The Atheist Community of Austin

An encouraging story from NPR includes the following:

"Boomers are about 20% 'nones' and Gen Z is about 45% 'nones,' so you're just seeing this kind of slow wave sweep across America," says Burge, who is himself a pastor with the American Baptist Church. He believes about a third of the country's 350,000 Christian congregations are "on the brink of extinction."

"Every year the pews are getting emptier and the collection plates getting lighter," he says. "We're going to see thousands of churches closing in America over the next 20 or 30 years in every part of the country, in every region and every state, urban, suburban, rural."

I am reminded of a quote from Madalyn Murray O'Hair:

“An atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said. An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated.” 

Might be a good idea to convert those empty churches into regional medical clinics or section 8 housing, eh?

And here's the entire NPR story:

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/17/1175452002/church-closings-religious-affiliation