It may have more to do with the fact that Japan is probably the most homogeneous among the advanced countries of the world.
The biggest practical concerns of a post-Christian society may very well be the weakening of the concept of sanctity of life (which is not necessarily inevitable as there are plenty of pro-life atheists and agnostics and a strict literal reading of the Bible does not necessarily teach that personhood begins at conception). People have to remember that it was only after Christianity became dominant in the Roman Empire that the gladitorial games were banned and the old Classical practice of infanticide became discouraged (although there were some non-Christian Stoics who spoke out against it beforehand). In modern times we’ve seen it to a limited extent in the Groningen Protocal, intellectuals like Peter Singer, and parents who kill their handicapped children being let off with light sentences by sympathetic juries.
In a post-Christian society, post-Christians have well-below-replacement birth rates. As a result, now-small groups of Christians, with higher birth rates – for the US, think Amish and Mormons – will eventually create a post-post-Christian society. Soon? No. Eventually? That’s my prediction, albeit a safe one since, at age 59, I won’t live long enough to know if I’m right.
The Jews are ahead of the curve here in combining rapid mainstream secularlization with a boom in the Orthodox population. Here’s how it is working:
However, the thing is a large proportion of these high-birth rate demographic groups may either liberalize or apostatize totally, thus not carrying with the trend of high birth-rates.
Hmm. I’ll admit, that lets a true believer offer sincere excuses that conveniently mirror what charlatans would knowingly say – but while it makes the former a viable option, it doesn’t at all rule out the latter. Still, it’s an intriguing point, and I now intend to find a copy of their book and see what else they have to say; thanks for the recommendation.
It is a very readable, entertaining book, and the chapter-epigraphs are just perfect! I recall this one from the chapter on alchemy:
He’s worked all his life (and he’s terribly old)
On a wonderful spell that says, "Lo and behold!
“Your nursery-fender is gold!” And it’s gold!
(Or the tongs, or the rod for the curtain.)
But somehow he hasn’t got hold of it quite,
Or the liquid he pours on it first isn’t right,
And that’s why he works at it night after night
'Til he knows he can do it for certain!
From an evolutionary standpoint, the invention of reliable cheap birth control has to have a profound impact on the composition our species. In the short to medium term, it probably means less Christianity. America’s biggest Protestant sect, the Southern Baptist Convention, not only has a lot of dropouts, but also has sub-replacement fertility. In the longest run, any group with sub-replacement fertility, whether it be the Southern Baptists or the atheists, can’t survive.
The Amish impress me as particularly resistant to both the low-birth-rate and secularization trends. Of course, they are such a small group today that it would take a couple hundred years for them to become dominant, it that indeed happens. See:
For me, the best thing about a post-Christian society is not the total absence of religious belief, but by definition the absence of a dominating, pervasive, normalizing belief that inhibits all others.
Humans will probably always believe in something, and I can live with that just fine. But what I don’t want to live with is a cabal of religious zealots telling me theirs is the only way AND having the power to force it on others. Without Christianity, assuming secularism takes over, things from as small as vulgarity and public prayer to things as life-changing as abortion, gay marriage, or the death penalty doesn’t automatically assume one right side anymore. That’s what we should hope for whether or not we become post-Christian, but its much easier imagining those things not having as powerful an effect on public officials and public life without Christians to push their views on everyone
Religious sentiment just takes on new shapes and forms, is all.
More and more people self-designate as “spiritual but not religious,” and/or pick-and-choose bits and pieces from different religious traditions.
Over here (Denmark specifically, Europe generally) you fairly often meet people who vaguely believe in god / gods / angels / spirits of some sort, believe that Jesus was probably a decent chap / OK moral teacher, but firmly reject “Churchianity,” consider “organised religion” an abomination, never pray, worship, or for that matter even speak about any of this unless prodded, confronted or drunk / high.
Morality, criminality and behaviour all around generally will probably stay the same, no matter how far a society’s process of “post-Christianification” goes.
In this thread on behavioural differences between theists and atheists, DSeid quoted the summary of a study like so:
Pro-life must also be in favor of the already born, and look to responsible parenthood, and the life of the already born Mother and the children they have. Many co called pro-life people are just for the unborn but do not want to support through taxes any that are poor. One can look to Haiti and see the extreme poverty that causes a lot of deaths by trying to get to The US and other countries by boat and die on the way!
I would add what I posted before the world didn’t end before Christianity. and that native Indians seemed to survive before it became the Majority religion. And even Christianity is very divided.
