features@ihuxf.UUCP (M.A. Zeszutko) (12/01/84)
From the "What do you know about that" dept: [excerpted from _M_e_g_a_t_r_e_n_d_s by John Naisbitt] "The United States is today undergoing a revival in religious belief and church attendance... "The new interest in religion is multiple option: No one religious group claims a significant portion of the growth. Rather, increases are occurring across the board in bottom-up, made-in-America churches, representing a checkered variety of beliefs and preferences. "A very important point is that the strictest and most demanding denominations, especially the Southern Baptists, are growing fastest, while the liberal churches continue to lose members. "This should not be surprising. During turbulent times many people need structure--not ambiguity--in their lives. They need something to hang on to, not something to debate. [!] The demand for structure will increase, supplied not by the old, established denominations...but by...the great array of the new, native-grown fundamentalist faiths...Since the 1960s there has also been the widespread interest in Eastern religions... "The revival of religion in America will continue, I think, for as long as we remain in a transitional era because of the need for structure during times of great change." Comments invited. aMAZon @ AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL; ihnp4!ihuxf!features "Don't let the name fool you. What else can you come up with out of initials MAZ?" -- aMAZon @ AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL; ihnp4!ihuxf!features "Don't let the name fool you. What else can you come up with out of initials MAZ?"