Great Britain Doomed By Godlessness

[cdowis]

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

It’s no secret that Europe has been shedding its religious identity for some time now. As time progresses, some leaders in religious circles have publicly pondered the impact this decline could have on various societies. Among those concerned is Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. In a recent piece for the Jerusalem Post entitled, “Godlessness Has Doomed Britain,” Boteach describes the negative impact that this movement away from faith and religion has had on Great Britain. He writes:

Britain today has become one of the most godless societies on Earth. Its principle ‘religious’ exports today are thinkers who despise religion. From Richard Dawkins, who has compared religion to child abuse, to my friend Christopher Hitchens, who titled his 2007 book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, the British have cornered the market on being anti-God – at least the Christian and Jewish varieties.

Boteach goes on to compare the disparities between the United States and England when it comes to stated belief. While 92 percent of Americans believe in God, only 35 percent of the British do. Startingly, 43 percent of Britons claim that they have no religion at all. A simple look at the percentage of individuals associated with the Church of England perfectly illustrates and corroborates the decline — a drop from 40 percent in 1983 to 23 percent in 2009.

But, what’s so different about America? Why do people here believe more readily in a higher power? Boteach writes that, “Religion lives and dies in America like a commercial enterprise, and is therefore highly entrepreneurial.” With no official state religion, there’s no one, on a national scale, defending the faith per se. So, in essence, there is a freedom to worship at will.

Boteach goes on to claim that Europeans often laugh at American evangelicals, while praising the decline of religion as a sophisticated move in the right direction. This, he claims, is not the proper way to view the issue. Instead, he laments Britain’s decline in faith:

This decline of faith and optimism may account for why Britain – once the most advanced nation on earth, which gave the world parliamentary democracy and inimitable centers of higher learning – is today more famous for exporting reality shows like Big Brother and Project Catwalk.

For while religion affirms the infinite dignity of the human person, its absence robs life of its sanctity. Universal exploitation and humiliation for fame and fortune are the inevitable outgrowth.

Certainly, America — like Britain — has many social and political problems. But, Boteach contends that the “spiritual underpinnings of the American republic” ensure that citizens continue to debate, soul-search and engage in national discourse. He contends that England should rediscover its own faith so that the nation can find its “sense of purpose” once more.

Read the full article Here

[BCSpace]

I don't think not having a national religion is going to protect us. The current ruling party and their ideology subsidizes and fosters virtually all the individuals and groups who are at the forefront of the assault on religion in the United States.

[cdowis]

I think one of the biggest reasons is that the church, to my understanding, is supported primarily from tax funds. That would make anyone cynical towards religion.

[BCSpace]

My understanding is that the wars over religion which ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages in combination with the perceived failure (and even collusion) of religion to do anything about the rise of Nazism and Communism play a significant role in Europe's turning away from religion. But yes, the tax is meant to discourage religion more than it's openly stated purpose to insure that contributions go to 'useful' causes.

[Doctor Ninja]

Can't blame the "Europeans laughing at the EVs, but It is also important to consider the influx of Muslims. Christianity declines as Islam grows. Is Islam the new "sense of purpose" that Britain needs?

(*Have never researched the accuracy of these numbers, interesting nonetheless)

[BCSpace]

Is Islam the new "sense of purpose" that Britain needs?

I've always thought that it might. Islam could be the scourge they need to awaken them to a lively sense of their religious obligations. Conversion to Islam would do the same though of course those religious obligations (to kill or enslave the unbeliever) are extreme. I think decades of war and upheaval between the "newly realized" Christians and Muslims and their local converts is probably just what the doctor ordered for the field to be moderated enough and become white all ready to harvest.

Seriously. We know that historically, it's these types of things that produce these results. But if the atheists or Islam achieve total victory, they will have a thousand years or more of Dark Ages.

Too much Hari Seldon?

[Calm]

I think decades of war and upheaval between the "newly realized" Christians and Muslims and their local converts is probably just what the doctor ordered for the field to be moderated enough and become white all ready to harvest.

Are you suggesting people will become more religiously inclined under a condition of a religious war?

[BCSpace]

I think decades of war and upheaval between the "newly realized" Christians and Muslims and their local converts is probably just what the doctor ordered for the field to be moderated enough and become white all ready to harvest.

Are you suggesting people will become more religiously inclined under a condition of a religious war?

I am. Seems to be the Book of Mormon experience. Each side in this case certainly would be strengthened in their faith. But I'm looking a little farther into the future than that when both sides are broken/humbled and have had their fill of war.

[california boy]

Personally I think the more a religion moves away from Christ's teachings the more people move away from religion. Churches have become political and less inclusive. They spend more time figuring out who to exclude than include. The history of religion is not really a picture of Christlike teachings. As people loose the fear of religion, the churches loose their unrighteous grip on the people they were suppose to serve. It happened in Christ's time where he scorned the religious establishment for its focus on condemnation and it has once again become the mantra of religion today.

[Duncan]

Great Britain has been doomed by Godlessness ever since "keeping Up Appearances" went off the air