@MoonTiger And that rarely. Very few go to church now. I live in a village of 350 people, and I would think that about ten, mainly the very old, attend church.

Unfortunately, there are still strongholds. I lived in Fulda, Germany for 6 years. Fulda is extreme Catholic. The church bells rang every thirty minutes and there were at least six of them competing for ear time. It seems (but not true) that I enjoy living in religious regions.

@AstralSmoke Yes it gets worse as you go south and east. Holland, Britain and most of Scandinavia are nearly free now. I do however find that I quite like living in religious areas, despite everything. I often go to Turkey and North Cyprus, admittedly only for holidays, and I have to say that I find the sound of the call to prayer almost heart breakingly lovely, especially early in the morning just as you are getting up.

@Fernapple Church bells are ok for perhaps the first three days! I haven't been to either one of those countries ... bucket list. I bet both are fascinating.

@AstralSmoke Wonderful. If you get away from the tourist areas especially. Despite their many problems, the people are among the warmest and friendliest you will encounter, and it is such an old land in the poetic sense, that there is hardly a valley without ancient treasures. Some of the mountain valleys are so quiet and trafic free you can hear a pin drop, and the flora and fauna between the snow capped mountain peaks and down to the warm Med. sea is second to none.

@Fernapple You've talked me into it. I'll start setting my pennies aside.

@irascible I think if they taught it the same way they teach English Literature classes, it would encourage a lot of critical thinking through the analyzing of the texts and create a lot more atheists in the process. Or even in such a method as a debate club. Read the passage, discuss it's meaning, debate its worth or practical applications. No cherry picking allowed.

@irascible Good.

@Kafirah I also wouldn't object to the "literacy" part, which I believe can be done right. Love it or hate it, the Bible has been so influential over the centuries that there are a lot of things in literature, movies, music and art that people can't pick up on or appreciate fully without having a certain amount of basic knowledge. With Martin Luther King Day only a week ago, he is a good example, not only having been a minister himself but having been steeped in the culture of the black church. What does "I've been to the mountaintop" mean if you don't know anything about the story of Moses?

@irascible The reason I no longer study or preach the Bible is because I took the time to read all of it. That's why I am seriously in favor of it being taught in schools from a neutral perspective. Those scriptures are deeply ingrained into our culture and history, to the point that nearly every American knows them as part of their rearing, but very few have put the effort into reading them for themselves and forming their own opinions of them. It's time we had educational programs that tell the good, bad, and ugly sides of the Bible, and that encourage critical thinking on the matter.