On Religion...

I believe that the study of what effects the popularity of types of religion in general is a fascinating topic that countless. Europe has seen a sharp decline in church attendance that has been going on for decades; many say that it is because Europe has become a very "liberal" (As in open) society, the result of which causes one to break down and question every truth until no universal truths remain. It's same process by which Descartes questioned every truth until he arrived upon what he considered the only indisputable one, "I think therefore I am".
Some blame most certainly can go to the Church itself, whose hypocrisies are much more evident now with the lense of history, especially in Europe where many countries had an official religion until recently.

Meanwhile, in China, a resurgence of religion has suprised many leaders who imposed atheism for so long. A new rise in free speech, becoming increasingly difficult for China to combat, is threatening the old ways.

It's this new skepticism that has caused the embrace of the new journalism of subjectivity, blogging. Each subculture regards the media as incompatible with their views. Certainly the "One size fits all" media of old is no longer suitable. The Descartean essence of blogging is pitting people against eachother at increasingly fundamental levels; religious vs. nonreligious, and of course, the essential and vitrolic hate that conservates have for liberals, and vice versa.

The progression of history, of course, started with at first only knowledge of oneself, and larger social structures developed, the small town being the one which has dominated through most of history. Later, nationalism and colonialism, ending with WWI, led people to identfy strongly with their host nation.
The internet has led to a new and unique progression; Identifying oneself with The World. Fundamentally, we are all human. A deep-seated feeling that many people share is the feeling that as humans, we all share the same pain, that of our seperation from god.
The growth in and existentialic atheism is a recognition of that shared feeling of pain and abandonment.
The decline of religion in liberal countries is a recognition that people of all countries can acess god, and that being born without access to a particular religion due to geographic location does not doom one to hell.

Therefore, we have a rise in agnosticism, or a belief in the soul and a spiritual nature of humans, but not neccesarily of any particular religion, or, of a relatively inclusive religion.

The very fundamentalist religions, particularly Islam, see the internet and openess, rightly, as a very deep threat to their culture and way of life. Iran's leader recently shut off broadband internet access for the entire country. It's clear that Iran has been becoming more moderate, and although America's Imperialistic intentions have temporarily radicalized the Middle East, (And vice versa) These trends are doomed to eventual reversal, knowledge spreads and urges itself to be free.
Worldwide, the rich grow richer and the poor poorer, and public distrust grows. Despite their divergant views of the changes they'd like to make to basic ways in which we govern ourself, the desire for change remains.