What do you think about Catholics in relation to population growth?
356303
You're question is ludicrous. Of course the US should allow people into the country, even if they are known for having large families. Can the US support a growing population? Have you been to the midwest? We have room to expand tremendously. \n\nI'm sensing a whole bunch of steaming anti-catholic dogma here.
608063
Given the following:\n\nA) Non-Catholics were not only seen as heretics, but because church and state were so intertwined, they were also traitors, and\n\nB) People tend to be as harsh and hostile as their environment, and\n\nC) the lack of any real technology made theirs a harsh environment with high mortality rates, and\n\nD) being basically ignorant of any realistic concept of how the universe works, and\n\nE) fearing that divine displeasure would result in the destruction of the realm,\n\nit therefore followed that anyone who rocked the boat was a definite threat to the "natural" order of life.\n\nSo, one removes the threat. It's a matter of survival.\n\nLook at it from THEIR viewpoint. Given what I said, they were actually being rather kind. They gave those accused a chance to recant and save their souls at least. By their lights that was Christian.\n\nDo not judge the past by the mores of the present.\n\nWere it to happen today we would be incensed. I know this because the Muslim fundamentalists are busy doing the same thing, with one exception. They kill you without a trial. And look how we responded to the news that a perfectly nice young man was to be killed for becoming a Christian. We're NOT medievals anymore. Muslim fundamentalists may be, but we're not. We've grown up beyond being scared of the dark.\n\nBTW, it wasn't, strictly speaking, merely Catholic involvement. It was Catholic inspired and Crown ordered. The Inquisition was carried out by members of the clergy, but always under orders from the king.
766186
The birth rate among religionists reflects selfishness. How selfish is it for a couple to have more than two children in a world where the population is exploding. 40,000 children  starve to death everyday, our seas are dying from our waste, arable land is disappearing at 2% per year,finite resources (like oil) will soon run out and people have the stupidity to say the world has room for more people. Any reason NOT to have a kid is a valid reason and abortion is the final fail safe for when birth control doesn't work.
1008378
I don't have children yet, but I plan to.  And when I do, I plan on teaching them the fundamentals (at the very least) of all major faith's (and some not so major).  Because I don't think there's merely "one" true path to the Divine, I will encourage them to seek out and choose their own way.\n\nI feel it's absolutely essential to encouraging tolerance and understanding among their peers.  I think it's good for them to understand what makes people think differently, and what our similarities are.  As they grow into adults and enter the work force, they will be that much more prepared to handle the dynamics of a multi-cultural environment.
941563
Depends on who you ask or where you look. Here are 2 different articles with different data.\n\n\n\nThere are more new Christians added to the world population than any other religion on earth every day. This data makes the entire discussion about "rates of growth" irrelevant. The fact is today, that Christianity is the fastest growing religion on this most critical basis. This may change, but today, in 2004 AD, Christians take the prize for being the fastest growing religion. \nOn none of the 6 continents are Muslims the fastest growing religion. \nThat Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world is pure myth at best and at worst a deliberate deception of solid statistical facts.\n\n\n[edit] Buddhism\nAverage annual growth of 16% / 31,600 for the period 1996 to 2001 (200,000→358,000 - Australian data) [1] \n\n[edit] Falun Gong\nno reliable data available - established in 1992, estimates for 1999 range from 2 million [2] to 100 million [3] \n\n[edit] Christianity\nThe U.S. Center for World Mission claimed a growth rate of 2.3% for the period 1970 to 1996, (slightly higher than the world population growth rate at the time). This increased the percentage Christians from 33.7% to 33.9%. \nChristianity is estimated to receive 2,500,000 converts a year.