I worked for an agency helping close a midwestern diocese. They branded it a positive thing but I was in the meetings with priests hearing the low down and how closings will go. It’s sad. Half the priests are old and just trying to get through. The other half want to help but are being told the cost of their renovations is more important. Let it crumble.
this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2024
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It's quite a bummer to not have anything planned to take its place as a more healthy alternative, not to mention how it will impact the livelihood of some people.
If you compare it to coal, which may have employed about the same set of people (?), at least talk of retraining was being made...
As problematic as religion is, at least a lot of it was completely outside the sphere of commerce. I could see the broligarchs thinking this kind of thing being a good thing for them, since if people have fewer and fewer options outside of commerce, they'll be forced to engage more and more with commerce, or else just be hermits.
I pray to God everyday that i can live long enough to witness the day humanity completely abandons religion. Inshallah🙏
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Oh no! So, anyway...
Interesting that they can't stay afloat financially, because they don't pay taxes.
Sometimes parasites suck their hosts dry.
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From what it seems to me, the megachurches are doing okay. It's the more traditional denominations that are suffering. Overall religion might be on a decline, but certain sects are flourishing. One silver lining about some of the megachurches is that they're led by a strong personality and once they're gone, the whole organization putters out. They're more organized around an individual than a theology.
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The internet is killing God but giving birth to a new age of conspiracy theorists.
So, not much has changed.
They feed on gullibility and a craving to be pushed around by authority. Sadly, those aren't going away anytime soon.
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No, don't close your damn doors, open them up to the homeless. Make these useless buildings good for something!
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Good riddance.
Now the religious companies that remain are all merging together or being bought out by larger religious companies. They change their names to some douchey name that sounds like a shitty christian rock band and franchise. Somehow they're still allowed to be non-profits despite being so much for-profit.
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45% is considerably higher than I expected. I thought it would be closer to 10-15%.
Membership is not the same as attendance, and it's WAY less than the number of people giving financially.
I was a preacher at a 1200-member church that had weekly attendance around 150-200.
And based on the demographics of the area, we received less than 1% of the annual income for those who did attend regularly.
The thing about churches is that they don't require payment of any kind, and kind people will dedicate time and effort in a very loving way that is inefficient, when what we really need is cash.
My go-to example is the quilting ladies who spend 40 hours each on handmade quilts using expensive materials to give to the poor. It's extremely kind and their work is exquisite, but with the money spent making those quilts for 20 people, we could buy blankets, a couple weeks of food, and new clothing for 50 full families.
The thing about giving money, though, is that it feels impersonal to the person giving the gift. This is also why the poor should be taken care of through taxation. Taking care of people's basic needs shouldn't need to feel intimate and spiritual - it should be routine and boring.
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Good! Fuck 'em!
Hallelujah!
fucking good.
Good
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