A time that changed the world, the Reformation not only gave birth to Protestantism, but also brought about social, political, and economic changes. The established Catholic Church violently protested this rebellion of authority. The resulting long bitter war caused turmoil for a hundred years. On the anniversary of this momentous event I thought it would be appropriate to look at the current status of religion in America.
Coincidentally, a new survey of religious affiliation by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life just became available. The report shows that every religion is losing members, but the Roman Catholic Church has experienced the greatest loses. The survey also indicates that the group that had the greatest gain was the unaffiliated. More than 16% of American adults say they are not a part of any organized faith, which makes them the country’s fourth largest “religious group”. For more details, you can see the entire report at http://religions.pewforum.org/reports/
As a nonreligious person, I wonder why, with all the abuses, scandals, and illogical ideas religion is responsible for, is religion still so powerful? And what about all those modern scientific discoveries that prove that much of the Bible is just not true? I think the answer is that people need connections and community to live. It is about family, tradition, consolation, ethics, memories, and more. No one wants to give these things up because of a lack of belief in a god. The truth is that at the present time, the above list of social goods is hard to find outside of a religious affiliation. At the important times of our lives_ when our loved ones are sick and dying; when a baby is born; when we want to affirm our love in marriage; when we want to educate our children about important values_ we need to be part of a group. In my opinion, this is why there are many nonbelievers active in a church. Eventually, maybe Secular Humanism will offer an alternative to the church’s community.
No comments:
Post a Comment