Originally posted by Zahlanzi
Atheists, the third major group within materialists, reject the existence of God but tend to be more actively antireligious than the other two. There are about 2,200 members of the best- known atheist group, the American Atheists. Clearly, any single theist organization has far more members than all the materialist organizations combined. If nonbelievers ma ...[text shortened]... , as some polls suggest, the vast majority of them do not join groups of like-minded individuals
DISCLAIMER: An older friend of mine once explained this to me, I'm not old enough to remember it actually being this way, although you can see this in old movies, or tv shows like 'Mad Men'.
Not long ago, smokers were the majority. It was considered polite to offer a cigarette to others if you were going to smoke. It was assumed that most people smoked. In fact, if one refused, or explained that they didn't smoke, they often got a 'raised eyebrow' in response. It took decades for the scientific facts to sink in, that smoking was a significant cause of lung cancer and that it would shorten one's life. The numbers of smokers, though, did not appreciably reduce until smoking became 'socially unacceptable'. It became something not to be done 'in public' and smokers were considered rude if they did not take non-smokers' health into consideration. Ashtrays are now a relic of the past, and no one I know actually claims to be a smoker. If someone does smoke in public, he is often ostracized.
I believe we are in that phase of Christianity, especially in America, and possibly in Europe as well, where change is afoot. Christianity is still common, in fact, it is still a majority. But it won't always be that way. It is not yet 'socially unacceptable', but it's getting closer all the time. New adherents are becoming less in number every year. People are moving away from God and toward the secular. Church attendance is down. More and more young people I come into contact with on the internet say that "religion is bogus" and claim to be atheist as if there were no other logical choice. It's not yet time for the AntiChrist, but the world is preparing for him more and more. It's getting ready for him. Once Christianity becomes 'socially unacceptable' or very nearly so, the time will finally be right.