = a person who has internal values that guide him and does not need to be told how to behave at every point and in every case, it doesn't matter what the source of authority is for you (intellect or God)!"
Hmmmmmmmmm...really? I live in Israel and hardly know the legal system. By simple logic I really think I am breaking these laws.
You are not able to eat or dress without being read from your "rule book". You bend the rules wherever it suits you, and after that you cry and apologize and beg for your life.
The very idea that a Jew is better than another person is sick and repulsive to me. This is just a show of your having no idea about the world. There are religions much older than Judaism that have survived for many years - and you have no idea that they exist.
You have the right to believe what you want as long as it doesn't hurt others. This is also my right, and if you don't respect that right, don't expect for a moment that I will care about your rights.
There is great confusion, almost religious, among those who do not like "religions" and really must see them extinct.
Religions will not disappear because there is simply no substitute for them. And if we find an adequate definition of what religion is, it seems that there is hardly a single person on the face of the earth who is not "religious".
There is no country where powerful forces do not try to rule in a way that is not beneficial to the ruled, it always has been and always will be. The point is that religion, in contrast to pop culture or the religion of money, defines a stable set of values that adhere to the natural justice and morality of most people, and in this way limits the ability to control the masses and cause them harm, precisely when it is in the context of a conservative liberal democracy.
Precisely now, when everyone sees what is happening, that the state gives up human and religious values and focuses on the financial management of the "economy", it is time to understand that the Jewish religion, especially in the values it represents (and not in the reformist approach of the ultra-Orthodox, but more of the traditional majority) should receive more expression in the conduct of the state and its institutions . Otherwise we reach literal moral bankruptcy.
Notice how with the disappearance of values and shame from the public sphere, how the law and the law raised their heads and today almost every subject has a section in the law, and there are those who think that if there is not then one should add... but to reach a place where "the earth is full of law" as it is said in the sources means that you have reached hell... this Dynamics of general destruction.
A religious person = a person who has internal values that guide him and does not need to be told how to behave at every point and in every case, it does not matter what the source of authority is for you (reason or God)!
Regarding Judaism: a religion or an amazing corpus of cultural activity and the study of the mind.... Those who were born Jewish and want to be a part of an amazing historical sequence, of a story that has no equal in the universe, will pick up the torch and carry it to their generation with genius and love... because all human consciousness is a type of narratives that come and go with one or another connection to the factual reality.
And whoever doesn't understand that, hasn't learned enough about life yet...
Spitz
well said
In my opinion there is no need to maintain the religious ethos in order to justify our existence in this country. We are Israelis of Jewish origin
Not as a religion as a people. The Israeli Jewish people originate from the Land of Israel and not only according to the Torah (which humans composed) also according to other sources and archaeological inscriptions, this is the justification for returning to this land because we have no other land.
Anyone who says that this land was given to us as a gift by God sounds like a good joke, because it is not a gift that we need to fight, why are all generations fighting over this land.
I would like religion to disappear like the world, all the evil wars that destroy nations originate from religion.
Eran
I half agree with you. To me - life is above all. Probably more than money. Of course it's my children's life 🙂
It is clear to me that we do not need all of them in the combat units. But, it is clear to me that there is no logical reason that the percentage of ultra-orthedim in the combat units must be the same as the percentage of ultra-orthedim in the population.
What would you say if there was a cancer vaccine but it would only be given to military veterans? That would seem inhuman to you, wouldn't it? So why do the ultra-orthodox do it "just a cultural difference"? To me, what they are doing is not far from murder, literally. They are ready to sacrifice my children because of …. No matter what.
What they have done to date is unforgivable. The fair thing to do is to release those who are serving today, recruit all the ultra-Orthodox, regardless of their age, and continue like this until there is a balance in the military battlefields.
Then there will be equality in the burden. Just then.
I think that everyone who can do meaningful military service should be encouraged... and then immigrate to a sane country. What's wrong with that? This is much, much, above what the ultra-orthodox contribute. After all, apart from military jobs, we only disturb the ultra-Orthodox.
Miracles .. In my opinion most of the younger generation of the ultra-Orthodox grew up and were educated that it is good to be a parasite .. I think this characterizes them more than the fear of their faith.
I think the fear of losing the faith belongs to the ultra-Orthodox power centers - that is, the older ones.
I think it is the most important thing in our society to have this equality. But this equality is not measured by military service.
Yes, this is the most important first step in integration, but the army is only 3 years.
What is more annoying is the inequality and the shocking exploitation afterwards. Budgets, living expenses, property tax, etc...
