Thursday, May 14, 2015

A response to the Pew Center survey on religious belief, from 84 years ago

I have been trying to figure out what to say about the recent Pew Center study that purports to have found a decline in Christian belief in the United States. And then, reading in my commonplace today, I came across a quote that says it all:
The world is trying to experiment with attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail, but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming th time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the world from suicide.
--T. S. Eliot, Thoughts After Lambeth, 1931.

2 comments:

KyCobb said...

You might have to be very, very patient. Japan has been experimenting with a civilized but non-Christian mentality for millenia, and still isn't showing any signs of collapse.

Anonymous said...

Eliot also wrote: The rats are underneath the piles. / The jew is underneath the lot. / Money in furs.