The hard core Hell and brimstone Trump supporting Evangelical Churches are holding nearly steady, and far outnumber other Christians. They are expected to take a dive as their membership dies of old age.
The kids are not joining the churches in any large numbers. One popular Evangelical wrote that this is because the church and parents had not been strict enough in teaching about Hell and Damnation.
Lack of belief in Hell has been costing the churches dearly.
The decline in mainstream Christian churches is directly mirrored by the rise of "Spiritual but not religious".
Some of them, particularly refugees from the Evangelical churches, identify as Witches. There are many varieties of Witches, and some identify as Pagans, particularly those who follow the Goddess Hekate (say Hekatee). Others get categorized as Pagans whether they want to be or not. This, of course, excludes the "aesthetic Witches" who just like the look and the bling.
In North America those who identify as Witches largely outnumber those who identify as Pagans, but it is opposite in the British Isles, by a fairly wide margin.
Pagans come in many stripes, polytheists, monotheists, serial monotheists, atheists,
animists, and whatever. Most Pagans are solo practitioners and belong to no group or coven. The main difference between Pagans and "Spiritual but not Religious" is an altar and a ritual.
There are a fair number of people who wish to join the Pagan fold and bring Jesus with them. My article Jesus and Paganism is quite popular.
In the words of a former Jesuit, who's community studied this problem intensively,
"The real question is not 'Can one be a Pagan and revere Jesus?', but rather 'Can one follow the teachings of Jesus and also be a Christian?'"
He continues that in his understanding of Paganism, it is possible to follow the teachings of Jesus as a Pagan, but that the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of Christianity are not compatible.
The kids are not joining the churches in any large numbers. One popular Evangelical wrote that this is because the church and parents had not been strict enough in teaching about Hell and Damnation.
Lack of belief in Hell has been costing the churches dearly.
The decline in mainstream Christian churches is directly mirrored by the rise of "Spiritual but not religious".
Some of them, particularly refugees from the Evangelical churches, identify as Witches. There are many varieties of Witches, and some identify as Pagans, particularly those who follow the Goddess Hekate (say Hekatee). Others get categorized as Pagans whether they want to be or not. This, of course, excludes the "aesthetic Witches" who just like the look and the bling.
In North America those who identify as Witches largely outnumber those who identify as Pagans, but it is opposite in the British Isles, by a fairly wide margin.
Pagans come in many stripes, polytheists, monotheists, serial monotheists, atheists,
animists, and whatever. Most Pagans are solo practitioners and belong to no group or coven. The main difference between Pagans and "Spiritual but not Religious" is an altar and a ritual.
There are a fair number of people who wish to join the Pagan fold and bring Jesus with them. My article Jesus and Paganism is quite popular.
In the words of a former Jesuit, who's community studied this problem intensively,
"The real question is not 'Can one be a Pagan and revere Jesus?', but rather 'Can one follow the teachings of Jesus and also be a Christian?'"
He continues that in his understanding of Paganism, it is possible to follow the teachings of Jesus as a Pagan, but that the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of Christianity are not compatible.