[1] \n\n[edit] Islam\nAverage annual growth of 5% / 10,228,750 claimed for the period of 1935 to 1983 (209,020,000→700,000,000) [4] but note that this value is unreliable as these rates are calculated from two separate sources, which may have used different counting rules. \nUnited Nations' survey showed that between 1989 and 1998, Europe's Muslim population grew by more than 100 percent. Today, about 13 million Muslims live in Western Europe: 3.9 million in Germany, 3.3 million in Britain, 7.5 million in France, and the rest in other countries. [5]. Global warming may accelerate Muslim migration to Europe. [6] \nOntario Consultants on Religious Tolerance have a claim of 2.9% per year \nIt is estimated to receive 865,000 converts a year.[2] \nIn 2006 countries with a Muslim majority have an average population growth rate of 1.8% per year (when weighted by percentage Muslim and population size)[7]. This compares with a world population growth rate of 1.12% per year. [8] \n\n[edit] Non-Religious\nAverage annual growth of 10% / 1,372,727 for the period 1990 to 2001 (14,300,000→29,400,000 - U.S. data) [9],[10] \n\n[edit] Wicca\nAverage annual growth of 143% / 11,454 for the period 1990 to 2001 (8,000→134,000 - U.S. data / similar for Canada & Australia) [9],[10]
770606
I've not studied the migratory patterns of the Christian, however, it seems it would depend on the species of the Christian in question.  One of the more interesting species is the conservatis fundamentalist nuticis.  It is difficult to understand how this particular branch of the Christian population has survived since it depends solely on faulty logic, illusory assumptions, and tends to feel threatened by the slightest variation in their social environment.  It is unfortunate that this species breeds, although, when they do, they seem to feel guilty about it.  This would make quite an interesting research project!
734276
I grew up Catholic but I chose to not have any religion at some point.  Honestly it bored the heck out of me.  Now I do find the study of relgions fascinating, just not the belief in one.
807994
See my article, Computers, Artificial Intelligence, Brains, and Souls.\n\nhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/catholiccommunity/message/39009\n\n\n\n\n---
134855
The exact number?  Sorry, I have no idea.  What I do know, though, is that the numbers of those actively involved in their churches (not just on the membership rosters) has been steadily decreasing over the past half century.
385690
Currently there are about 8 million parishoners in about 150 countries all over the world.\nThis figure is growing fast at the present time.\nAs to why this is the case, I would imagine it has something to do with personal choice. You would have to ask them individually.\n\nYou might however, consider sticking to your original ideas about religion.\nLet them be, and I'm sure they will continue to let you be.
562877
The "church" as an institution I think has really used spirituality to hype the political agenda of it's rulers (witness the Inquisition). But the confirmation of rules that really help a society work (don't steal, murder, cop another person's spouse or property) I think would be something that a "God" would be all in favor of.  I think that there are God ordained humans whose life's work is to remind those of a lesser spiritual bent that "to treat others as you would be treated" is the ideal.  These people SHOULD be "the church" but like you say there are those who for milllineums have used the claim that they have a "direct line to God" to control whole populations.  I figure if there IS a God, and He created me, why wouldn't He care what happens to me and if I am living a worthwhile life or not. I'm not sure about a heaven or hell type of judgement, but once again, if there IS a God/Creator then I figure he cares if I am a hurter or a helper and when I go back to Him He will care about an accounting that I have for my actions while I passed through his Creation.
1011503
Get your facts straight. The Catholic Church is not against all birth control; it's only against artificial means of contraception.\n\nThe Church is in favor of, and highly recommends, Natural Family Planning.\n\nAnd I don't worry about going to hell over this. I haven't practiced artificial birth control since I found out how serious a sin it is.
762883
I think it's just the Catholics that oppose that, and I know very few Catholics who actually don't use birth control or condoms.  And they should.  Every sperm will not become a child, every egg won't either.  Women have thousands of eggs, but can have limited number of children.  Besides, 80% of egg/sperm combinations in the womb end naturally in a few days anyway by not implanting fully.  If god wants every child and no abortions, why did he make it so at least 80% of all pregnancys don't go through?
