>I "grew up" Catholic
>I "grew up" Protestant.

Why do I hear this phrase so much? It seems like most millennials and gen Z stopped being religious and turned from the faith. Why does no one believe anymore?

>>82048563 (OP)
>Why does no one believe anymore?
Almost everyone believes in a le higher being but they dont want their lifestyle to be impacted too much. A follow up phrase that's as common or maybe even more is "Well, I don't necessarily believe in a specific god but I believe there is something". There are almost no true atheists.

>>82048563 (OP)
Real answer: it has been replaced by politics for many. Religion exists predominantly not as a belief, but a shared moral code that determines what is and isn't appropriate behavior in a community. The problem with that is that on some level, religion expects you to be accountable for your own actions. It also expects you to actually make a genuine effort to live by that code. As a result, people have instead opted for politics in it's place (specifically north american politics) as that does not require accountability, denying yourself, or actually constraining your own behaviour in any way. Instead, all that is required by politics in order to be 'a good person' is to criticize the other side.
You can also see this moral decay in many who remain religious yet find themselves tainted by american politics. It's not 'I abstain from homosexual relationships because they are immoral', but 'god hates fags'. It's not that they don't get abortions, but that everyone else is not allowed to get abortions. Essentially, the idea of morality in modern society has been corrupted from a code of ethics you live by, into something you criticize everyone else for not living by while never stopping to examine your own behaviour. And naturally, politics is far easier to indulge in this corruption with, as when you do so via religion you need to make these pesky excuses like claiming you're just 'trying to save' the people you're attacking.

Essentially, american instant gratification culture has destroyed the concept of morality and perverted it into something else, and people moving from religion to politics is a symptom of that.

>>82048563 (OP)
You should grow out of religion when you grow out of the tooth fairy and santa claus.

>>82048586

Except on Reddit and the internet. What it sounds like is people know that there's something out there, but they don't want to have to make any sacrifices in life for it.

>>82048563 (OP)
Life as a modern adult is godless. I don't think I have to explain much, unless you keep yourself with extra church activities life doesn't give you a chance to see God around you. It's soul crushing.
Personally, I do believe in an all-powerful God, and that most religions are on the right about lots of things, but they aren't right about everything, which is what I want. The whole Truth.
The one thing that turned me from Catholicism (and Christianity in general) was circumcision. I know it's no longer required and blah blah blah, but the fact is you need some olympic level of mental gymnastics to explain why would God order people to cut the skin at the tip of their penis.
I'm uncircumcised, by the way.

>>82048563 (OP)
Going to church is too much of a commitment for zoomers. They'd rather wake up at 3pm and goon all night.

>>82048902
It's about sacrifice. You are saying that God is more important to you than your sexual pleasure. That's why they did it.

>>82048902
>but the fact is you need some olympic level of mental gymnastics to explain why would God order people to cut the skin at the tip of their penis.
The Bible explains why Jews and Muslims circumcise their children in pretty simple terms.

>>82048586
I do believe in a higher being, or beings.
The more I dwell on Christianity though, the more I just don't get it. It is very clearly cobbled together from different things, and the overall narrative is confusing.

>>82048563 (OP)
It's because modern humans have access to a massive trove of knowledge and exposure to experiences from around the world. Religion thrives on ignorance, and the perception that it is all-encompassing and unquestionable.
All you have to do is ask yourself is
>How am I any different from some Hindu guy in India raised to worship Ganesha?
and it falls apart. There is nothing special about your religion. There's been thousands of them. They are all equally valid, and therefore equally false. Faith is a worthless currency, you can only go by real-world evidence.

>>82048748
That's basically it. Even neopagans do just whatever so their lifestyle still fits

>>82048563 (OP)
Nothing wrong with leaving the epistemic starter zone of religion, the only issue is when normgroids leave they typically just become sociopathic hedonists focused only on rising the social ladder for the sake of it with no real care for any advancement

>>82049169
Same case for those people, a lot of them genuinely find it too confusing. Not following a specific prescribed set of rules just has the benefit of allowing a lifestyle that suits their wants.
Leads to a lot of individual failure though.

>>82048563 (OP)
>why does no one believe in something retarded that frequently contradicts both itself and all human knowledge about reality

i have yet to hear a Christian satisfactorily explain what the brunt of the religion actually is, and what I'm supposed to believe in.
People were really bad, so god threw us out of Eden, but decided he really liked the Hebrews, but then he decided he didn't like the Hebrews so much, so he sent himself in the form of a man, who died in order to save us, so that we can all go to Heaven?
That's the basic narrative, yeah? I don't get it.

>>82049262
Transwomen are women, the science is settled

>>82048563 (OP)
there's no better term. you're not just a catholics child- you go to catholic school and learn about bejesus and go to church every day until you grow up.

>>82048902
>no longer required
It was never required for Christians, so long as the label existed. Paul made sure of that. It would have likely acted as more of a cleanliness thing I imagine. Same reason certain unclean foods were not allowed, until people realized they could produce them for consumption without jeopardizing their health. Circumcision is still done today by medical professionals in any case, not really that extreme of a procedure so long as you take basic steps to avoid infection of course. Its good to research these things just to know them off the top of your head for reference but for me ultimately, if it was good enough for Jesus I know not to question it too much, lest I act like I could compare myself to him morally when not a single other Human being has truly ever come close since.

