quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Yes, certainly it has, but a greater cause of the current state of this nation is the dissolution of the family.

Absolutely my thought, too.

Yes.

In short, YES!

Contributing factors in no particular order:
Leftism
PC Culture
Sexual Immorality
Absence of consequences for actions
Demand for Rights w/o Responsibility
Destruction of Core Family Values
Disregard for human life

These are just several off the top of my head within a 2-minute span. There would be MANY sub-categories with each one listed above. For example, under PC Culture, I would list Barry Onumbnutz's apology tour. Under Sexual Immorality, I would list LGBT culture. Under Leftism, I would list ILLEGAL immigration and Leftist Idealism taught in the Public Education System from day one. Under Disregard for human life, of course, abortion.

I'm sure this list could be tremendously expanding upon...

To expand on my earlier comments, is lack of religious belief why people are immoral or otherwise behaviorally deficient?

As we should clearly know from posts here as well as real world experiences, having religious belief is no guarantee of proper behavior and not being bound by religious belief does not preclude it.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
To expand on my earlier comments, is lack of religious belief why people are immoral or otherwise behaviorally deficient?

As we should clearly know from posts here as well as real world experiences, having religious belief is no guarantee of proper behavior and not being bound by religious belief does not preclude it.

sigfreund,
You are my favorite atheist because you actually keep an open mind and attempt to understand the religious views of others.

To answer your questions:

No. ... lack of religious belief is not a complete explanation or a reason why people are immoral or otherwise behaviorally deficient. And, yes, having religious belief is no guarantee of proper behavior and not being bound by religious belief does not preclude it.

However, religious belief can be a good guidepost to people to help them make moral decisions. Religious belief is not obvious or ingrained, it must be cultivated and passed down through teaching and practice, which is why people join a church.

Another aspect to church, often overlooked, is the sense of community and belonging people get from voluntary participation in small groups and organizations. Yes, you can get something similar from non-religious organizations such as a gun club but most people need to feel that their lives matter to others.

So belonging to a church does not make one moral, nor does not belonging preclude it, but it is helpful to most who participate.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Another aspect to church, often overlooked, is the sense of community and belonging people get from voluntary participation in small groups and organizations.

That I agree with totally.
It’s the primary reason why over the years I have become less sympathetic to the view of many atheists that religious belief and practice are fundamentally harmful or at least a waste of effort and resources. There can be no doubt that individuals and groups often benefit from what they provide.

ERJpilot said it best. I will include the erosion of trust in formerly trusted public institutions:
Government.
Organized religion.
Law enforcement.
Higher education.
Health care.
Even the Post Office.

I believe the answer is yes. Also the teaching in family the importance of respect, respect for others and their property.

In my opinion, yes. Many people ask, "where is God when bad things happen"? I say, why would God want to help us if we want everything about Him out of our lives and society? I am not saying He does not care for us and He still watches over us, but how many have taken His name in vain, distanced ourselves from what is Godly, put others before ourselves,etc.? The secular world loves things of the world instead of putting their love and trust in a loving God.

Only you can make the decision to follow Him and answer the call. The bible says not all will answer but we don't know who they are, so I will keep my faith in Him and try to share what I know with others. I don't share because I have to, but because I want to. I am not religious, as that just classifies you into a small area, but instead I try to live my life as Christ wants/has instructed me to do as He lived His Earthly life. He taught us how to live and be fruitful. When we dismiss the teaching/instruction, society turns away from the light and we are left with the world we have now.

Yes. It is obvious to those with eyes to see. Less obvious but certainly true is that one man’s immorality affects everyone else. The more immoral a society is, the less free it is.

Yeah, that and social media.

Now everyone can put their weird shit on blast to the point where people think deviant things are normal and should be accepted.

Plus, people can say whatever dumbshit they want without repercussions.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:


Now everyone can put their weird shit on blast to the point where people think deviant things are normal and should be accepted.

true

funny bit here (Sebastian Maniscalco):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chahtq-x-n4

----------------------------------

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Yes, certainly it has, but a greater cause of the current state of this nation is the dissolution of the family.

Absolutely my thought, too.

Yes. And more so family. Whatever the background. It's family.

I've spent a lot of time reading old newspapers while doing genealogy work so what's interesting about this thread is that you can read newspapers from 100 years ago and see editorials asking the same question and providing the same answers seen here.

Same as it ever was.

This country was founded on Judaeo/Christian values. That doesn't mean we have to be religious, or church goers. It means that we adhere to a certain set of morals.

I'm retired from the dept of corrections & in those years I've noticed that many more offenders, particularly those from the inner cities, have devolved from offenders to downright psychopaths.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
But I'd go further. To me I literally see a "de-evolution" happening. Not like on Star Trek where people are becoming lizards. But the left has continued to make policy which encourages those incapable of caring for themselves to breed more and more children that are incapable of caring for themselves. They have instilled the sense of entitlement on these same people. There is no sense of morality or family and most importantly no sense of personal responsibility. This has less to do with faith and more to do with genetics. Sorry to say this but there are a lot of people with no common sense and no ability to support themselves, or at least no desire to do that.

The people in power on the left use this as a tool to gain more power. Their idiotic followers repeat what they are told. It's a vicious cycle.

I agree with part of this. Where I disagree is the “genetics” part. Sure, smarts is genetic, but I believe work ethic is a learned behavior. I suspect that much of what you are attributing to genetics (nature) is better explained by upbringing/environment (nurture).

At the end of the day though, we are all individuals with free agency. While those raised on the Leftist plantation of dependency may be biased or programmed to stay in that state, they can choose to make their own independent, responsible way and some do.

quote:

Originally posted by Kraquin:
I've spent a lot of time reading old newspapers while doing genealogy work so what's interesting about this thread is that you can read newspapers from 100 years ago and see editorials asking the same question and providing the same answers seen here.

Same as it ever was.

I would agree with the statement above.

quote:

Has lack of faith or religion caused a downfall in this country?

for sure thats about an 8th of the problem

*Sigh* I'm likely to regret this, but aside from things like taxes and bigger government, what downfall?

Just about everything is way better now than the 18th century.
Isn't it?

Is the problem of morality worse today than it was 50 years ago, or does it only seem like it is because of the existence of social media?

We are being hammered daily by it, but is it worse or just more public.