UK: 70% of young people are 'not religious' according to a report - Sensationalist Headlines

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43485581 Nearly three-quarters of young Brits identify as having no religion, a report suggests. The figures were published in a report called Europe's Young Adults and Religion - which was a collaboration between St Mary's University in London and the Catholic University of Paris. The figures are based on data from the most recent European Social Survey, in 2014 and 2016. It found nearly two-thirds of young people in the UK never pray, and 59% never attend religious services apart from special occasions. Professor Bullivante, a professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Mary's University in London, lead the report.

That's weird, they told me the uk was taken over by muslims and the country is now a sharia law zone

That's what happens when people are educated enough to make their own decisions and looking at the planet we live on right "Where the fuck is god hiding!" Not only that but people have very busy lifestyles right now, reading a book/scripture could be a waste of valuable time, I know they say you have to read between the lines with the bible to see what it is telling you. But that's what Theresa May does :Saddowns:

You sound like a smart individual.

Why thank you, thank you for your input

Typical reaction to look at things at the surface level instead of weighing the benefits of something existing. There's way, way more going on than you think there is. Feel free to research. I would have left this life a very long time ago otherwise.

How can that be true when mellenials apparently worship thier cellphones and avacodo toast.

I'm not going to argue semantics with you on this thread. I have done bits of research but just seeing it's in decline because of various reasons. Including lack of time to attend Church/pray and read the Bible. Fair play to those who do though, that's what freedom and democracy is about. Making your own decisions.

I dont think joshthesmith gives a good impression or anything. But the benefits of something existing has fuck all to do with it actually existing.

It sounds like religion has played a very important role in your life. Would you mind sharing your story? It would likely be far more compelling than simply telling someone "feel free to research".

I didn't imply this. That's up to you to reason about. However I do note the immature mockery atheists hold over theists in this forum, there's obviously a bias due to the demographics but I question the reasoning behind the condescending attitude. I'm saying there's more to it than thinking humans have the answer to all.

i was not being condescending, you took offence for no reason. I put some input from my own experience with religion and you call me out for it? I don't care if you are religious or not, valuable feedback on the other hand..

I mean, it's kind of understandable. I've gone 19 years of my life being educated about how shit works, all the while never seeing any talking snakes. The religion is based on pure belief that there's an infallible, all-knowing being, but that same set of descriptors defines Santa Claus, who actually doesn't exist and even religious people will look at you funny if you think he's a real person past a certain age. It's like, I'm just at the point where the only reason I still believe that there's some sort of god somewhere is because I'm not a believer that there was a vast empty nothingness that was just ~there~ and then out of fucking nowhere some shit exploded and matter was created. Once I hit age 15/16, my beliefs just dropped like a rock in the ocean.

Tell us about the benefits

It's your more or less typical life of endless pain, depression, self-hate, loneliness due to your personality making you a target of constant bullying, seeing the hate and nastiness humans commit and the rudeness of life. I'm going to pass on the endless details, but how can you expect me to keep going when I'm mentally scarred. Thanks to religion I appreciate what I was given (including life itself) no matter what happens, and I shouldn't under any circumstence cause harm to myself or others. It teaches you to be a decent human being. I'll ask in vain to please respect my choice instead of mocking me like I always have been. What's happening here is very reminescent of those dark days.

You don't need religion to be a decent human being, don't know why people think that. If you need a book to tell you not to be a psychopath/murderer/asshole, there is clearly something going on.

Oh come on this is NOT reminiscent of the dark ages, we all respect your beliefs I and others just wanted some of your input. Sorry to hear about your past and I am happy you found your place in religion.

I'm happy to hear that it's improved your life, that's a very positive thing to have and I'm glad that you can experience that kind of happiness. However the reason people criticize religion is a lot, and by a lot, I mean a very large number of people use it to be socially unacceptable and hateful. Maybe not a majority, but the bible isn't all about love and kindness. It's pretty common for someone to be an absolutely shitty person and use the kind of stuff you find in the bible as an excuse, while at the same time not even following it correctly at all. On that same note, the dark ages were radically different from now. You can't even compare whats happening if you wanted to.

I don't think you're in any position to be calling other people immature and condescending.

It's a thorough reminder and for the cases you're mentioning of course it'll overlap with common sense. Does your common sense help you with depression and suicidal thoughts ? It clearly wouldn't have for me.

Imo, any kind of religious doctrine is fucking water next to the grand realizations achievable through even a minute understanding of the cosmos as revealed by exploration and science, and maybe a tidbit of psychoactive drugs. Maybe that's a cliche to say at this point but there it is. I dont see why a god is necessary at all.

My fiancee used to be religious, and was raised that way. When someone is raised with an emphasis on religion, while their brain is still developing, church may very well be the first place that hard topics like doing wrong and doing good are addressed. As someone who was raised very nonreligious I find it very interesting to learn about how religion impacts the lives of people around me, and I'll admit my fiancee has made me far more openminded in this way. I don't think I could ever believe any doctrine, but I think it's important to understand how it affects those who are raised with it.

I'm sorry for misunderstanding you, it was a build-up over the years. I also didn't want to be the centre-piece but I guess it was inevitable.

Different people have different ways of coping with their problems. If religion helped you through things that's great! But other people cope differently, like having a support group of friends and family, seeing psychiatrists/psychologists, changing their living or working situation, or any number of other things. Religion isn't going to be necessary or helpful for everyone, even if it was helpful for you and others.

There are people worse off out there from their past, who are not religious. I live with my fiance who had a terrible past, she is mentally scarred and has actually scars and gets on with her day as a decent person, she is not religious (by the way) and she is one of the strongest people I know, even more so than myself. How is that a call-out to have a conversation? Please do elaborate on that for me.

By "dark days", I meant my own life.

I was raised Catholic myself and personally, the teachings have had very little impact on me. That being said, I dropped everything and forged my own path around 16 thanks to the intolerance to homosexuality among the religious right.

I am not your fiancée, I had and have nothing but this. It was a call-out in a way that "smart" emphasises arguments over jokes.

sounds about right, actually the only religious folk i know are muslims, i dont know any christians (that have made their religion aware to me, at least), and knew 1 or 2 buddhists