Now, with a Democrat in the governor's office, the lawmakers and gay rights activists are more hopeful that school curricula will be revised.

Gov. Jerry Brown has not taken a position on the proposal. But the push has divided religious leaders, educators and lawmakers and prompted accusations from opponents that those behind the effort seek to impose their values on the state and on students and parents who find same-sex relationships objectionable.

If these researchers are right that religion is on its way to extinction in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland, the more interesting question to pose is: Why these countries, and why in the 21st century?

The team's mathematical model attempts to account for the interplay between the number of religious respondents and the social motives behind being one.

The result, reported at the American Physical Society meeting in Dallas, US, indicates that religion will all but die out altogether in those countries.

This is not an isolated story. An estimated 100,000 girls are lured annually into sex trafficking. What's rare is a successful arrest and conviction of a pimp who seduced and raped the pre-teen.

"Many Americans would be shocked to learn that young women and girls are being held against their will to be used for sexual exploitation," said Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council who hosted a live video webcast on sex trafficking this week.