As we traveled to Flam, where we had an amazing ‘fiord cruise’, it was Sunday morning and we passes through several small towns.
And the churches were all empty. One of our tour group members asked which day they day to church around here, and our tour director, Signe, said, ‘they don’t’.
She explained there are some older people, and a very FEW younger ones who still hold onto the old superstitions, but with education and science there aren’t enough ‘religious’ people to justify opening and maintaining the churches.
Basically, Christianity was forced on the Norse and unless they were ‘confirmed’ in the religion they could not become a functioning member of society, as per being granted rights, licenses, travel, marriage, etc.
SOO they had to memorize vast portions of the Bible and a book of over 600 RULES that were put down by the church, who ruled their lives and threatened them with eternal fire if they strayed.
Now that they have a choice, religion is a thing of the past throughout most of Scandinavia.
We’ve noticed the same thing throughout Europe.
On Sunday mornings the great cathedrals were less than half full and the practitioners were nearly all OLD.
I can’t think of one country where religion is on the rise, as people become more and more educated, not depending on the church to explain what they can’t understand, like rainbows and th beginnings of the earth and humanity.
Of course, we still have tthe Bible Belt, where science still hasn’t penetrated and they look to preachers and the Republican Party for their myths.
Even within our tour group there are a couple who think Europe is damned and our tour director is disseminating fake news.
‘They must got to church on another day’, said one of the FEW rightwingnuts on our tour, as he stared at another empty church parking lot we passed.
She explained there are some older people, and a very FEW younger ones who still hold onto the old superstitions, but with education and science there aren’t enough ‘religious’ people to justify opening and maintaining the churches.
Basically, Christianity was forced on the Norse and unless they were ‘confirmed’ in the religion they could not become a functioning member of society, as per being granted rights, licenses, travel, marriage, etc.
SOO they had to memorize vast portions of the Bible and a book of over 600 RULES that were put down by the church, who ruled their lives and threatened them with eternal fire if they strayed.
Now that they have a choice, religion is a thing of the past throughout most of Scandinavia.
We’ve noticed the same thing throughout Europe.
On Sunday mornings the great cathedrals were less than half full and the practitioners were nearly all OLD.
I can’t think of one country where religion is on the rise, as people become more and more educated, not depending on the church to explain what they can’t understand, like rainbows and th beginnings of the earth and humanity.
Of course, we still have tthe Bible Belt, where science still hasn’t penetrated and they look to preachers and the Republican Party for their myths.
Even within our tour group there are a couple who think Europe is damned and our tour director is disseminating fake news.
‘They must got to church on another day’, said one of the FEW rightwingnuts on our tour, as he stared at another empty church parking lot we passed.
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