http://www.tricycle.com/blog/rise-nones-—-why-are-so-many-americans-religious...
According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the number of Americans who do not identify with any religion is on the rise. These unaffiliated, or "nones," currently number at 46 million—about one in five Americans. The rate of unaffiliated among adults under 30 numbers significantly higher at about one in three Americans.
Facing the seemingly imminent loss of the next generation, leaders of religious institutions have been left to grapple with the quickly tranforming landscape of religious life in this country. Religious News Services has asked a diverse range of religious leaders, as well as Tricycle's features editor Andrew Cooper, why so many Americans are walking away from organized religion. Andrew Cooper responded as follows:
I think the most significant factor in this is the acceleration of the American ethos of individualism. As in other spheres of life, when it comes to religion, there are benefits and drawbacks to this tendency. The valuing of critical intelligence, the rejection of sectarian dogma, openness to diverse viewpoints, the ability to adapt religious practices to modern life, the affirmation of life’s spiritual dimension—these are all positive things that are related to individualism. But if unchecked, the drawbacks of individualism can be serious: social isolation, narcissism in the name of spirituality, the weakening of the bonds to community and tradition that have always provided a context for spiritual experience, the collapse of coherent social life, the promotion of the good of the individual as the primary motivating value and reality. These tendencies don’t just weaken organized religion; they undermine our capacity live meaningful lives. For all their disagreements, all religions seem to recognize that we don’t just stand apart from others; we also stand as a part of others.
What causes and social factors do you think might underly the decline of institutional religious life in America? We've already witnessed a trend of general decay among our public institutions. Is the decline in affiliation with our religious institutions merely part of this larger decay, or might it herald a more thoroughly integrated, open-ended restructuring of religious and spiritual practice within public life?
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Religious leaders respond to the rise of the “Nones”One in five adults does not belong to an organized religion. Nearly a third of Americans age 18-29 don't have a spiritual home.
“I think it goes without saying these are pretty significant changes in the American religious landscape,” said Greg Smith, a lead researcher on the Pew study.
Needless to say, this study hits home for religious leaders. So we asked a number of them why they thought so many Americans were walking away from organized religion. Their intriguing responses are below. We'll keep adding perspectives as they come in, so return here for updates, and please feel free to suggest additional sources.
Bill Aiken, director of public affairs at Soka Gakkai International - USA
The findings of this study raise as many questions as they answer. Does this movement away from organized religion parallel a movement away from other traditional forms of community? Does this represent an “atomizing” of individuals in our society, where fewer people form associations with any type of community, be it religious, civic or social? That would be disturbing.
Or is it that people are finding other less formal but more meaningful ways of establishing spiritual community? Many of these people who are not affiliating formally report that they are still engaged in spiritual pursuits, whether alone, or in less formal groups. In the SGI Buddhist community for example, our strength has been in the monthly discussion meeting, a neighborhood gathering of 10-20 people in someone’s home. The format is informal and the communication is horizontal, based on the sharing of experiences, not the vertical communication of preaching or teaching. Since these types of gatherings create opportunities for empathy, education and mutual encouragement, I’d like to think that we’re moving in that direction, and not altogether away from spiritual community. I think that would be a real loss.
The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches
We live in the midst of individualism and privatism and the metaphor of institutions as commodities is on the rise. Increasingly congregants think of themselves as consumers of the congregations not producers of the congregation. The congregation becomes a place to receive something primarily. The staff is thought of as service providers, the pastor as personal family chaplain. Faith is a private affair lacking any responsibility for the community. This is worldview which identifies with the individual at the expense of the whole.
There is another analysis, that for the "nones" identity is not a matter of label, certainly not a denominational label. To press this generation to identify as a member of a faith group is outside of their worldview. Their worldview is broader than can be held by denominations or even faith categories. They are the product of the pluralistic world, where one identifies with the whole at the expense of the specific.
A third thought is that this generation relates differently than mine does. While we relate through institutional life, the next does not, certainly not in structures, meetings, Robert's Rules of Order, or under authority. This group relates horizontally: anyone can call an electronic gathering where presence waxes and wanes with no one caring very much. What this trend will do for the whole and for the individual is still unknown. But we are in the midst of a great experiment.
Andrew Cooper, features editor at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
I think the most significant factor in this is the acceleration of the American ethos of individualism. As in other spheres of life, when it comes to religion, there are benefits and drawbacks to this tendency. The valuing of critical intelligence, the rejection of sectarian dogma, openness to diverse viewpoints, the ability to adapt religious practices to modern life, the affirmation of life’s spiritual dimension—these are all positive things that are related to individualism. But if unchecked, the drawbacks of individualism can be serious: social isolation, narcissism in the name of spirituality, the weakening of the bonds to community and tradition that have always provided a context for spiritual experience, the collapse of coherent social life, the promotion of the good of the individual as the primary motivating value and reality. These tendencies don’t just weaken organized religion; they undermine our capacity live meaningful lives. For all their disagreements, all religions seem to recognize that we don’t just stand apart from others; we also stand as a part of others.
Rabbi Arthur Green, rector of Hebrew College Rabbinical School
Long ago the Psalmist said of idolaters: “Eyes have they, but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not.”
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