Faith without the Community
My comments on a recent Deseret National-Marist poll on faith in America.
I stumbled across the following link (Faith in America isn't dead: 'Strong thread of spirituality' in nation, new survey finds) that discusses trends in religious faith and had a few thoughts to share based on some of the survey's analysis.
The survey also found that Americans retain core religious beliefs "even as they are less attached to religious practices and institutions, such as daily prayer and attending services."
Without getting into a definition of religion or how religion—as a habit of all human beings—relates to our beliefs, the observation above is not so surprising. There is more mass transparency these days when it comes to institutions and their related practices. Imperfections within institutions were previously local, and now these are global. Denominational differences take public stages and are often reactive to rapidly changing public discourse. As a close relative recently told me, “even if I were to get more involved in religion (i.e. Christianity), I would not know where to go.”
Specifically, 72% of Americans think the nation’s moral compass is pointed in the wrong direction — while 22% believe it is pointed in the right one, the survey indicated.
There are a few things to note here. 1) Religion and morality do not necessarily go directly hand-in-hand. That depends on the religion. While it is true that all religions reflect the habits of one’s perception of reality (this is effectively how I would reduce or define our understanding of ‘religion’) and an implicit morality can be extracted from those habits and perceptions, not all religions are didactic when it comes to teaching morality. 2) Nearly ¾ of those surveyed agree that the moral compass is pointed in the wrong direction. Is there any assumption of which way we are moving? Given how there is so much agreement, one can read this number and think that there is agreement regarding the types of morals forming the moral compass. Instead, this may better reflect the emergence of loud voices across our different perspectives that were previously much more quiet and reserved.
Hal Boyd, executive editor of Deseret National, told Fox News Digital ahead of the survey's release, "What really stands out for me is that America continues to be a religious country, despite headlines and trend lines [to the contrary]…”
By this he means a traditionally religious country (the traditional religions with which the country emerged). Also, it’s the headlines that drive the public conversations that we have. These headlines do seem aimed at redefining our public perception of ourselves in numerous ways.
Boyd pointed to a few compelling examples. "Looking at the numbers here, 86% of Americans still pray for a family member," he told Fox News Digital.
I’m more fascinated by the implication that 14% do not pray for a family member. I like the way the question is asked here, because it isn’t necessarily measuring the reflex of prayer, but those who engage in prayer as it is understood in the major religious traditions that formed the United States of America. By reflex of prayer, I mean the appeal to assist when we are powerless (the old adage, “there’s no atheist in a foxhole,” fits in this category). This can be communication with God, gods, the invocation of wishes, etc. In the movie O Brother Where Art Thou?, George Clooney’s character Ulysses Everett McGill is an atheist who finds his prayer answered in a difficult scene where he has lost hope. After he is safe again, he rationalizes an explanation for an event to have occurred at the specific time to make him safe. He hasn’t really changed, but exhibited a prayer reflex. The survey however asks about prayer for a family member, which would likely require some specific intention that would be less likely to be simply a reflex (though of course it could be). The intentional aspect treated in this question better measures who engages in prayer as discourse with the divine.
He noted that "92% of people believe that the Golden Rule is necessary in their personal lives … It's hard to find out anything that 92% of Americans agree on."
…
The survey notes that "all generations of Americans believe it is necessary to follow the Golden Rule; however, younger generations are less likely than their older counterparts to believe that being religious is necessary in order to live a moral life."
What’s interesting about the Golden Rule is that it can be found in ethical teachings stretching from Jesus to Confucius. It also seems like a natural consequence of self-awareness. Is that remaining 8% not self-aware, gladly tyrannical, or a combination of the two?
The Faith in America survey, as shared with Fox News Digital, points out that "with the demographic characteristics of the American population shifting as baby boomers enter retirement, the state of religion is reaching a tipping point … As the demographic face of religion within America changes, so does the role religion plays in society."
I’m really fascinated in this topic, but I will just opine on the topic as it applies to the general Christian landscape of the United States. It was the baby boomer generation that may have grown up in church, but did not lay the proper foundations for subsequent generations to stay grounded in the life of the church. Part of this goes back to the nature of the denominations that composed the traditional American religious landscape. Many of them were and are not suited well enough to provide sound doctrine in the face of rapidly changing ideas. Without that grounding, the communal church life was bound to have degraded to community centers focused on the demographics least impacted by radical change—the baby boomers.
Also: "Americans find themselves looking to family more often than religious teachings when looking for sources of moral guidance."
In the absence of the Church as the extended family, this is only natural. So what happens to all those who are raised with one or more parents gone all the time and no stable family life?
It found that while a majority of Americans do not feel as if their religion plays a role in their political affiliation, "one’s political stance can be a strong indicator of the role they feel religion does and should play in society." To this end: "Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe the future of the nation lies in God’s hands rather than in the American people’s control, and Republicans are also more likely to see divine inspiration as having a hand in the creation of the Constitution and key amendments."
This is its own topic. At one point there was realistic parity, then divergence happened fairly steadily.
Boyd noted in the release about the survey that "the vast majority of Americans — 7 in 10 — believe the country would be better off if we prayed for each other."
This here is as good a note as any to end the piece. We should pray for one another, no matter who the other is.
Lord have mercy. +
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