Interesting how nations religions evolve

[shk75]

I was just thinking the other day how it is interesting that those nations that used religion to colonize and convert other countries are now far less religious than those that they invaded. Countries like Spain, France, Portugal, England, and Italy are now much more secular than before and regions like the Americas and Africa have the highest rates of Catholics and Christians. Why is this do you think? Were the Europeans just not that religious in the first place and used it as an excuse to colonize?

[twa]

While they certainly used it to colonize,I see it more as a return of their root religions(which was not Christianity)

[Riggo-toni]

I think it's similar to how Iran has a theocratic gov't, and its citizens have the lowest mosque attendance rates of any of the Muslim middle-eastern countries. People will inevitably weary and grow skeptical of their gov'ts, so when a state religion is so closely identified with its gov't. it loses credibility simultaneously...or at least that's my theory.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

I think it's similar to how Iran has a theocratic gov't, and its citizens have the lowest mosque attendance rates of any of the Muslim middle-eastern countries. People will inevitably weary and grow skeptical of their gov'ts, so when a state religion is so closely identified with its gov't. it loses credibility simultaneously...or at least that's my theory.

Well Shia Islam (which is what the majority practice in Iran) has a bunch of questionable beliefs (Imams are infallible, the return of the 12th Imam Muhammad Al-Mahdi who will return in the end times with Jesus, etc) that I think people begin to question. The more scholarly the people become, the less fanatical I believe they will be - look at the tribal regions of Pakistan for example, most of the people in the Kashmir region are practially illiterate which leads them to be susceptible to fanatical Imams preaching false doctrines and hadiths because they cant read Arabic to know if what the Imams are saying is true.

Also - **** Wahhabism. I will always blame Wahhabism and the Saudis for the problems in the Middle East.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Yeah that's what it is. Education.

Not saying only uneducated people are religious, just that the more educated you become, the more you begin to question and the less faith is in the drivers seat.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

Yeah that's what it is. Education.

Not saying only uneducated people are religious, just that the more educated you become, the more you begin to question and the less faith is in the drivers seat.

I agree - I think that education allows you to think for yourself. The Christian religion dealt with something like this back when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the church door....I'm hoping and praying for the day a Muslim does something like that to help progress their religion.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Thinking about it some more, economics plays a part as well. When you're poor (and I mean poor poor, not American poor) as a lot of people in the Americas and Africa are, God is a place to turn for peace of mind and hope. That promised land at the end of a hard life is what keeps people going.