If you take these things from people. If you give a degree of entitlement to benefits from the state according to the length of service and nature of service (for example, a combatant who puts his life on the line, in my opinion, is entitled to more than a serviceman in Kirya for what he contributed).
It will also create much more equality even within the IDF that exists today.
Bottom line - if you create a situation in which rights in Israel are earned by donating to the state and not by donating to yourself or your number of children, you will not only solve the problem of the ultra-Orthodox, but will also do a lot for the problem of the integration of the Arabs into society (national service), etc..
National service and military service is the best melting pot and some would say the only one we have for this.
But not only is there no room, but you also don't have the ability to put 5000 people in jail every year for lack of service, not to mention the open rebellion you will have here.
The economic approach simply works on prevention... you don't want to serve? No problem...but you don't have any discount, you don't qualify for insurance (everything is possible, health insurance allowances, etc.)...and so on and so forth.
Nissim, I can't help but understand you, the cry and moan of the ultra-Orthodox about the conscription is brazen and lacks a halachic or moral foundation. But they have enough to rely on, and the fact that you mentioned, their fear for their sons who will fail to maintain the religion due to the military service is very justified. You also wouldn't be willing to send your sons to a place where they would undermine the values you wanted to instill in them. In any case, as you even said, the ultra-Orthodox do not necessarily characterize Judaism since in the most significant positions as well as in the most valuable positions you can find many religious people so the behavior of the ultra-Orthodox cannot be a reason to disqualify Judaism and there are also things in the ultra-Orthodox public that are worthy of appreciation. Regarding two other claims heard here, the Jews spent a lot of time at the expense of their livelihood and even learned at the expense of charity throughout the generations, although it is fun to bring statements like Rashi made a living growing vines and Rambam was a doctor, but the idea of learning Torah and being dependent on the public did not start with Rise of the state even if the scale has changed. To a colleague, like the majority of Israeli citizens and certainly the people of Zionism in the beginning the belief is that the Jewish culture and thought as well as religion is the infrastructure of our national identity, I do not want a made-up narrative and neither do the majority of the people who live in Zion, so good luck to you. Just wish you luck, I hope your secular hollow ideas disappear and most likely that's what will happen
The problem with Israel is that it is the only country that has to maintain the religious ethos in order to justify its existence.
It is not by chance that even the pioneers of Zionism and the state like Ben-Gurion started to establish "fortnightly Bible classes" and today, even though Shas is not in the government, they are strengthening the "Jewish identity" as an answer to the disintegration of Israeli society.
The main solution lies precisely with us secularists: if we do not quickly learn to establish a real secular alternative to the Israeli identity, our leadership will continue to strengthen religion as the easiest solution to the country's problems
Eran,
First of all, it is clear that there is no connection between religious belief and military service, and you are right that the percentage of religious fighters is very high.
The situation of the ultra-orthodox, as you said, did not start today. And many years ago, I thought like you. And today, my children are paying the price for my stupidity. And the truth is that I am also still doing reserves...
I screwed up. I am no longer ashamed to say what every sane person thinks - it is impossible to distinguish between blood and blood. enough. It is enough to be a nation of zeroes that a group of idolaters send us to be killed so they can walk around in polished clothes on Shabbat.
So there will be some demonstrations. They will put some protestors in jail. My grandchildren will thank me. Is there anything more important than that?
Eran, the only reason the ultra-Orthodox don't serve in the army is to prevent Hadif from entering the secular world. This has nothing to do with the Torah, where it is written in the passage that everyone should serve.
Money won't matter either. They always knew how to take what they needed.
With all due respect, I don't see any connection between today's ultra-orthodox Jew and the Jew who once existed...and by once I also mean until the middle of the 19th century.
Work and studies, a country road and more are things you don't see anymore.
It's a shame, because the ultra-orthodox establishment, in fact, threatens the Torah and Kabbalah for the entire Jewish people, even though Torah and Kabbalah belong to secular or national religious Jews just as much, and maybe even more.
In connection with the miracles that at once disqualify the ultra-Orthodox..even though it is not related to this at all, you forget that all their lives up to now ultra-orthedim have been brought up in a certain way to a situation that was dragged from the beginning of the establishment of the state...if you want to change their direction, force will not help.
The only motive that moves peoples economies and also wars is simply an economic situation. If you encourage ultra-Orthodox to find work, if you make it possible to receive any benefits in military/national service, you will find that this economic motive will encourage the ultra-Orthodox to assimilate into Israeli society much more than if you threaten to incarcerate 5000 ultra-Orthodox every year for non-service. By the way, good luck to whoever it is in 2017 to put 5000 ultra-Orthodox in prison every year..I wonder where exactly you will put them too.
