[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Gerania

A void would have been better than my experience with the Catholic church.

Amen

[jackmccullough]

Definitely not.

I live in Montpelier and there are several active churches in town, many of which are centers of various social and social justice activities. There is also a statewide group, Vermont Interfaith Action, that uses religious convictions to advance principles of social justice.

I wouldn't be surprised if some denominations, particularly in smaller towns, are having trouble maintaining their membership. Every year the survey is done Vermont ranks as the least religious state.

Still, there is a broad diversity of religious practices, so if you're asking because you're considering a move it is likely that with some investigation you can find a church or other entity that is congenial to your beliefs and practices.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by Hollytree

They don't have to have "nothing". Moral codes can be readily taught by parents and not tied to religion. I don't know of any atheists who are "swimming in the void with no anchor in sight". As others have pointed out, church attendance has been declining nation wide.

I did say that I don't believe religion per se is needed to establish a moral code. But I could have phrased this better by saying that I don't think any real moral codes are being taught by parents to children based on my observations. My comment referred more to young kids growing up.
I know plenty of atheists who are not unmoored so I would agree with you there.
And yes, church attendance continues to decline.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by Boston_Burbs

The town I live in is 2,000 people and as of a few years ago had 6 churches ( 3 congregational, 2 Methodist, 1 baptist). That’s way too many for a population that size to maintain 1800s buildings. One church has given away one of their two buildings because they don’t want to spend all of their energy maintaining them.

Very true especially in the NE.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by Gerania

A void would have been better than my experience with the Catholic church.

In retrospect, I agree with you. I only came to this conclusion once I reached my teens.

[Hollytree]

Originally Posted by Riley.

I did say that I don't believe religion per se is needed to establish a moral code. But I could have phrased this better by saying that I don't think any real moral codes are being taught by parents to children based on my observations. My comment referred more to young kids growing up.
I know plenty of atheists who are not unmoored so I would agree with you there.
And yes, church attendance continues to decline.

For sure, more parents need to teach their kids some sort of moral code.

So often, from my personal observation, all some parents seem to teach is reward and punishment, as in "stop that" and/or "good job". Some seem to think that teaching behavior and morality on a broader level is the school's job, but I would say it isn't.

I doubt very much that VT teachers would think it's their purview. They just have to deal with the consequences of lack of good parenting.

[atypicalLIer]

Our local Catholic Church sold off the rectory earlier this year. It has scaled back considerably and now is open Saturday 3 pm for reconciliation followed by 4 pm mass. Nothing more.

[Ann Alison]

I grew up in a fair sized town and attended the First Congregational Church. I don't have kids but I have nieces and nephews. Their parents don't understand why they're non-religious, but they didn't take them to church. That church was pretty easy-going. I'd like to re-experience the sense of community by attending church, even though I'm a little lacking, myself, in the faith element. I reckon that's okay.

[JBtwinz]

Originally from New England but now living in the southeast and we are seeing this here in our area.

Older congregations are losing their young families to non-denomination churches. Many start out in rented halls until they grow. My friend has an older small church next door to his property and they are lucky to have ten people attending Sunday services.

Sign of the times.

[WoodwindsRock]

Originally Posted by Suesbal

The Protestant denominations that dominate New England (Congregationalist, Unitarianism) have experienced membership decline over the decades. Which is ironic since they tend to be the most liberal.

Politics is not the only factor.

I’m not from New England (but am really drawn to it, the lack of religiosity being one factor) but I can maybe give some insight.

I’m an atheist who was raised in liberal churches. They didn’t save church for me. I found church to be excruciatingly boring and found myself only believing in the existence of a deity because my community and family did.

The fact of the matter is that I had no reason to believe for myself.

No doubt politics is playing a large part on church attendance declining. But there is more to it. There are people like me. There’s also the internet which people my age and younger have been heavily impacted by, which gave me more insight into other beliefs.

People nowadays are finding they don’t need church. There are a lot of reasons, which is why I think the “nones” classification needs to be more carefully explained in how broad it really is. Church attendance decline is coming from not just politics, but knowledge, exposure to other beliefs that people in the past didn’t have, other communities becoming more widespread and easy to find, etc, etc.