Prometheus 6

Humans have had the religious impulse since the species arose, however you explain that rise. Don't think atheists are exceptions...many atheists proselytize for their position as strongly as any evangelical. Long term, banning it from public spaces is beyond absurd...it's impossible.

Fortunately no one has ever tried to do it. What has happened is an attempt to shape society to eliminate the ability NOT to be religious moment to moment. That, long term, is as absurd as trying to ban religion.

Short term, however, you can push the pendulum way over to one side.

Just watch the return swing.

Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Despite their packed megachurches, their political clout and their increasing visibility on the national stage, evangelical Christian leaders are warning one another that their teenagers are abandoning the faith in droves.

At an unusual series of leadership meetings in 44 cities this fall, more than 6,000 pastors are hearing dire forecasts from some of the biggest names in the conservative evangelical movement.

Their alarm has been stoked by a highly suspect claim that if current trends continue, only 4 percent of teenagers will be “Bible-believing Christians” as adults. That would be a sharp decline compared with 35 percent of the current generation of baby boomers, and before that, 65 percent of the World War II generation.

While some critics say the statistics are greatly exaggerated (one evangelical magazine for youth ministers dubbed it “the 4 percent panic attack”), there is widespread consensus among evangelical leaders that they risk losing their teenagers.

“I’m looking at the data,” said Ron Luce, who organized the meetings and founded Teen Mania, a 20-year-old youth ministry, “and we’ve become post-Christian America, like post-Christian Europe. We’ve been working as hard as we know how to work — everyone in youth ministry is working hard — but we’re losing.”