Education and economic drive is the thing that will make these people integrate, and for that matter there is no problem between belief in God and service motivation, below are religious nationals who have a very high percentage in combat units.
Quote from the article (this is a note from the Israeli editor of Scientific): "[Israel is the only country in the survey where the rate of religiosity increases with age.]" According to my "reading comprehension" - this is not true.
Roman
I'll take that as a compliment.
Nissim, you are exactly the target audience of this site. An elitist thinks that he alone possesses the good and the moral. There is a place for criticism, but not every other day and not only against one public.
The percentage of believers in Europe has grown exponentially since the seventies (mostly due to immigration) The religion with the largest growth percentage in Europe is Islam. (The rest have negligible or negative growth percentages). But again this is the proof that numbers are not objective and with statistics you can play whatever you want depending on the purpose the survey is supposed to serve.
It is sad that the only thing that elevates a person is associating himself with a certain group that is considered "better" in his eyes in the hope that the reference group will reflect back on his value as a human being. This is done by marketing, on the one hand, about how good I am, right, an atheist, and a perfect eater with no objection, and on the other hand, by pouring cyanide on publics that the group sees as a threat (primitive, dark, parasites, and other derogatory names)
Keep masturbating yourselves
Gilgamesh
Say, are you claiming that it is possible to accept a group that thinks the lives of its children are better than the lives of the children of another group?
There is no religious reason that the ultra-orthodox do not serve, they are simply afraid to expose their children to a different world. Do not delude yourself that they really believe that "their teachings and their art" free them from the duty of military service. This is a gross lie that occurs in human life.
Yes, I think they are human scum. Grow up, you'll understand.
the questioner
This site deals with topics related to science. I don't know what my father wrote in his response, but it is easy to see from the titles on the main page that the site also deals with topics related to science that are not natural sciences (such as the title on "Academia and Education"). Maybe you didn't understand what he wrote in that comment?
I didn't understand how the story you mentioned balances an article that reports on surveys and presents statistics? It is possible to argue that the data presented there are not accurate and to balance the picture with data from other sources while trying to convince that the other sources are more grounded, but I really wonder about your logic, or lack of it, in your response.
In addition, I would appreciate it if you could answer my question regarding the opposite situation, in which a religious person will be harmed as a result of trying to observe religious laws, such as changing the flight time to a weekday to avoid flying on Shabbat, which led to the death of the person who innocently believed that if he fulfilled his part of the agreement (he would observe Shabbat in this case) ) then the other party will also fulfill the agreement and keep it. What do you think the relatives of that person should understand about the validity of the contract and / or the feasibility of maintaining it on their part?
Each one judges the other according to his negative qualities and highlights his good qualities. Instead of a point referring to atheist thinkers, he refers to the Big Brother and instead of Nissim referring to Jewish thought at its highest level, he refers to the ultra-Orthodox reluctance and further denies their humanity based on this. Secularism is not a religion, that's for sure. But religion is made up of culture and ideas like any ideology as well as atheism which sends you miracles to see the ultra-Orthodox as subhuman or like communism which is an ideology with atheism built into it that slaughtered a few people? One hundred million? Two hundred million? The claim was also raised here that each religion considers itself superior and excludes the others. Judaism does see itself as superior, but it does not exclude others if they comply with some guidelines of morality and faith. In Judaism, there is also no requirement to dominate the religion or to exterminate any religion, even one that does not meet its threshold conditions, with the exception of those that operate within the Land of Israel, therefore, in my opinion, In light of the fact that Judaism is not a colonial missionary religion and in light of the fact that it is the tradition of my people for thousands of years and has many points of light even if there are points of darkness, I am a Jew, a secular agnostic and the Donist in favor of not having public transportation on Shabbat and not selling chametz on Pesach and I wish all businesses would be Closed on Shabbat, take the whole world and turn it into a civilized and enlightened secular world, we Jews only ask for the Land of Israel, we have never asked for more.
The questioner
My profile is of one who doesn't get along with people who don't think before they react... no names.
This way a lamp is 10 times more efficient....
The questioner
"A vision for natural selection" ?????????????
So you claim that that Jew is better than the others after all?
Your example shows an opacity typical of a person who does not think, a religious person...
Peace be upon you
Please look for the good and the whole, not the bad. Evil floats on the surface of life, and the wise person who really wants to give meaning to life, looks for the good.
I wanted to challenge you, on a certain and very important subject, but I am very afraid of the profile that is drawn from your comments on the site. Question, is it possible with the energy of one lamp, to light ten lamps at once with the same energy.
