Column: Something to Think About (7/23/21) – Chronicle Times

By Nicholas J. Brewer

As my family and I were traveling to New Orleans not too long ago, we crossed the section of the United States known as The Bible Belt. As we saw billboards and advertisements about Jesus, damnation, and so forth, a question began to surface in my head.

What do non-Christians think of when they see these signs, or hear similar ads playing on the radio or television? This sparked me to do some research, and I discovered a trend that has been going on for the past several years or so.

More and more Christians are actually leaving the religion entirely. Given the current events that have happened within the last decade or so from accusations of pedophilia to rampant homophobic tendencies, I can't say I'm all that surprised. Most now former Christians are now doing one of two things.

Some move to a more open minded religion such as Wicca or a branch of Paganism. For those unfamiliar with it, Wicca is a neopagan religion that was founded in 1954 by a man named Gerald Gardner, and takes its origins from pre-Christian religions. The only difference between a Pagan and a Wiccan from doing research was that Wiccans believe in the Rule of Three, which is essentially a karmic retribution clause from the world, that whatever energy you put into the world, the world will send three times as much back at the person, while Pagans do not believe in it. Otherwise, both are rather open minded as to what practitioners can do.

Others may tend to remove themselves from religion entirely, becoming atheist. Some have even grouped together to form a non-theistic religion known as The Satanic Temple, with the main hub in the United States, and several chapters in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, It was founded by a man with the new name of Lucie Greaves, having changed it due to death threats being received by him and his family from overly religious Christians.

The group focuses on encouraging a state of benevolence and empathy among all people, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, creed, religion, and so on. They tend to use satire, theatrical plays, humor, and sometimes legal action to generate attention and prompt people to reevaluate their fears and perceptions, and to highlight religious hypocrisy and encroachment on religious freedoms. The only reason theyre even called The Satanic Temple was so they could irritate Christians and show how ridiculous some of them could be.

I'm unsure if anyone else found this interesting, but I found researching this topic rather fascinating. This isn't meant to be a anti-christian column in any way, as I've met plenty of Christians in my lifetime who are genuinely kind and caring. Im just simply making a researched observation.

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Column: Something to Think About (7/23/21) - Chronicle Times