Maybe Jehovah's Witnesses Should Stop Pointing Fingers

In the November 2011 issue of Awake! magazine, the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses took a pot shot at the Catholic church.

On page 29, in their monthly 'Watching the World' section, they quoted the National Catholic Reporter, an independent agency established in 1964, that frequently writes on issues affecting the church.  On October 11, 2010, they published an article titled 'The 'Had It' Catholics'.  The article contained the following sentence, which was quoted in the Awake!:

"Slightly more than 10 percent of American adults (10.1 percent) have left the Catholic church after having been raised Catholic."

As seen in the Awake!:

This information is upon a study done in 2008 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.  In the study, more than 35,000 American adults were interviewed about religion, and how their beliefs may or may not have changed over the years.  The survey showed that 23.9 percent of Americans identify themselves as Catholics.  This has pretty much gone unchanged for the last 40 years.  It has consistently hovered around the 25% mark since the early 70s.  Of those born Catholic, 68% remain faithful to the church in adulthood.  The quote above sounds worse than it actually is.  Yes, 10 percent of U.S. adults, or almost 23 million people, are former Catholics.  But, considering that there are 65-75 million practicing Catholics in this country at any given time, it's not that shocking of a statistic.  In fact, in 2010, the Catholic population actually increased 1.49% over the previous year, to 68.1 million.

What the Awake! conveniently failed to mention was that the very same Pew study in 2008 that showed a 32% turnover rate with the Catholic church, also showed that Jehovah's Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religion in the nation.  Only 37% of those that were raised as Witnesses stay in the congregation.  That means that 63% leave the organization, double that of Catholics.  Quoting the study:

"Jehovah's Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses."

Time magazine even weighed in on the Witnesses turnover numbers, saying, "No wonder they have to keep knocking on doors".

The Awake! also failed to point out that the study showed that Jehovah's Witnesses were the least educated religious group in the U.S. (only 6% have college degrees).  They are also overwhelmingly the poorest (42% bring home less than $30,000/yr).  The religion also gives the illusion of preying on minorities.  60% of active Jehovah's Witnesses are female (highest percentage in American religion).  Also, African-Americans and Latinos make up nearly half of the church's population (22% and 24% respectively).  To put that into perspective, African-Americans make up 16% of Protestants (including Baptists).  Jehovah's Witnesses have the second highest percentage of Latinos, next to the Catholic church (with 29%).

This study only interviewed those that were raised a specific religion.  Who knows what the turnover rate is among those that converted to Jehovah's Witnesses later in life.  I would imagine, the results would be somewhat similar.  Logic states that if 63% of those "raised in the Truth" eventually leave, roughly the same percentage of those that joined the organization as adults would do the same.  It would make sense that people generally leave a religion for the same reason.  They don't believe what they're being told.

If Jehovah's Witnesses would stop focusing on the "problems" other churches are having, and spend a little more time taking care of the skeletons in their closet, maybe they wouldn't lose so many followers.  

Just a thought.

Map Of The Day

The above map shows, in varying shades of green, how religious people tend to be in this country, by state.  The darker the green, the more religious that state is.  Based on poll responses, more people in Mississippi identified themselves as "very religious", than in any other state.  Less people identified themselves that way in Rhode Island and New York, than in any other state.  Here are the results, showing the 10 most religious states, and the 12 least religious states in the country:

Does anything stand out in your mind when it comes to the states in the bottom 12?  They are overwhelmingly in favor of marriage equality.

In Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Washington D.C., and New York, full civil marriage rights for same-sex couples is the law of the land.  In Oregon and Rhode Island, civil unions are legal.  Domestic partnerships for same-sex couples are legal in Nevada and Maine.

The only stand out is Alaska, where in their state constitution, it defines marriage between a man and a woman.  Then again, they voted in Sarah Palin as governor once.  I would be shocked if their laws weren't written in crayon.

Thanks to Joe My God for the images.

It's Official: I've Joined The Priesthood

That's right.  I have become an ordained priest in The Church of the Latter Day Dude, otherwise known as Dudeism.

The reason why I am accepting a new religion is simple:  I want to pay it forward.

Four years ago, our friend Lindsay officiated our wedding ceremony.  It was a simple service.  Just Jessi, myself, Lindsay and two witnesses to sign the marriage certificate.  We got married in the kitchen of our three bedroom apartment, followed immediately by a "reception" with chocolate chip ice cream and sparkling cider.  Lindsay became ordained through the Universal Life Church, an online church that allows you to become ordained, immediately, free of charge.  As a minister in the church, she has legally recognized authority to perform marriages in all 50 states in the U.S., and many countries abroad.  We didn't necessarily have the "wedding of our dreams", but, looking back, we wouldn't have had it any other way.

If the circumstances should present themselves, I also wanted to be in a position to officiate a wedding or civil service, especially if it could help someone in my local LGBT community.  However, considering my previous "issues" with religion, I didn't want to become ordained in a church that had a Judeo-Christian philosophy.  I am atheist, after all.

Dudeism was right for me.

Before you ask...Yes, it is a legitimate church.  And it has it's own philosophy.  Dudeism is very similar to Taoism and Zen Buddhism.  It's tenets are simple:  "Live and let live."  Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don’t do anything about it. Just take it easy, man.

I can abide.

And, as a Dudeist, I don't have to know what in God's name other religions are blathering about.  It appears to be a perfect fit.

In case you were wondering, I am serious about this.  My certificate of ordination will arrive in the mail, hand signed, in approximately two weeks.  I want to be able to help someone in the way that Jessi and I were helped four years ago.

So....who wants to be my first marriage?

Cool Blog Alert: 'The Day I Became An Atheist'

Over the last year, there have been a number of blogs that have looked at the world from a different perspective. One told the stories of gay and lesbian individuals that knew as children of their sexual orientation.  Another proved that your parents were pretty cool before you came along.

A new website has debuted this week in the same vein, but with a decidedly more serious tone.  From author Kyria Abrahams comes 'The Day I Became an Atheist'.  I must admit, it's a compelling read.

The blog is comprised primarily of reader submissions.  So far, the majority of them are rather heartbreaking.  I encourage you to read the riveting, powerful, and often times, emotional stories from people all over the world.  Kyria's post for example:

“My ex-boyfriend assaulted me by slamming a balled fist into either side of my head. He could have killed me, but thankfully, all I got was a lousy concussion. I lost two jobs and was left with thousands of dollars in legal and hospital bills. I was also unable to say goodbye to my dying father. The people around me said everything happens for a reason and I just didn’t see God’s plan. Apparently God’s plan was for my ex to get away with it. One year later, and I challenge anyone to find a single Godly thing that came out of that incident.”

If you would like to contribute your own story for the blog, you can submit it through the blog directly, or email Kyria at kyriaabrahams@gmail.com.  We would all like to hear it.  Kyria's latest book is called I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing.  You can purchase it on Amazon by clicking on the link above.

Draw A Circle Around The Most Offensive Thing On This Page

Thank God this wasn't a question on my SATs.  Totally would have blown my chances for a scholarship at The Drive-By Christian Broadcasting Network School of Law for Fundamentalist Government Infiltration.  I thought all dogs go to heaven.  Evidently, I'm wrong.

Courtesy Jesus Needs New PR.

Video: 'The Book Of Mormon' - 'I Believe'

I see this video and two things come to mind.  1.) I need to get to New York City to see this show on Broadway, because it looks amazing.  And, 2.) Maybe Jehovah's Witnesses aren't that crazy.

Performed at the 2011 Tony Awards:

Funny How Common Place Pot Is In Our Society

Pot even seems to be more popular than religion:



I'm not saying that I find issue with that.