Hello to Camila
You wrote "Are you claiming that the plane crashed because the flight took place during Shabbat?". Peace be upon you, how can you draw opposite conclusions, all passengers do not belong to the Sabbath. And of course I felt sorry for every person who was killed.
If so, why did I bring the article.
Mr. Avi Blizovsky, whose welcome initiative I greatly respect, claimed in one of the comments that his website is only special for natural sciences, and nothing more. Unfortunately, his definition of the natural sciences is very undefined, so he brought here an article on a topic that belongs to the "natural sciences".
Therefore, in order to balance the effect of the article, which belongs very much to the natural sciences, I brought evidence of natural selection of evolution, which preserves human life.
Peace be upon you
Please keep your blood pressure down, I put the word "murderer" in parentheses, I didn't mean to hurt you, peace be upon you. If you were offended, I apologize sincerely, accept with a committee.
The questioner
I just read about a gay couple who were late for this Air Malaysia flight. So God loves gays do you think?
the questioner
In your opinion, what would be the correct explanation for the opposite situation in which a person from Shabbat observance considerations boarded another flight on one of the days of the week and his plane crashed, while the flight that took place on Shabbat reached its destination safely? Would it be correct to conclude from such a case that the Sabbath (and in fact also God, if we continue the line of thought of the travel agent in the story), not only do not observe those who observe the Sabbath, but even harm them to the point of death (knowingly and probably on purpose)?
Great minds think alike? 🙂
the questioner
Are you claiming that the plane crashed because the flight took place during Shabbat?
The questioner
So you are saying that everyone who is killed on Shabbat deserves it? And you still dare to talk to me about morality? You show me again and again why I am ashamed to be Jewish.
The questioner
I eat both meat and fish, as written in the Torah...
Man is an omnivorous creature, and cannot live in a natural way only by eating plants. Of course you can take all kinds of pills with what is missing from the plant, but I chose to live the natural way.
"Murderer" is a legal concept and has nothing to do with morality.
And apart from a cheap and failed defamation attempt - what exactly does your comment refer to? "Comment" - you are the one who likes to be precise in concepts...
Peace to all believers
This is what was published in "El Gmeiner"
A Jewish passenger survived the Malaysian plane disaster after rejecting the travel agent's offer to fly on Saturday. So reports Algeinmer.
In a last minute decision, the Jew was saved from the Malaysian flight on a Boeing 777 plane that disappeared in the last few days, and to this day it is not clear what happened to him.
"More than the Jews kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept the Jews," wrote the blogger DansDeals, who was told the story by the travel agent.
"It is about the travel agent, an Orthodox Jew, who offered the route to the client but made a slight change in the flight time."
"The travel agent told the customer, despite his request, that he is unable to book a trip on Shabbat for him for reasons of conscience and if he still wants to fly on Shabbat, he should make the reservation himself."
The passenger agreed to make the reservation himself, but after reconsidering gave up on the idea, thus saving himself from the terrible flight.
In an email message, the customer wrote to a travel agent, he sent the agent an email from the airport and wrote to him "Greetings from LAX airport. I have 55 minutes to board my connecting flight. I'm rethinking the plan. You are right that I should consider religion more, so I will manage and cancel tonight's flight - Saturday - from Kuala. I will stay in Kuala, and I will be happy for recommendations for a meal on Saturday night."
Two days later, the customer wrote to the agent: "God Almighty, did you hear what happened to flight MH370? I can't stop thinking about it. It's a real miracle. You are a real life saver. I can't think anymore! We'll talk next week. I don't know how to thank you."
The travel agent responded, “I'm so happy for you! I'm not the life saver. God and the Sabbath saved your life. You owe them."
To Ofer and to the point, hello.
Every person has the right to live according to his understanding and according to his knowledge, provided he does not harm and harm others because of his faith and religion, or his way of life.
To be a believing Jew and observant of the Torah and mitzvot is not a shame, but a person's right to be loyal to his Judaism and his origin and his people, when the definition of a Jew is a definition established by the first, and no one can challenge this definition.
The fact that the good is in the minority today, does not mean that in the end it will not win, because the truth always wins.
Peace be upon you
We once again meet the author "She distinguishes between man and the rest of life". Tell me please, do you eat meat or fish? If not, you are moral. If so, you are a "murderer", what right do you have to kill another animal, to satisfy your lust, when you can eat plants for appetite.
Ofer
Wouldn't you rather have your beliefs grounded? You wouldn't want everything you eat, or any medicine, or safety accessory on an airplane.... Will they be tested?