>>82049304
>People didnt follow his rules
>Threw them out of his paradise
>Some people wanted to follow his rules again
>Favors their offspring
>Offspring disobeys rules again
>Stops favoring them
>Goes himself to explain the rules
>Disobeying faction kills his earthly form for speaking against them
>Disobeying faction gets destroyed a few decades later
I mean I get why someone would hate the contradictions but this isnt one of them.

>>82049304
I think if you want the full picture you have to really actually read through the book in its entirety. The different translations dont matter that much, so long as you get the basic context. The promise of a Messiah ie Jesus goes back long before the Jews even get talked about for instance. Chosen people also doesnt mean they stand above others and are better than them like /pol/tards or certain evangelicals and zionists claim, it mostly just meant that they adhered to more stringent rules and regulations as a society.

>>82049394
>Chosen people
This and it only applied to the line carrying the favor of abraham, not necessarily sons of juda.

>>82049360
I just don't get it. Why any of that? I don't understand why we're all being punished for what Adam and Eve did, in the first place.
I don't understand what Jesus was really here to do, or why he had to die.

>>82049394
I honestly have tried, and that just raises further confusion.
Jesus seemed like a great guy. That's about as much as I get out of it.

>>82049432
>Why any of that?
I understand this being a hangup but also that's a fundamentally different thing from >>82049304
If God exists, why does anything happen?
Im not even being an apologetic now or whatever.

>>82049470
I guess I just feel a perfect being world be less petty, and less strangely arbitrary?
You have a guy to send with an important message for the entire world, and you don't think to maybe just write the message in flame in the sky instead?

And the whole Adam and Eve thing, I dunno. You make people dumb and ignorant, and you set up a scenario that they're almost certain to fail because they're dumb and ignorant, and you allowed a snake into the garden to tell them to do the exact thing they're not supposed to, and then they do the thing, and they gain self awareness, but self awareness is bad apparently? And then you punish not only them, but everyone, forever?
I'm just not vibing with that. I dunno what to tell you. The only way it works for me is if it was a test to see if they were ready to become conscious beings and leave the garden.

But then that raises further questions. Why are we on Earth, and why any of this? Tests within tests within tests, all leading to something, presumably.
I'd like to be told. I'd like things to be explained. And I think If I'm not behaving in exactly the way God wants, that's not entirely my fault, because he makes everything so cryptic, and hard to understand.

>>82049527
You're not supposed to think, you're supposed to accept what the religion tells you and give them money. No, God can't tell you what his problem is, you have to suffer.

I grew up in Eastern Europe, parents grew up non-religious during the soviet union, so they never told me about church/religion. I think the first time I tried reading the bible was when I was around 12 and by then it just seemed like a shitty lord of the rings. Fucking Harry Potter was more believable.
I'm agnostic myself, can't prove God(s) nor disprove them so I don't really worry about it. Neither do I care about the afterlife, I'm guessing it's a lot like before I was conceived/born.

Well I sure do like that Jesus fella but he did mention there would be a lot of deception and fake, uh, hims. Also his bibiical canon has him send like the majority of humanity to eternal torment? In any event, belief in Jesus creates an unbelief if you take him at his word.

I can only say what I experienced: I was forced into. When you are forced, you many times resent it. How many wagecucks resent having to go into work because they're forced to work 40+ hours a week? Most. It's the same.

Now, I am a person of faith. I've made this decision on my own based upon experiences I've witnessed and experienced for the past 5 or so years. So, I willingly came back. No one forces me to believe. I'm doing this myself. When people are given the option and have the freedom to choose, they'll come. This is why I don't try to preach the gospel to people. If someone wants my opinion on it, sure, I'll go ahead and do so.

>>82048902
>his entire disbelief in a certain religion is all about circumcision
This is the funniest shit ever. Holy fucking shit, anon. There are no words to describe how funny this is.

Society itself has turned away from religion since the World Wars, and gone to muh consumerism, hedonism, and being a wage-slave.
I was baptised Catholic like my father, but my mother was Protestant (albeit 'half-Catholic'). Other than that, I was never raised with religion (b.1986).
Dad was supposed to teach me, but never did. He did want me to go to Catholic school, and my mother tried, but she didn't like how the kids there were clearly ruled by fear, so I went to a regular school. I have had a bible since my first birthday, but I find it impossible to read and digest.
Given all the sectarian bollocks, that meant I could never have both sides of my family together, and we lived a long way away anyway, I despise how religion divides people. Particularly Christians against Christians. Muh green team! Muh blue team!
Though somewhat recently, I listened to the audiobook version of the Gospels. I think it is very sad that Jesus was rejected and crucified by the (((pharisees))). Seems like human nature, especially (((their))) nature, to destroy something good.
As many say, they are 'nominally Christian', and do not actually observe the faith. People are made to be too busy. I prefer to consider God myself and not have to attend church services. I do enjoy sitting in a church (either Catholic or Protestant) when it is empty. Sadly, not many near me are open.