Americans Losing Their Religion

It would appear that as Americans continue to become better educated religions role in our society is progressively diminishing. When you consider the rate that our knowledge of the universe is factoring coupled with the record rate that Americans are dropping out of church it supports the notion that Americans really are losing their religion. Why is this happening? Should Americans be concerned or is this simply part of the evolutionary process? Throughout the course of this Blog we will try to answer these questions by detailing some very poignant statistics relating to the diminishing role of religion. We will discuss why religion may no longer be deemed necessary by many Americans and will try to find out what may be replacing its role in our society. We will also try to ascertain if there is a decline in our morals or social structure as a result of the diminishing role of religion or as indicated this is a natural part of the evolutionary process.

We will start by discussing how education is giving American's a greater understanding of our role in the universe and how this is likely playing a prominent role in the overall demise of religion. Depending on your perspective it may not be a surprise that religion is losing its relevance as we gain knowledge. Man has recognized this fact as far back as 1600 AD when the great philosopher Barack Spinoza deduced that religion was an outdated superstition in his time (Stanford P1). He felt that each religion was relevant around the time it was created but loses its relevance as we continue to evolve. This was a very profound and controversial statement for his time but it really does appear that he was right almost 400 years later. We are witnessing first hand that as society is gaining a greater understanding of our role in the universe that the role of religion is continuing to diminish.

If this trend continues it would appear that religion will ultimately be a thing of the past represented as a coping mechanism of a primitive society that individually and collectively feared its mortality. "In sub-Saharan Africa there is almost no atheism (2). Belief in God declines in more developed countries and atheism is concentrated in Europe in countries such as Sweden (64% nonbelievers), Denmark (48%), France (44%) and Germany (42%). In contrast, the incidence of atheism in most sub-Saharan countries is below 1% (Barber P1). This clearly illustrates that better educated, well developed, countries have higher levels of non-believers and that there are strong ties between the diminishing role of religion and education.

If this is the case where are we turning to fill the potential spiritual void left by the absence of religion in our lives? One answer is that many Americans are opting for other more scientific explanations, subscribing to the belief that all of our energy is connected. One version of this was introduced to many when Einstein was so famously quoted as saying he believed in Spinoza’s God (Stephenjaygould.org P1). What he meant by this is that he and many other individuals subscribe to Spinoza's philosophy and believe in a god of nature. They believe that God is neither omnipotent nor concerns itself with the individual actions of any living being, creature or thing (Stanford P1).

To further illustrate this point at the turn of the last century (1900), there was a ratio of 27 churches per 10,000 people. This does not compare very favorably to the close of this century (2000) where we have 11 churches per 10,000 people in the United States (Hartford P1). There could be other factors that play into this including larger churches servicing much larger congregations. However given the statistics relating to the number of people who choose not to attend church there must be much more to this than just that. Based on the information there are frankly just not as many people attending church so there is less of a need for as many churches.

One other possible explanation for this is they are no longer the center of our communities. Even in the communities where the churches do exist the majority of the neighborhood does not necessary subscribe to that specific religion. With modern transportation people are just as likely to seek out a church that aligns closer to their beliefs, even if it means they have to travel a bit. Many of these individuals are opting for much larger non-denominational churches that cater to our modern lifestyles. These independent, non-denominational churches, are offering a wide variety of social activities including competitive sports, group functions and even singles activities in an effort to keep their members engaged.

Even with the non-denominational churches there is little hope for this trend to improve in the future. Researchers have found that fewer children are attending church and of
those who do attend many of them are dropping out at record rates (Christian Research Association P1). I have witnessed in my own community where the kids that attend church are doing so more and more frequently without their parents accompanying them. Their parents either put them on a bus or drop them off and pick them up but are not leading by example and attending the same services themselves. They appear to be taking a "do as I say not as I do" approach but this only works for a limited period of time. I have lived in my home for 15 years with many of the same neighbors and have watched as the kids have been shipped off to church. One by one as they were old enough to decide whether or not to attend for themselves they are deciding to follow their parent's example by choosing to no longer attend.

In addition we also need to take into consideration the fact that 40 percent of Americans claim to attend church but only 18 percent actually do. The clear reason for this is that that the majority of Americans simply feel they have better things to do. Even those Americans that still have their faith are simply not attending church on a regular basis. Rather than rejecting the churches outright, many have never
seriously considered church involvement or are more attracted to
other activities (Christian Research Association P1). In other words if there are not any immediate consequences for not attending, why attend?

This indicates on a not so rudimentary level that our society is recognizing religion is no longer relevant but there are a large percentage of Americans that continue to claim the affiliation. One study shows that the reason 42 percent of Americans that subscribe to religion but no longer attend say that they are not attending because the services are boring, while another 35 percent are finding their spirituality elsewhere (Christian Research Association P1). This could mean a lot of different things to different people but in the end it really means one thing, religions role in our society is diminishing.