179650
No, but I do think that people should RESTRICT the number of children they have. If most couples restricted themselves to only two children, the our population would go DOWN, because some of these children would die in birth or from disease before they reached reproductive age.\n\n"Do we need to keep adding people to the planet?" The word "need" is, in this instance, subjective. Economically, it would be a very bad idea to stop adding people to the planet. For our /species/, it would be a very bad idea to stop adding people to the planet.\n\nAs for the website you referenced, what good is it for the Earth's biosphere to return to "normal" (a very subjective condition anyway) if humans aren't around to enjoy it?\n\nWe should probably restrict ourselves in the number of children we have. It is crazy to have 10 children in an age where overpopulation is so prevalent. Of course, this might also depend on where you life. It would be worse to have so many children if you lived in India than if you lived in the U.S.
1059286
Most Roman Catholics tend to be pretty conservative - I definitely am!!  You might want to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church for more information.
20187
Every January, the International Bulletin of Missionary Research publishes a “Statistical Table on Global Mission” — a detailed look at the world religious situation prepared by the mathematically indefatigable David Barrett. Absolute precision in these matters is impossible, but over the years, Barrett (an Anglican who teaches “missiometrics” at Regent University) has proven himself a judicious, reliable guide. Browsing his numbers reveals more than a few interesting things.\n\nChristian mission, for example, was essentially flat in the twentieth century. There were only 558 million Christians in the world in 1900 and there will be approximately 2 billion Christians by the middle of this year, a huge increase. But as a percentage of world population, Christianity has been treading water for a century: Christians were 34.5 percent of world population in 1900, and will be 33.1 percent in 2002.\n\nHalf of the world’s 2 billion Christians are Catholics. The next largest “megablock” of Christians is found in the denominationally-unaffiliated “Independent Churches,” which have some 400 million members — almost twice as many as the 217 million Orthodox believers in the world. Barrett counts 350 million denominationally-affiliated Protestants and another 80 million in the Anglican “megablock.” The relative positions of these “megablocks” within world Christianity will likely remain constant for the next quarter-century.\n\nEven as Christian population remained steady as a percentage of world population, other dimensions of Christian life changed dramatically in the twentieth century. Christians worshiped in 400,000 congregations in 1900; they can be found in 3.5 million parishes worldwide today. There were 300,000 books on Christianity published in 1900; 5.1 million such books will be published this year. The 3,500 Christian periodicals published in 1900 are a small fraction of the 35,000 Christian periodicals circulating today. Ten times as many Bibles will be distributed worldwide in 2002 as in 1900: 59 million versus 5.5 million. Christian organizations used some 1,000 computers in 1970; they use 332 million computers today. Charitable giving to Christian causes rose from $8 billion to $300 billion over the last century. Perhaps most strikingly, the number of Christian denominations skyrocketed, from some 1,900 a century ago to 35,500 today — one measure of the immensity of the ecumenical task in the twenty-first century.\n\nChristianity became much more an urban phenomenon in the twentieth century. In 1900, only 28 percent of the world’s Christians lived in cities. This year, 58 percent of the global Christian population will be urban dwellers.\n\nThe communications revolution also made a dramatic impact on Christian life: today, 2.5 billion people watch and listen to Christian broadcasts every month, a number Barrett expects will increase to 3.8 billion by 2025. Only 750 million were tuning-in thirty years ago, and of course no one was in 1900.\n\nThe total of what Barrett calls “distinct religions” has shot up from 1,000 in 1900 to 10,500 today, and will likely increase to 15,000 in a quarter-century. While this extravagant growth in new religions refutes the notion that the modern world is inevitably becoming secular, new religious movements are also a serious challenge to interreligious dialogue. The existing difficulties of Christian-Buddhist, Christian-Hindu, and Christian-Muslim dialogue will be magnified in dialogues with such rapidly growing “new religions” as the Vietnam-based Cao Dai (which blends Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism with themes from the Bible and the Qu’ran, while styling its leader the “Pope” and its headquarters the “Holy See”), and the Ahmadi Muslims, who claim that Jesus escaped the cross and died in India at age 120.\n\nIslam is the fastest growing major religion in the world today. From a population base of 200 million in 1900, Islam grew more th
1116180
Of course it is right, they might learn some good values. Isn't it stange that non catholics would send their kids to catholic school?