Kathie Costos
October 21, 2022
In the last few posts I put up, I wrote about having to go back into therapy to heal from the loss of my best friend Gunny. I wasn't just dealing with grief but having a hard time understanding how the book I was writing was causing me spiritual turmoil. For most of my life, no matter what happened, I tried to look on the positive side but by editing the last book, I was more connected to the darker parts of the story.
The Rise of the “Nones” Slows
Disaffiliating white Christians have fueled the growth of the religiously unaffiliated during this period. Only 16% of Americans reported being religiously unaffiliated in 2007; this proportion rose to 19% by 2012, and then gained roughly a percentage point each year from 2012 to 2017. Reflecting the patterns above, the proportion of religiously unaffiliated Americans hit a high point of 26% in 2018 but has since slightly declined, to 23% in 2020.
The increase in proportion of religiously unaffiliated Americans has occurred across all age groups but has been most pronounced among young Americans. In 1986, only 10% of those ages 18–29 identified as religiously unaffiliated. In 2016, that number had increased to 38%, and declined slightly in 2020, to 36%.
The other thing is, within those attending churches, not all belong to the same church body. Anyone suggesting that this is a Christian nation should have to offer a disclaimer that there are many different beliefs under that title and they do so because they do not all agree on doctrine. I was raised in Eastern Orthodox (Greek) faith. This shows the difference. Live Science
Why does Christianity have so many denominations?I went back and rewrote The Lost Son Series. It didn't make sense to me anymore. I'm relieved that only a few people read them. Most of the ones that did liked the storyline but some said the Bible passages trapped up the story. Some were even offended by them. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. it meant that the very people I was trying to reach, wouldn't want to read them.
Then, in 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Christians split from the Western Roman Catholics in what's known as the Great Schism. The two groups disagreed on the taking of the sacraments — religious symbols believed to transmit divine grace to the believer. Furthermore, the Eastern Orthodox Christians disagreed with the Roman beliefs that priests should remain celibate and that the Roman pope had authority over the head of the Eastern church, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
There was even a temporary schism, known as the Western Schism, within the Catholic Church itself in 1378, when two men, and eventually a third, claimed to be the true papal heir. The division lasted almost 40 years, and by the time it was resolved in 1417, the rivaling popes had significantly damaged the reputation (opens in new tab) of the papal office.
Despite this handful of schisms, the Catholic Church successfully suppressed other potential Christian offshoots "partly by sustained persecution [including] actual military expeditions against some labelled heretics, but then also a new system of enquiries into people's beliefs, called inquisitions. With the backing of secular rulers, heretics might be burned at the stake or forced into denying their beliefs," MacCulloch told Live Science via email.
He went to church while growing up in Salem MA until he was heading left for LA to become a reporter. After surviving many events covering major events, getting wounded, and surviving an attempted murder, he thought God was a vindictive SOB. How many times have you thought the same thing when you tried to do the right thing and saw your life go to hell? I know there were times when I had those same thoughts but they didn't last long.