Those are some excellent thoughts. I especially appreciated Gary's input. And I think he's right. If the stigma of 'wordly association' were removed, and people could have associates outside of the borg, how many more people would gradually fall away. I know so many people who disguise their need for association with a 'love for the truth'. You know, those peopl who make 3 or 4 meetings a month but make EVERY single get-together....
I don't think they will ever totally disappear. They have large financial holdings in the form of stock and real estate, and there will always be die-hards. But history has shown over and over again that religions come and go, especially fringe religions. That's why I stated that I thought they would be a 'shell' of their former self.
I see a large snowball effect. Some of the posts talked about people like 'their parents' who would NEVER consider leaving. I know several people who have had those 'die hard' parents who eventually left because of the inconsistencies and lies.
Like I said, I don't think there is any answer to this, I just thought it was an interesting discussion. Thanks.