John Lennon 1966: Christianity will go. It will shrink and vanish. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first – rock n roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.
Lennon’s remarks went mostly unnoticed when published in the UK in March 1966. But things changed when the American magazine DATEBOOK published quotes in the August 1966 issue.
In about 1962, the Beatles started releasing singles. Quite a few went to Number 1 in the 60s and often stayed at 1 for many weeks. At one time the Beatles had the top 5 spots in the top 40.
Due to lousy contracts, the Beatles never made much money from the successful early record sales. However, they had a few years of wildly successful touring concerts at big venues, possibly highlighted by the 1965 NY Shea Stadium event with 55,000 spectators. The August 1966 U.S. tour was plagued with problems. They performed 19 shows. The “more popular than Jesus” controversy created uncertainty and danger. On August 29, 1966 the final Beatles concert in history was in San Francisco with thousands of empty seats. All 4 band members were sick and tired of the concert noise levels and crazed screaming fans. The concerts had become crazy adoration events, and not musical celebrations by skilled musicians.
One of the musical highlights of the late 60s was the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sgt Pepper was ranked number one by Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 500 Greatest Albums.
In 1980, John Lennon was gunned down by psychotic Mark David Chapman, who was upset about the “more popular than Jesus” comments for over a decade. Shortly before the murder, Chapman told his wife about his obsession with killing Lennon and showed her the gun. Unfortunately, she did not call the police or any mental health services. Chapman (possibly suffering from paranoid schizophrenia or manic depression) had a hit list of possible victims including David Bowie, Johnny Carson, Marlon Brando, Walter Cronkite, Elizabeth Taylor, George C. Scott and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Will Christianity “shrink and vanish”? And what predictions could be made about Mormonism in the Salt Lake City area? Will there come a day in the near future when active Mormons in SLC and suburbs number less than 25% of the population? One could easily predict defections, apostacy, religious apathy, terrible LDS leadership at the highest levels, and outsiders moving to the Salt Lake area. In the distant future, will active Mormons in the Area drop below 10% of the population?
Could a “death spiral” be in the future of the LDS church? Will buildings and land have to be sold off all around the Salt Lake Valley due to idle use and a need for operating funds?
What will Salt Lake City look like in the year 2200?
Christianity could go the way of the Greek and Roman gods, or it could be as long lasting as Hinduism. IMO the secret to Hinduism's survival has been its adaptability. Adapt or die.
Mormonism has been not only a religion but also a culture. When more inroads are made on the culture, it may start to decline. I think already certain TBMs are starting to see that you can leave the church and not fall apart. I think that Mormonism may still tend to do well in less populated areas of the Moridor.
Salt Lake in 2200? Massive urban sprawl going up on the mountainside ,rising crime , out of control pollution . Basically what SLC is now except Orrin Hatch probably won't be running for His 35th term in the US Senate.
They will morph into the "tribe" vacancy that exists in the hearts of most people.
I believe the future is represented by a friend's experience when he went to a family reunion. Per tradition, around the old campfire, his pioneer-rooted golden Mormon family gave their testimonies. My friend was the only one in the large group of adults and teenagers who described himself as a true believer.
In other words, people will still call themselves "Mormon" but it will mean better-organized, tithe-compelling quasi Christians. No one will feel obligated to believe anything. Acceptance in the tribe will be rewarded by temple privileges based on tithing alone. You know this is all they really care about (except public denouncements of the religion, of course).
Christianity is already recreating itself as a response to Biblical criticism. The churches will define themselves based on issues and act politically based on these. You can see this happening in the mainstream religions as they split and resplit over issues like gay priests, women in the ministry, etc.
People no longer seek a church who offers "truth." They believe what they believe and seek a church which agrees with them. This is the wave of the future. Those who reject issue-based church activism call themselves "spiritual but not religious," which means, "I couldn't find anyone like me" or "I don't feel a need to band together with likeminded folks for good-doing or worship.
The real danger is Islam, which entered a dark age when they banned the working of numbers as "of the devil." These incredible Arab minds, the ones who found the stars and named them, the ones who created our Arabic number system, the ones who invented chess and algebra at a time when Europe was hacking apart the bodies of heretics --these brilliant people's best hope is to die as a martyr and have unlimited virgins as their reward.
How many Jews got Nobel prizes in science? 25% of them How many Arabs? One.
"How many Jews got Nobel prizes in science? 25% of them."
You mean that over a million Jews have received Nobel prizes in the sciences? That, I'm afraid, is an impossibility--the Nobel awards just haven't been around that long. What I suspect you meant to say was that 25% of the Nobel science awards went to practicing (or nominal) members of the Jewish faith, a claim that would make a great deal more sense.
Quoting from Zager and Evans' #1 song from the summer of 1969:
"In the year 9595 I'm kind of wonderin' if man is gonna be alive. He's taken everything this old Earth can give And he ain't put back nothin'." --Zager and Evans, "In the Year 2525."
The way we're going now we may have used up all of our available resources prior to the year 2200. And while it's true that some resources will replenish themselves, we are using up many faster than they can be replenished.
In other words, I have my doubts that either Christianity or Mormonism will be around in 2200, because nobody will be around to practice them.