Is the majority of the US Christian or not?

I'm confused. Christians tell us that most people believe in their god, and they use that as an argument for it's validity, but when talk about all of the hypocrites and the watered down Christians, they claim they aren't "true" Christians. They also say they're a minority in a secular society that's trying to oppress them. Which is it? Is the majority of the US Christian or not?

 

You are expecting Christians to do anything be contradict themselves.

This is where the "ermgurd, the majority believes this way, so we must be right!!11" argument:
Christians are a minority in the world. As is every other religion. The Appeal to Popularity is a weak argument, and falls to pieces when specific regions are removed from the equitation and replaced with the big picture.

They may immediatly move the goal posts and claim "well, those people believe in god!!!!". But they believe in different, incomparable, versions of god. It would be like saying that because most cars have automatic transmission, then the Volkswagon is the best transmission.

 

excellent point. as I've often said, these things only work in a village - where the villagers can't see over the next hill.

 

For all their claims of community, they are really all just individuals who will stand next to anyone who thinks and feels the same way they do and outcast anyone who doesn't. They use the few people they know to project their Christianity onto anyone with the label when touting their superiority but cut ties the moment a negative truth is revealed by anyone outside their little group. In this sense true Christians must be a small minority if any exist at all.

 

Many people identify with Christianity, but they don't practice it. They identify with it because it is the most coherent religion with the most positive influence on humanity. This experiential proof that Christianity is good for individuals and societies does validate the religion in the view of some people. These aren't the same people screaming persecution or making judgments about "true" Christians. They're mostly agnostic, in my observation and opinion. Lukewarm.

Christians should always be vigilant about losing their religious freedom. Why shouldn't we be, when there are secularists are trying to take it from us? Restricting religious liberty is oppressive. Since when is it not oppressive?

 

Appeal to popularity is the most frequently used argument for the Theory of Evolution. Arguments for it are forever replete with strong declarations of its popularity among related fields of science. The same goes for climate change.

 

please name the religious freedoms that are under attack?...

 

Evolution is empirically observed and peer reviewed.

That is different than people claiming that X must be true because more people believe it than not. So no, it is not an appeal to popularity.

 

Spoken like someone who's never left the US, or never lived amongst people of any other religion.

It's not oppressive if the church engages in political activity, and doesn't pay taxes. But in that instance they're not oppressing religion, they're oppressing evangelical conservatives.

Conservative media has done a great job of convincing conservative evangelicals they're under attack. I haven't agreed with any of the ways they think they're being "attacked", and nor will the swing voters in 2016.

 

What about the right to proselytize in the public streets under the protection of the police? Freedom of speech; religion; assembly…take your pick here.

[video=youtube;dBaTVwIJH-E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBaTVwIJH-E[/video]

 

Spoken by someone who doesn't know who he's talking to. I'm intermarried with a Middle Eastern Muslim family and I've been to five countries, living amongst three different cultures/religions for several months. Do you want to try again?

To deny there are secular forces lobbying government to restrict religious liberty is either naive or deceptive.

 

I understand. Still it is not fact. Neither are fact, but the popular opinion of scientists is enough for many people to accept both as fact, not theory based in evidence.

 

Sorry, evolution is a fact. The evidence is clear that life on this planet was once less diverse than it is now. Life changes. These are incontrovertible facts. How life changes is what some people feel is up for debate.

 

You're mistaken in your interpretation of what rights are being violated or going unprotected here. Unless the police were arresting Christians for exercising their freedoms, their religious rights were not being violated. If the police were failing to stop hostile behavior and violence, either because the alleged aggressors are Muslims are the victims are Christian, that's an equal protection issue (14th amendment).

 

Except that there is absolutely no proof that Christianity is good for society or had the most positive influence. It's also just your opinion that Christianity is the most coherent. The book is full of flaws and contradictions. You're also just throwing out red herrings. This has nothing to do with the topic, which is believers claiming that most everyone is a Christian, and then, turning around and saying most people aren't.

I have no idea what this even has to do with the topic, but I don't know of any secularists trying to take away your religious freedom. You must be confusing people trying to stop you from pushing it on others with those trying to take away your religious freedom. You don't have the freedom to be aggressive with your religion, especially via the government.

 

It's amazing to me that this has to be explained to virtually any adult of normal understanding.

Democratic principles are derived from Christian principles. Democracy is good for the world.

 

I responded directly to the topic - "which is believers claiming that most everyone is a Christian, and then, turning around and saying most people aren't."

I said most identify with belief and don't practice it. Do you disagree?

Pushing it on others? You mean proselytizing? And by aggressive, who knows what you mean by that? So since I'm all paranoid about my religious freedom; why don't you spell it out for me. Tell me specifically what I can and can't do with my religion in your world.

 

What exactly has been tried to be taken away? No one is restricting anything, well yes if you refer to religious shrines on public property, but only because no one wants 10,000 religious shrines of every religion on public property.
But your liberty is not being taken away in any shape or form.

 

No, nope. Not.

 

Tell others they must live by your morals and rules. Not you personally, as I don't know all your thoughts on folks getting married or women having choices.

 

What Democratic principles are derived from Christian principles?

 

That's a ridiculous request. We all tell each other to live by our morals. This isn't exclusive to Christianity or even religion. For example, who are you to judge whether it's moral to preach to others about morality? On what moral grounds do you attempt to do this?

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Read the Declaration of Independence, for starters.

 

Surely you can name one without deflecting. Let me rephrase, what is an example of a Democratic principle that is derived from one or more Christian principles?

Actually, before answering that question, can you describe what a "Christian principle" is? Does it have to be unique to Christianity to count? For instance, a lot of folks claim that the Golden Rule is a Christian principle. But the Golden Rule predates Christianity by at least 500 years. Do you think it's a Christian principle? If you think it is, and the principles of something else were based on the Golden Rule, would you claim those principles to be derived from Christian principles? How would you determine if they are based on the Golden Rule of Christianity or Confucius' Golden Rule idea, or another origin of the Golden Rule?

 

"Creator" is another one that someone else thought of long before Christians, too. So what? Religions shape world views. Christianity shaped the world views of those who originated and implemented the democratic ideals responsible for peace in the world today. They were Americans. And among them was the finest American of all time, Jesus Christ!

 

I'm going to take your seeming inability to answer a very straightforward question as an indication that your assertion was based on nothing but your imagination and/or wishful thinking.