Why the UK is losing its religion to Atheism

Atheism in the UK has reached record levels, so why are people losing faith?.

“Only church leaders possess states without defending them and subjects without governing them.” So said Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli in his historical treatise The Prince. Religion, he suggests, is a political necessity, the tool of a ruling class unable to rationally legitimise the massive social inequality of feudal society.

You wouldn’t believe it… but having no religious affiliation is now world’s third biggest ‘faith’ after Christianity and IslamChristianity is the largest faith with 2.2 billion adherents or 31.5 per cent of the world’s population
There are about 1.6 billion Muslims around the world - or 23 per cent of the global population

Whilst such a system might seem positively medieval to us now, in the age of the 1 and the 99% and lease-only housing in the capital, it seems that the legacy of ye olde, aristocratic Britannia might not be so remote. Religious states still exist also – Saudi ‘women can’t drive’ Arabia, for instance – and ‘secular’ Britain must count itself as one of only two sovereign states in the world to theocratically maintain the presence of unelected bishops within their political system (the House of Lords). The other is Iran.

But the times they are a-changing, and if the world wars of the 20th century began to erode religious faith in the west, then the proliferation of the world wide web has only exacerbated that process. “Religions have depended on the relative isolation and ignorance of their flocks, forever, and this is all breaking down,” asserts Daniel C. Dennett, the co-director of Tufts’ Centre for Cognitive Studies.

Dennett’s theory is certainly lent support by a recent YouGov poll, which found that “the place of religion in the lives of young Britons is smaller than ever.” Asked by YouGov which figures had any influence whatsoever on their lives, only 12% of British 18-24 year olds said religious leaders influenced them, less than half the number influenced by brands (32%) and politicians (38%), and significantly lower than those influenced by celebrities (21%).

So why are we losing our religion? The global economic collapse certainly seems to have triggered a collective loss of faith in figures of authority in every sector of society, and the process of globalization also sped up the process of ‘atheisisation’. Perhaps we have also reached saturation point with regard to the scale and number of sectarian civil wars, religiously sanctioned, if not encouraged, violence and politico-religious corruption. Atheism UK President Mark Embleton shares this view. Asked why increasing numbers of young people are claiming atheism, he answers:

“Because they’ve thought about it. There’s much more information available through the internet now than there was for older generations, so young people can easily access opinions for and against religion. Also, the more recent publicity and reporting of such things as child abuse by clergy, Islamic terrorism, religious resistance to equality for women or homosexuals, etc., has turned many people away from religion, not just young people.”

Embleton says he became an “active” atheist when he received jural disapproval for taking the affirmation in the witness box, rather than swearing on the Bible (yes, that is still a British practice).

How to Rid Your Life of Negativity and Retain the Positives

Believe in yourself!
Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. Norman Vincent Peale

As adults you tend to linger on the negative things in life. Torment from our peers in middle school and high school can stick with you for life. Insults that are thrown at you as an adult seem larger than they really are. With all this negativity, it is surprising that more people aren’t walking around sulking. If you are one of those people that has the burden of negativity upon them, try these four solutions to help you let it go and see the positives in life.

1. Take everything that is good in your life and savor it. Research has shown that while negative thoughts soak into your brain instantaneously, it can take up to 20 seconds to absorb something good that has happened. When the good stuff comes around, stop what you are doing and soak it all in.

2. Express your gratitude for all of the good things that you have in life. Every day write down in a journal all of the good things that happened through the day and then go back and read it the next day. Writing the positives down can help you to keep them in your mind longer and will help you to carry a positive attitude over to the next day.

3. Take a break from the news. Most of the headlines on TV and in the newspapers are negative. People die every day at the hands of others. There are natural disasters, wars, and famine. Take a 24-48 hour break from all of it if possible so that you can step back from the negative imagery in the world and focus on the good.

4. Don’t make a snap judgment about a situation. Take a step back and look at everything as a whole, not just the negative aspects of the event. Look at the positives and the negatives. Don’t assume the worst, try to find the best.

