Spirituality Part of What Makes Us Human

A man in his 40s has recently lost his mother. At first, he was able to take her death in stride. He tried not to think about it.

But after a few months, the man, who was divorced and has no children, found himself profoundly affected. So many things reminded him of her. He felt abandoned, lost. He found himself talking with her, telling her how much he loved her and missed her, and trying to share special moments with her.

Yet, if you asked him, he would say he didn’t believe in the afterlife, nor in God or religion. He hadn’t practiced a religion since his youth. But did he still carry the residual effects of growing up with faith? If he thought his deceased mother could hear him, does that mean there is something of faith left in him?

For full disclosure, some details of this scenario have been changed, but it is based on an acquaintance of mine. And the honest answer to my questions above is “I don’t know.”

Not Unique

The man’s situation certainly is not unique. Polling of Americans continue to show a steep decline in belief, church attendance and interest in religion.

A recent article on the National Public Radio web site attests to that. It predicts that America’s Christian majority will likely end in a couple of decades.

Maintaining a majority of Christians isn’t a priority, in my view, even though I’m a committed Christian. But maintaining faith and commitment to a religion is, both for society and for individuals. More on that later.

Pollsters provide various factors for the flight from faith and religion. The study mentioned in the NPR article doesn’t cover that question, but the article quotes the study’s principal researcher, Stephanie Kramer, at the Pew Research Center who proposed several theories. 

“Some scholars say that it’s just an inevitable consequence of development for societies to secularize. Once there are strong secular institutions, once people’s basic needs are met, there’s less need for religion,” Kramer said.

Started in the 90s

“Other people point out that affiliation (with religion) really started to drop in the ’90s. And it may not be a coincidence that this coincides with the rise of the religious right and more associations between Christianity and conservative political ideology.”

Alongside U.S. Christian numbers trending down, the Pew study also found that the percentage of people who identify as “religiously unaffiliated” is rising and could one day become a majority.

“That’s where the majority of the movement is going,” Kramer said. “We don’t see a lot of people leaving Christianity for a non-Christian religion.”

“Religiously unaffiliated” is not synonymous with atheist, she said. The term also includes those who identify as “agnostic,” “spiritual” or “nothing in particular.”

In my opinion, the reasons for the trend away from faith and religion include prosperity, which is mentioned in the NPR article; the decreasing interest in reading and particularly in history; and the influence of the social media and of TV, movies, apps and streaming platforms that not only reflect society’s values but help form them – specifically by ignoring religion and religious faith and by unflattering portrayals of them.

Mixture

Notice that I did not include study, investigation and close examination of what faith means and what religions actually believe or promote. That’s because I believe what’s at play includes a mixture of superficial roots in religion, apathy and a willingness to uncritically follow societal trends. (It may not be worse than the previous trend of going to church because “everybody else does.” Also, I don’t want to be unfair to some who don’t fit in these categories. Some undoubtedly have given up their faith after painful and profound deliberation.)

Now to the point about why maintenance of faith and religion is important. It’s important for society because religion – despite what critics may say about its flaws – has made incalculably positive contributions to society through the centuries, contributions that far outweigh its abuses.

It’s important for individuals because spirituality is an essential part of what makes us human.