Mass attendance

[T Fearon]

Typical Joe! 😂😂

[joemamas]

I think a lot of Irish people don't appreciate what they have until they've thrown it away. That's been my experience from living abroad.

I agree with the sentiment but superstition is something that can't be thrown away quickly enough.

Not particularly religious but this is sanctimonious, condescending shite.  Thejuice put forward an honest and well articulated post, you dismissed it out of hand as superstition.  If you tried to debate without the demeaning insults other side might see the merits of your point, rather than similarly dismissing it because the person making the statement is behaving like a smug arsehole.

It's the sort of attitude that got us Brexit and Trump and it needs to be stopped.

Play me the world's smallest violin. You tell me there's an invisible man in the sky taking a personal interest in my life and you expect me to not laugh at you? Get a grip!

I didn't tell you anything apart from the fact that you were being a smug arsehole.  Which isn't up for debate.  Uber liberal Eamon preaches tolerance for all... except theists.  Enjoy Donald.

+1, Thankfully he is in the minority,

[illdecide]

Weddings, funerals...etc. Mass attendance has plummeted over the last 2 decades. There is now plenty of seats in Mass with no-one standing at the back (or so i'm told by regular mass attendees). My mother never goes to Mass but she told me that she doesn't have to go to a Chapel/Church to be a Catholic or talk to God.

TBH i believe the older you get you'll maybe start thinking of death and then maybe take up your faith again...I dunno if that'll happen me (i doubt it) but time will tell. The scandals over the years and change in the new generations have been the cause of the decline. When you think back to 40 or 50 years ago the Priest was the top dog in the town and going back further hundreds of years ago the Clergy were probably more important that the law (they were the law...lol).

In 50 years time the Church's will prob be porta-cabins like the we Free Pre or Elim buildings you find scattered all over the North by our noisy neighbours...

[J70]

If I was attending a funeral or wedding or baptism which happened to involve a mass, I'd go.

Otherwise never. My kids were not baptized. Religion is absent from my family's lives.

[BenDover]

Eldest fella is making his First Communion this year in school, so they've started a programme where he attends a mass with all the other P4/R4 kids in the area there are 9 organized mass before First Communion and one for after.
It's not to bad when I'm there but who's bright idea was it to tweak the words of the parayers ffs 

[manfromdelmonte]

Eldest fella is making his First Communion this year in school, so they've started a programme where he attends a mass with all the other P4/R4 kids in the area there are 9 organized mass before First Communion and one for after.
It's not to bad when I'm there but who's bright idea was it to tweak the words of the parayers ffs

ah, the early indoctrination

[foxcommander]

Buddhism's a bit different from the monotheistic religions. There's not a whole lot of superstition involved, it's more concerned with inner peace and doesn't necessarily talk about a god-like figure. A lot of Buddhist practices are perfectly compatible with atheism, hence its appeal to westerners.

or in your case you worship yourself

[BennyCake]

Illdecide, is it really the scandals that's turning people away from the church? If people's faith was strong, they probably wouldn't let that stop them.

For me, it's just funerals, weddings really. I just don't believe in it anymore. Any mass I sit through I cringe at some of the things being said and prayed for.

As for how the clergy treated people in the past, People seemed to just take everything from them. Did nobody stand up to them or f**k them off?

[Eamonnca1]

or in your case you worship yourself

Nothing wrong with that at all. I'm not surprised someone like you would find the concept so alien. If I had your attitude I'd shoot myself.

[Eamonnca1]

Well said. Spot on riposte.

Would you two like to be alone?

[Eamonnca1]

I didn't tell you anything apart from the fact that you were being a smug arsehole.  Which isn't up for debate.  Uber liberal Eamon preaches tolerance for all... except theists.  Enjoy Donald.

Yes, quite.

My point: "Religion is superstitious nonsense."
Your response: "You're a smug arsehole."

Typical conservative. Lose the argument, lose your mind, and blow up in a rage of personal insults and name-calling rather than try to address the point. I couldn't have asked for more evidence of the intellectual bankruptcy of religion. Please continue.

[whitey]

It's more cultural than religious here where I live in the States. The Episcopalians are the old money in town and the Catholics are the professional and small business people. There are still subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) discriminations against Catholics so we all band together

[J70]

It's more cultural than religious here where I live in the States. The Episcopalians are the old money in town and the Catholics are the professional and small business people. There are still subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) discriminations against Catholics so we all band together

Really?

In what way?

[No wides]

When my father was on his death bed we asked him if he wanted buried or cremated. He replied "surprise me".

Later, we found out that his last wish was for the Armagh team to lower his coffin into grave, so that they would let him down one last time.

[No wides]

Eldest fella is making his First Communion this year in school, so they've started a programme where he attends a mass with all the other P4/R4 kids in the area there are 9 organized mass before First Communion and one for after.
It's not to bad when I'm there but who's bright idea was it to tweak the words of the parayers ffs

It must be years since you were at mass!