Source:  Many say ‘So What?’ to God, religion, atheism – USATODAY.com.

It is no secret that those who claim to be “religious” in the U.S. has been shrinking every decade for more than 50 years now. But in the last ten years the people who check “none of the above” have been increasing almost exponentially. Here are some statistics from the above article:

•44% told the 2011 Baylor University Religion Survey they spend no time seeking “eternal wisdom,” and 19% said “it’s useless to search for meaning.”

•46% told a 2011 survey by Nashville-based evangelical research agency, LifeWay Research, they never wonder whether they will go to heaven.

•28% told LifeWay “it’s not a major priority in my life to find my deeper purpose.” And 18% scoffed at the idea that God has a purpose or plan for everyone.

In my opinion (but who am I??) I believe that the religious establishments of today, be they Christian or others, are mostly responsible for these ever shrinking numbers.  The disunity among almost all Christian denominations is not without notice to all those secular people out there.  They see each one of perhaps thousands of different religious groups separate themselves as being the only ones who know everything about “eternal wisdom”. How can each one of these groups be right? In that same mind the 19%, as cited in the first quote have come to the conclusion of how can any of them be right? If God is out there and he is indeed almighty then why can’t he get his flock in line?  All this disunity has had the consequence of providing serious doubt as to the very existence of God!!

I am a product of the 1960s generation. Part of that was all the protests that occurred while I was in college during that time. One of the very outspoken radicals of the time was Timothy Leary who advocated psychedelic drugs. The most favorite quote from him was  Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.  I think maybe that is what is happening today.  Many seem to have come to the conclusion “If the religious ‘experts’ can’t figure all this spiritual stuff out why should the rest of us even bother.” So, the logical answer seems to be to just drop out of all this spiritual crappola.

I personally am very founded in my spiritual beliefs. It drives who I am and what I do on this earth. It is my reason for existing. But even I, due to all the different versions of God out there, have doubts about this sometimes. The answer of many religious establishments  to the world’s problems seems to be just to hunker down in the tax exempt churches/country clubs and wait for the end time and that fact just adds to the religious skepticism of today.