Is America losing its religion?
An UTNE Reader blog recently asked this question, inspired by public surveys analyzed in Culture Magazine. It’s an interesting question. But I’m not sure the statistics are as clear as Culture’s writer might like them to be.
(Read the article, “The ‘New’ No Religionists” on pages 12-14 of Culture’s Fall 09 issue. Download a PDF version of the magazine here.)
EVIDENCE? OR RELATED RANDOM FACTS?
Culture’s analysis focuses on several interesting trends – speculating about the root cause of a “dramatic increase” in the proportion of Americans who declare “no religion” when asked to define their faith.
Although it’s tempting to draw conclusions from data points like these, my gut tells me that’s unwise. Statistics tend to lure us into connect-the-dots games – even when no true causative or correlative relationship exists.
Granted, this article sheds light on an incremental increase in Americans who claim no specific religious affiliation. But it fails to illuminate a more important issue – specifically, whether there’s an actual shift in our nation’s spiritual life.
Therefore, I suggest it would be more useful to focus on some larger questions. Specifically – is our country’s collective soul eroding? And if the answer is yes – how and why?
WALKING THE WALK? OR JUST TALKING THE TALK?
Let’s start with the heart of the data in Culture’s article. Which matters most? What a person SAYS? Or what a person DOES?
It’s one thing to SAY we’re affiliated with a particular religion or spiritual philosophy. But what counts is whether our actions are consistent with that affiliation.
LESSONS FROM ROME
When St. Augustine wrote his treatise “City of God” at the height of the Christian Roman Empire, he noted that although Rome’s official religion was Christianity, that label didn’t necessarily make Rome “Christian.” In fact, he maintained that Rome could NOT be “Christian,” because most of its citizens didn’t live up to that religion’s standards.
And so it is today. If we were to observe behavior among American Christians, we’d no doubt fall woefully short of the mark. Nevertheless, Christian values still have the strongest hold on American culture. Does that make us hypocrites? Or does it simply reflect the natural gap that exists between human aspirations and reality?
Regardless, I can’t help asking…who cares what we SAY we believe?
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
Ultimately, what matters is our behavior. It’s about the degree to which our society continues to demonstrate that quintessentially “Christian” values are alive and well. It’s about seeing acts of selfless concern, charity and compassion made visible in our communities. It’s about our daily deeds – pure and simple.
As long as we express “Christian” virtues through ACTION, God is still with us – whether we choose to acknowledge Him formally, or not.
What do you think? Is religion still “living” among us?
Jeff
Certainly religion is still among us and always will be. The real question is whether it is tru religion.
You say:-
“As long as we express “Christian” virtues through ACTION, God is still with us – whether we choose to acknowledge Him formally, or not.”
On what grounds or authority do you say that? You remind me of those fearful words of Jesus himself in Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Paul – thanks for sharing your view. I respect that. I agree that the Bible offers guidance and inspiration for us all. (And I hope that more people will embrace those teachings.) However, I fear that arguments based largely on Bible quotes are a “no win” proposition, because it seems that rational people can find Bible snippets to support virtually any position, any time.
Instead, I’d like to offer a scenario that illustrates my point:
Think of a continuum…
One end of the spectrum would be a world where people never hesitate to claim that they “believe” but never act in a way that directly supports that claim (a “perfectly hypocritical” world). The other end of the spectrum would be a world where people continuously behave in a way that reflects the values and principles for which the Lord stands – yet they don’t speak openly about the source of their motivation.
Granted, these are extremes – and thankfully our world is unlikely to ever be inhabited by either. But if I were forced to choose, hands-down, I’d pick a world driven by anonymous acts of selfless love, sacrifice and compassion toward others.
It seems to me that claiming Christianity is the easy part. Living it is where the rubber hits the road.