Why are people leaving religion?
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Editor,
Just a month or so ago I started taking a weekly magazine “The Week.” I find it is very thorough in content yet not tedious with lengthy articles; it works great for me.
In a page named “Briefing,” the subject was “The rise of atheism,” and included in the article was a discussion on: “Why are so many people leaving religion?” Excellent coverage; excellent food for thought; excellent commentary.
It got me to thinking. Just why are so many people leaving religion, anyhow? And it is well known that they are. Statistics of every category in religion bear this out, whether it is about the drop in church attendance, “the 19 percent of the American public who spurn organized religion in favor of a non-defined skepticism about faith,” or any study among just average Americans when asked how important their church attendance is in their lives.
Could it be that finally the rift between various religions, which have played out in wars, theological bickering, writing of books, and endless talks from the pulpit, has finally caused people to back away from organized religion and seek answers to life through independent spiritual quests?
For me there is a very fundamental and vital difference between “religion” and “spirituality.” I look at it this way: religion is man’s creation and addiction to organization, control, scriptural interpretations, hierarchy, doctrine, creed, physical structures, denominational differences and the myriad of beliefs on subjects of social concern.
Spirituality is God’s creation about living life according to our spiritual make-up as human beings. And this “God” can go by many names, such as: Higher Power, Father, Creator, Savior, Love, or The Oneness, just to name a few.
So, for me, the answer to the churches of organized religion who are opening their doors to fewer and fewer people is for these organized religions to focus on teaching a universal spirituality born of love rather than a narrow theology born of human control.
Bob McClellan
Polson