If this is the case what are some of the possible consequence of society without religion? One concern is as religions role continues to diminish we will need to replace the basic social structure that religion offers particularly for those individuals who cannot get this level of social support anywhere else. Newer non-denominational churches will likely accomplish some of this but this only represents less than 1/2 of one percent of the total population and they still rely on a faith in God (Hartford P1). How do we reach those who are not capable of helping themselves and count themselves among the growing numbers that do not subscribe to religion?

There is not a lot of information on this topic so we will need to go outside the box and make some recommendations of our own. Some options could include social churches or clubs that are not based on a faith in God but rather fellowship, community and social support. A few other possibilities could include community outreach programs or other socialist type government programs. These programs may be necessary just for that small percentage of people who cannot get this support elsewhere. This is because many Americans will continue to rely heavily on their family and friends as they have since the beginning of time for this support, social structure and fellowship.

As we continue to become better educated and continue to evolve most people will probably naturally fill the social structure void left by the absence of religion. Facebook and the Internet in general are making it easier than ever for us to meet up with old and new friends for gossip, casual conversations and fellowship. Right or wrong in today's society we no longer have the need to leave our homes to hook up with our growing networks of family or friends. This is a result of easy access to a vast social network including Facebook, IM, text, email and other social mediums. These technologies give us instant level of access to our vast network of friends and family that was simply inconceivable prior to this generation. This new technology is creating an instant society that utilizes smart phones, tablets and other mobile technologies to gain 24/7 accesses to social networks at our fingertips. We are never more than a few feet from our friends and family, virtually.

So now that we have a good understanding of why we may be losing our religion and where we are getting our social structure we need to ascertain if there are any unintended consequences to our collective moral compass. The most thought provoking article I found in the course of this research contained the notion that our humanity, including self-control and morals are built into (most of) us genetically (De Waal P1). Meaning that the majority of us are born with a moral compass and it is up to each of us to foster and develop it. If you were a religious person you would probably agree with this notion and call it free will, given to us by God. If you were a scientific or evolutionary person you probably would agree with this notion and call it self-preservation. You would believe that in order to survive we must count on each other for support and treating each other with kindness, respect and having good morals in general goes a long way to encourage that.

Most of us can probably agree with this on some level, regardless whether or not we can agree on where this moral compass comes from. The fact "Morality" is built into the majority of each of us genetically leads us to believe that with or without religion we will find our morals. For those who do not have the genetic make up to make good moral decisions churches or any other forms of social development are probably ineffective without science or genetics? There is no question that our community, including religion, plays a large role in determining what is morally acceptable in our society but it is our individual moral compasses that tell us if society is right or wrong.

For the majority of our society that is capable of regulating our own morality we are also capable finding "God" elsewhere through science and spirituality. If this is the case we will need to be careful to make sure that those segments of our population that struggle to find their moral balance with or without religion or other forms of social support are not left behind. We will need to work collectively to ensure we all have other options to get similar social support. We will need to rely heavily on science in the form psychology, medicine and social programs in order to find a way of filling in the gap and helping those in need to overcome their moral/social deficiencies. The social programs can come from several sources including the existing non-denominational churches, community outreach programs or even the government if they can ultimately get past their partisanship.

Regardless of how you look at it, it is evident that the advent of virtual social networks coupled with the rate that our collective knowledge is factoring is having an impact on the progressively diminishing role of religion in our society. As this trend continues we will depend heavily on our growing networks of family and friends for moral and social support as well as fellowship. Based on this realization it will be our social responsibility to make sure that those that cannot meet these needs on their own get this support elsewhere as religions role continues to diminish. With all of this in mind the facts clearly support the assertion that as our society becomes more developed, better educated and continues to evolve we are without question losing our religion. 

Works Cited
"Spinoza’s Political Philosophy". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2008. Web. 5 April 2012.
Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Fast Facts. 2006. Web. 5 April 2012.
Barber, Nigel PHD. " With economic security, people abandon religion". Phycology Today.Sussex Publishing. July 2011. Web April 15 2012
"Why People Don't Go To Church...". Christian Research Association. March 2012.Web.April 16 2012
De Waal, Francis. "Morals Without God?" The New York Times. October 17, 2010.Web.April 16, 2012
Arlington, Michael. "Facebook COO: 175 Million People Log Onto Facebook Every Day".Techcrunch.com. AOL Inc. July 10, 2010. Web. April 17,2012
"Albert Einstein (1879-1955)" Stephenjaygould.org. NA. Web. 5 April 2012.