Faith no more as World Youth Day fans flames of disbelief
Adele Horin; 7/6/08
I don’t know how World Youth Day is going down in your household but in mine it’s fanning the flames of militant atheism. As the family member with the oldest pedigree as a non-believer, I find myself in the odd position of fervently preaching religious tolerance to cool the antagonism World Youth Day is engendering around my dinner table. The event has succeeded in thrusting religion onto the front pages and into the nightly news bulletins in a way unusual in Australia. From the clocks ticking off the days, to the bus-shelter advertising, to the debate over the $129 million taxpayer contribution, reminders of World Youth Day are omnipresent. But far from piquing sympathetic interest in religion, the constant exposure to the imminent mass gathering of young Catholics from around the world is proving counter-productive with the youth in my family - and my experience is not unique.
Tags: Australia, Christianity, WYD