10 Success Principles We Often Forget

Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions. -Tony Robbins

Sometimes we find ourselves running in place, struggling to get ahead simply because we forget to address some of the basic success principles that govern our potential to make progress.  So here’s a quick reminder:

1. You are the only person responsible for your success.  The best part of your life will start on the day you decide your life is your own – no one to lean on, rely on, or blame.  You are in full control of your future.  Believe with all your heart that you will do what you were made to do.  It may be tough at times, but refuse to follow some preordained path.  Make your own rules and have your own game plan.  There is no happiness and success to be found by playing it safe and settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
   
   


2. You don’t have to invent the wheel.  Actually, to be successful you don’t have to invent anything at all.  Coming up with a new invention or idea is one way to achieve massive success, but it isn’t necessary. And it can be the most challenging roads to success there is. You see many people have found lots of success just by taking something that already existed and simply putting their own twist on it (their unique selling proposition).  Think about Apple for instance.  As Steve Jobs once said, “Good artists copy, great artist steal. Creativity is connecting things.” Connecting things means seeking inspiration from great ideas that already exist and adding your own useful twist.


3. There is no progress without action.  What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.  Some of the greatest ideas never made it.  Why?  Because the genius behind the idea failed to take action.  Just remember, no action always results in a 100% failure rate.  So get into action now, and begin to move in the right direction.  Once you get started every step afterwards gets easier and easier.  Until eventually, what had once been invisible, starts to become visible, and what once felt unattainable, starts to become a reality.


4. Persistence always wins.  As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”  It may take more than one swing to compose an efficient hit, so make sure not to give up on strike #1.  And remember, a river cuts through rocks not because of its power at a given moment, but because of its persistence over time.


5. Focus is everything.  When you are too busy looking behind and around you, people are passing you.  If you never focus clearly on something, you will never be 100% efficient at anything.  Multi-tasking might seem to make you efficient at getting multiple tasks done at once, but it usually reduces your efficiency in dealing with each individual task.


6. Failure is necessary.  Don’t wake up at seventy-five years of age sighing over what you should have tried, but didn’t because you were afraid to fail.  Just do it, and be willing to fail and learn along the way.  Very few people get it right the first time.  In fact, most people fail to get it right the first 5 times.  If what you did today didn’t turn out as you hoped, tomorrow is a new opportunity to do it differently.  Interpret each failure as a lesson on the road to success.


7. Positivity fuels productivity.  Thoughts are like the steering wheel that moves our life in the right direction.  Success comes from positive energy.  You can choose to get caught up in the negativity surrounding you, or you can decide to do something positive about your situation.  You always have a choice.  Remember, happiness is an element of success, and the happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, they use positive energy to make the best of what they have.


8. You must believe you can.  You must find the place inside yourself where anything is possible.  It starts with a dream.  Add confidence, and it becomes a belief.  Add commitment, and it becomes a goal in sight.  Add action, and it becomes a part of your life.  Add determination and time, and your dream becomes a reality.


9. Helping others is a big part of being successful.  Successful people constantly come up with new ideas, new projects, and new and innovative ways of helping others.  This means that your aims and objectives just benefit you, but also help benefit others as well.  Bottom line:  Your long-term success is directly tied to how well you serve your community.


10. Success is a journey of countless baby steps.  It’s a constant process of growth.  If you want to be successful, you must continue to hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else, and strive to improve.  Oftentimes a person or organization will be successful, but then drop off.  A person may become lazy, and an organization may succumb to weaknesses or competition.  Sustained success means continually improving even if others may not see a need for it.  Remember, the great thing in the world is not so much where we stand at any given time, as in what direction we are moving.

by www.marcandangel.com

Isha Sesay speaks with the Cameroonian CEO of Yummy Spoonfuls

From the comfort of her kitchen, to a global scale of business! Meet the CEO of Yummy Spoonfuls – Agatha Achindu. This week on CNN‘s African Voices, Isha Sesay has a chat with this Cameroonian entrepreneur who is passionate about organic baby food. She speaks on her background and how her Nigerian mother always ensured they had fresh food growing up. That background has been the basis of Agatha Achindu’s business; having fed her own child freshly made food, she decided to spread the word to other mothers.

As a child, she wanted to be a chef; today she is feeding thousands of children and making sure they have a healthy alternative.

Watch the feature on this truly inspiring woman.

 

Part I

 

 

Part II

 

Part III