Each generation is smarter than the previous. Every one of my 30 year old daughter's friends identifies as atheist or agnostic. These are not people she sought out as friends online, these are people in the community or co-workers. I only wish I could find like minded people so easily in my age group.

The decline in religiosity has a strong correlation with rise in education and economic independence. Notice that I didn't say economic prosperity. The house of Saud and the Vatican are both deeply religious and stinking rich. I meant independence. When you're not dependent on anyone for your well being and if that independence came to you in your formative years, you tend to think out of the box and objectively turn around ideas in your head. You don't swallow what's fed to you because you're not dreading the repercussions of voicing your thoughts openly. A lot of religious societies have people who toe the line just to be well provided for. E.g. traditional business houses would crumble if religion didn't bind them together.

Well, I don't know, but I would really like to hear what Cullen Bohannon's (Hell On Wheels) comment would be!

Becuz they prayed for help & grandma still died?

Probably not. But, I have no problem with waiting to find out for sure.

I don't really know, and I don't really care, as long as people continue using their brains to think.

Separation from reason of some sects

Its adherents are getting Covid & dropping like flies, and the the rest of the herd is backing away?

The religious have bought into the Trump agenda. Jesus said..."Be no part of this world" But the religious have shown that they are total hypocrites in their support of Trump. Smart religious people are realizing the churches are all a farce.

Good article up to a point. Though I note that it does not mention the rate at which the world is becoming more connected due to IT. Which has several possible effects, including the rise of real multiculturalism, which gives people cause to question their adherence to one single culture and belief system, accompanied by more information with which to do so. Also the rise of so called fake news, conspiracy theory etc., which though they may delude some, perhaps forces most people to get into the habit of being much more critical and questioning.

We may well be on edge of a world which values objective truth, good research and information, and a belief in objective taste more than ever, precisely because the opposites of all those things are so readily available and therefore cheapened.

Why is "religion " declining? It is fulfilling biblical prophesy of the great apostasy.

The term is derived from the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, in which the Apostle Paul informs the Christians of Thessalonica that a great apostasy must occur before the return of Christ, when "the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction" (chapter 2:1–12). The Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches have interpreted this chapter as referring to a future falling-away, during the reign of the Antichrist at the end of time. Wikipedia- great apostasy

Apostasy in Christianity is the rejection of Christianity by someone who formerly was a Christian or who wishes to administratively be removed from a formal registry of church members. The term apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia ("ἀποστασία" ) meaning "defection", "departure", "revolt" or "rebellion". It has been described as "a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christianity. Apostasy is the rejection of Christ by one who has been a Christian...."[2] "Apostasy is a theological category describing those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in the God of the covenant, who manifests himself most completely in Jesus Christ."[3] "Apostasy is the antonym of conversion; it is deconversion."[1] [en.m.wikipedia.org].

He makes reference to “an analysis of religious trends” but doesn’t provide links to studies. Looks like he is promoting his own book.

As of 2017, Pew Research is still projecting an increase in the religious section of the world population.

“The religiously unaffiliated population is projected to shrink as a percentage of the global population, even though it will increase modestly in absolute number. In 2015, there were slightly fewer than 1.2 billion atheists, agnostics and people who did not identify with any particular religion around the world. By 2060, the unaffiliated population is expected to reach 1.2 billion. But as a share of all people in the world, religious “nones” are projected to decline from 16% of the total population in 2015 to 13% in 2060. While the unaffiliated are expected to continue to increase as a share the population in much of Europe and North America, people with no religion will decline as a share of the population in Asia, where 75% of the world’s religious “nones” live.”

[pewforum.org]

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Atheists pride themselves in preferring fact over fiction, but when it comes to their favored fantasy that religions are dying, they prefer their imaginations over the science.

I’d rather base my views on the data. Where are the data that refute the Pew study?

Religion sells a preposterous product. Eventually at least some ppl are going to see that and reject it.

Cause people have started shedding their blinders during the pandemic.

What surprises me is why has it taken so long.

I think a small part of it is what expastors have said about the things they learned at their seminaries.

Religious devotion is being supplanted by Marxist/Socialist allegiance.

Religion is on the decline because people are waking up to reality.