I understand what you are saying about religious life. I have friends in Zionist religious settlements and they seem to have excellent lives in many respects. Celebrating together, mutual help, partnership, really good things. But there are also phenomena of "what will they say"... more so than with seculars.
I have no problem with that, excellent people who contribute to society, and not just to themselves.
But, I don't think there is symmetry. When blind faith (and it's always blind) affects my life and the lives of my children - it's annoying 🙂 It starts with me being told what I eat and when there is a train, and it ends with them spreading lies to avoid military service (I know it's not the same religious people...) and so I And all my family members are risking their lives for a group of wretched creatures who don't deserve to be called human.
Another problem with religious people - I haven't come across a religious person who doesn't think that a good Jew is full of Jews... but he is religious, not Jewish 🙂
In addition, here on the site there is a group of religious idiots who try with lies and stupidity to convince that there is no warming, that there is no evolution, and that there is no morality for atheists.
Miracles
And who says that evidence is better or more successful than faith.
Look, I think I'm a secular person and I have no intention of changing that anytime soon. But I have religious friends and at least in my understanding, most of their lives are easier and maybe even happier than mine (you know, this material race...).
So what does that mean? What is true and what is not true? How do you judge it? So that's it... it's impossible.
Because the judgment is in the eyes of the beholder according to his view and belief.
And yet judging, it seems to me that the very existence of difference makes life better, at least for me.
Ofer
You are avoiding the problem. Faith is exactly that: "I believe something is true", as opposed to "I have evidence for what I believe in". Religious belief has, in my opinion, several fundamental problems. It distinguishes man from the rest of life, after all we are the pinnacle of creation. On the other hand, we are tools in the hands of Almighty God, and I don't see anything positive in that. And another serious problem, my religion is the best!!! All the rest are traitors, wicked and you should stay away from them (at best...remind you what was sung by the prophets of Baal?).
An atheist is born with tabula rasa. He does not feel that his life is determined by someone, or something, else. It's not just another way of life.
There is probably no single truth about how to live and what to believe. Secularism suffers from the arrogance of "the right way" just like religiosity.
If the goal of the individual is to be happy then any way that contributes to that is legitimate for him.
If the goal is for the entire human race to colonize, for example, Mars, then secularism is probably the more appropriate way. In short, friends, there is no one absolute and just truth, everything is relative to goals and needs on a private and global level.
point:
Surely you believe that the secular's value system includes shopping, big brother and stupidity?
Well, the more common value system includes liberalism, democracy, pluralism, freedom and equality.
The fact that you link the stupid shopping list and big brother to secularism is just *another* example of your ignorance.
Asaf
Secularism is a way of life, religiosity is a way of life...
Each person has a collection of beliefs and principles according to which he leads his life... that's how it works.
You can come and ask what is the difference in the results in the life of that person who believes in this as opposed to another belief...
But to come and reject a belief just because it is a belief is a bit, how to say, dark, primitive, childish.
In the end it is a struggle between two worldviews that each try in their own way to define how it is better to live.
The question should be what is better for humans? What will make us happier? Science or religion?
Or perhaps a judicious combination of spiritual life and materialism, rather than absolute control of one of them, can give the best results.
point
Did you understand that bro??
point
Secularism is the absence of religion, and it has nothing to do with ignorance, although it can be said that religion promotes ignorance in the believers, for its own personal needs.
Saying "secularism is a type of religion" is like saying:
Science is a form of faith
Health is a kind of disease
OK is kind of broken
Wet is a type of dry
Drunk is a kind of sober
Whole is a kind of broken
And so on…
Are trolls who write inflammatory and demagogic talkbacks unrelated to the article - isn't that a problem?
And one more thing, I liked the (relevant) excuses of "shopping in malls" or "drinking when thirsty stupid plans", I'm thinking of using that the next time my wife yells at me. Best regards.
What is the connection between shopping, Big Brother, stupidity - and secularism?
Whoever makes such a link is an idiot himself.
"Point" - nothing will help you... religion will disappear
Together with amazing people like you in 50-100 years
You have the option to join the people who were ahead of their time or wait for your children's children to figure it out without you
Don't worry, the rising Islam in the West will soon restore faith to the old and new continent.
Hmmm. Maybe the writer is wrong? Maybe it's all about converting a religion? Who said that being secular is not a religion? Is sitting and thirstily drinking stupid programs like Big Brother and his ilk not a religion? Is addiction to shopping in malls not a problem? Does the idiot who celebrates in an entire public who pretends to be "modern" but in fact has no idea where he even lives deserve to be called awake?