Oh the Irony: Religion Is Shooting Itself in the Foot

Disbelief and atheism are on the rise

 
A few years ago I had the misfortune of attending a First Communion service at a suburban Rhode Island Catholic Church. The place was packed, parents and relatives eager to see the children going through this important ritual of the faith. I was not at all surprised to see that the clergy had mastered show business—performing the meticulous ceremonies in their impressive costumes. And the interior of the church was of unexpected grandeur for its suburban setting. Yet I found myself wondering two things: 
 
(1)  What percentage of the hundreds of adults who showed up actually believed the idea that the priests were pushing? Namely, that through the miracle of the Mass, the kids were getting to eat Jesus for the first time. These adults live, work, and survive in the modern world. Do they really accept the superstitions/magical thinking that the Catholic hierarchy still pushes? 
 
(2)  Why was anybody bothering to attend? Why isn’t membership in the Catholic Church down to zero by now? Why do people still show up, in the wake of the world-wide scandal of priests raping children; the most recent figure I have seen is that the church has paid more than three billion dollars in damages.
 
 
It would seem that the eternal life gimmick maintains its grip, that is, a lot of adults still cling to the idea that eating Jesus keeps hope of getting to heaven alive. But how long can the gimmick last? 
 
And how long can the gimmick of Christian truth last? That is, which Christian truth? The faith has splintered endlessly over the centuries because the faithful don’t agree on the supposed truth of their religion. There are major differences of opinion even in the New Testament itself, so the multiplying divisions—now more than 30,000 differing brands of the faith—are hardly a surprise. This is yet another scandal that is undermining the faith.
 
Some brands of Christianity seem determined to give it a bad name. Televangelism, especially as represented by Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland, is so obviously a scam. Even worse, we see Christian nationalism embracing a criminal president. I saw this post on Facebook recently: “Evangelicals claiming that Trump was sent by God, and is doing God’s will, is the single strongest case for atheism that I have heard in my entire life.”  
 
Surveys have shown that the number of “nones”—folks who admit they no longer follow religions—has been growing. I recently came across a YouTube video by Cognitive Drift, titled, Why Atheist is Rising Globally (just under 26 minutes). It is very well done, a calm description of how and why religion is losing ground. Here is an excerpt that reflects the mistakes and scandals I’ve mentioned:
 
“…in many cases religion is undermining itself. Scandals, abuse, corruption—these aren't rare exceptions. They're patterns and people are noticing when institutions preach humility but hoard wealth; preach purity but hide predators; preach love but foster division. The credibility collapses. People aren't leaving because they want to sin. They're leaving because they no longer trust the messengers and when the messenger is flawed, the message stops sounding holy.”
 
Near the start of the video, we find this assessment:
 
“…the rise of non-religious identity is one of the most significant shifts of our time, and when you look closer it makes sense because it's not just about rejecting gods. It's about waking up from something, about no longer needing the answers we used to cling to, about outgrowing ideas that once felt necessary but now feel out of place. To understand why this is happening we need to zoom in on something that often gets overlooked: the silent discomfort that religion creates for people who are really paying attention.”
 
Yes, paying attention is the key, but vast numbers of the faithful can’t be bothered to pay attention. Curiosity and critical thinking have not kicked in. Hence probably the majority of those devout folks who attended that First Communion service were not inclined to ask the priests for evidence that transubstantiation is a reality—instead of a variety of hocus-pocus. During the so-called miracle of the mass, the wafer turns into the body of Jesus, and people are willing to eat Jesus? When people fail to pay attention—when they neglect to ask for evidence—they fall victim to bad theology. How can eating Jesus not be bad theology? It is based on the pagan superstitions stated bluntly in the gospel of John 6:53-58.
 
It would also seem that the clergy, no matter the denomination or brand, don’t want their parishioners paying close attention to the debates, the major tensions, that exist in the world of Biblical scholarship. In recent years, there has been heated discussion about the reality of Jesus himself: did he really exist, or was this hero of the gospels a mythological invention from the get-go? The many errors, flaws, contradictions, and differing portrayals of Jesus in the gospels have kept Christian theologians busy for a long time, i.e., trying to make sense of it all. And the folks in the pews are largely unaware of all this. The clergy want to keep it this way. 
 
Another excerpt from the Cognitive Drift essay illustrates this truth:
 
“…the more people learn about the world, the more they see how belief systems were formed not from divine insight, but from politics, power, fear, tradition and most of all uncertainty. Religion was never just about truth, it was about survival, it was about control, it was about filling in gaps we couldn't explain. And as those gaps closed, as science, philosophy, and psychology move forward, the role of religion becomes harder to justify. This isn't about science versus spirituality, it's about whether certain ideas still make sense in light of what we now know.”
 
Religious fanaticism played a large role in the terrorist attacks that took place on 9/11. That horrible reality prompted serious thinkers to speak out against the harmful impacts of religious belief. Enough is enough!…seemed to be the primary motivator. Famous atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett published their thoughtful critiques of religion. These books encouraged others to publish as well, resulting in what might be called the atheist publishing boom. But it’s not just books. Here’s another important insight from Cognitive Drift:
 
“…we're told that doubt was a spiritual failing, but now the space to ask is wider than ever. The internet, books, podcasts, forums—they've made it easier than ever to explore these ideas without fear. And when people finally start looking, what they find is often surprising. They find out that morality doesn't collapse without religion, that life doesn't feel empty when you let go of sacred beliefs, and that meaning isn't something handed down from above, it's something we build day by day…”
 
It's also a fact that religion continues to shoot itself in the foot. Religious idiots say things, out loud, that turn people off. In 2012, a few days after the Sandy Hook school shooting in which twenty kids and six adults were murdered, a devout Catholic woman offered her explanation: “God must have wanted more angels.” Was she just grasping at straws, looking for an excuse to get her god off the hook? —or does she really believe in an evil god who murders school children as a way to get more angels? This woman’s phenomenal insensitivity is matched by scam televangelists, churches that protect pedophile clergy, and ongoing indoctrination in ancient superstitions and magical thinking. 
 
The Cognitive Drift essay ends on this note:
 
“…freedom means more than religious liberty. It means freedom from religion too, and where truth isn't something to be handed down, but something to be pursued together. That's the future more people are stepping into, and that's why atheism is rising. Not in anger but in awakening, not as a rejection of meaning, but as an embrace of reality, and maybe, just maybe, that's the most human thing of all.” 
 
 
 
David Madison was a pastor in the Methodist Church for nine years, and has a PhD in Biblical Studies from Boston University. He is the author of Ten Tough Problems in Christian Thought and Belief: a Minister-Turned-Atheist Shows Why You Should Ditch the Faith, now being reissued in several volumes:
·      Guessing About God (2023),
·   Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn’t Taught: And Other Reasons to Question His Words (2021). The Spanish translation of this book is also available. 
·    Everything You Need to Know About Prayer But May Not Want to Admit (2025)
 
His YouTube channel is here. At the invitation of John Loftus, he has written for the Debunking Christianity Blog since 2016.
 
The Cure-for-Christianity Library©, now with more than 500 titles, is here. A brief video explanation of the Library is here.