Please make sure that you have read “None of the Above” and
spent some time exploring the links that I have included. Next, watch the
following report from CBS Sunday Morning:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50137205n.
Now, I would like you to share your thoughts regarding this
clip and what you think it tells us about religion in the US, particularly in
light of what you have read for today. Next, respond to the questions in the
readings and, in particular, to the quote regarding religion and spirituality
from the Bass book. What role do you
think the media have played in the rise of the “nones”?
Rachael Cannon sec 001-
ReplyDeleteOne reason people are attending church less and less is because they feel that everything taught there is old news. With today's technology and the ease in which information can be shared, people are always on the lookout for something new and exciting. Since all this information is so accessible and widespread people perhaps feel that they've "been around the block a few times" and are now tired of hearing the same ancient stories during their Sunday School lessons. They want to find information that is tailored to their needs and more relevant to what they are going through now. Personally, when I have a trivial question, I turn to the internet for a quick answer instead of going to my family, friends, or church. I can easily find the answers I am looking for on my own without having to shuffle through everyone's personal opinions and interpretations of my question. Technology has made it possible to take out personal interaction with people in order to gather new information and answer personal questions. This could correlate to the claim that people are not so much religious, in regards to participating in a specific church's practices, as they are spiritual, in the matter of trying to live their live's according to divine council.
The article mentions that God is seen less as a stern father and more open to personal interpretation. This mindset allows people to practice religion in their own way and not have to sit through a sermon to know the specific steps to take in order to gain salvation. This mindset also means that there is no one way, and therefore no one church, that allow a person to gain salvation. So where is the need to classify one's self as a member to any one particular sect? And why attend one specific church's meetings when finding one's own information is so easily accessible and highly acceptable? If the internet and social media were a recognized church – as it can be used as a virtual gathering place to share spiritual insight and worship – then "religious practice" could be at it's highest.
According the article, "The Surprising Reason Why More Americans Aren't Going to Church," Americans are going to church less because of logistics rather than belief.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel like this article is pretty accurate in explaining the decline of church goers. Just as many who have served missions in the United States would probably agree, I served my mission in the Upstate New York where I saw the logistical reasons for people not attending the church. Most of the time, it wasn't due to their unbelief in God, it was due to circumstantial reasons. The article gives examples of people not going to church because they simply lacked transportation to church or they had trust issues with religious institutions.
Another big reason for the general population of America not attending church as much as they used to is the fact that they can get the same social interactions and information elsewhere. Therefore, it is not as much as a priority to leave the house for that purpose. This point is a key reason for why millennials are not attending church as much as previous generations. Millennials have been born into an interesting time of technology and communication. The social interactions that we have grown up with have always been right at our fingertips. This brings up two rhetorical questions: Why would someone go to church if they can have the same social interaction at home? and why would someone go to church if they can find the same information online?
It is hard to really explain the reasons why Americans are not going to church as much. However, the article mentions that it is inaccurate to suggest that people are not going because they do not believe in it more or that they have reasoned themselves out of going. Everyone has so much access to so much information that there are endless options for how to express ones ideologies.
I thought the video was pretty interesting, especially the part about people's reasons for not attending church according to surveys. Many of those who don't attend church say they believe in God, so it's not a lack of faith or belief that's keeping them from going. I think one reason people are going to church less is because they feel churches have some fault, such as corruption. It's interesting to me that people have changed their feelings about religion so much in a relatively short period of time. I think the statistics are staggering, and that something significant is happening in the mindset of many Americans when it comes to religion. I feel like the media has played a big part in this shift, especially when it comes to pushing ideas such as tolerance and fairness to an extreme. People seem to think that particular denominations have bigoted or intolerant views because they have certain standards and beliefs that not everyone shares. As far as the relationship between religion and spirituality, I agree with Bass that the terms which were once almost synonymous have been pushed apart to mean two different things. It seems natural to me that people would seek worship and connect with God in groups, seeing as we are surrounded by people, and humans are social creatures. However, now it seems that people are increasingly leaving the religious groups and being 'spiritual' on their own. I think the media is connected to this phenomenon, but possibly more indirect way. I think the convenience of being able to obtain virtually any bit of information instantly thanks to recent technology has caused people to become generally more lazy. We aren't used to having to wait for things any more and we don't have to work as hard for things anymore. Maintaining a connection to God in the traditional sense, which includes sacred rituals, church attendance, following commandments, is etc,is certainly not convenient. It takes devotion and dedication and patience. It seems that people today would rather not bother with those inconveniences, they would instead fulfill their natural desire for a connection to higher power by spending time in nature and feeling a sense of awe. This is a less demanding, more convenient way of living.
ReplyDeleteRyan Morgan-
ReplyDeleteI like the conclusion that seems to come from the “Surprising Reason Why More Americans Aren’t Going to Church.” One of our generation’s biggest reasons for what seems like a decline in regular church activity, is due to the variety of religious experience that is available. I think that’s a very reassuring tone when looking at this problem as a whole. In my experience at least, people do seem invested in the idea of a higher power, or some form of spirituality, even when I know that they don’t come from a strongly religious background. If trying to find deeper meaning to our lives is part of our human nature, then spirituality is not going to go away, just because of what seems like a decline. The article shows that there is still a deep interest in the religious experience, even as the stats show people moving away from traditional religious practices.
I thought the claims by McLoughlin, that: “fewer Americans believe in Hell, and very few believe their neighbors will go there,” was an incredible statement. If that has been the sentiment that once shaped the relationship, that our neighbors are going to hell, then this change is huge for shaping our new take on religion. Once there’s that paradigm shift in the sort of gossipy/holier than thou outlook, it becomes a lot easier to see religion as being extremely customizable and open to individual interpretation. Having that open interpretation without the fear of judgement, combined with the discovery of so many more options in religious thinking really does show that it’s not about spirituality going away, so much as us having a more liberalized, secular view of it.
Looking at the historical context provided by “Christianity After Religion” also offers an interesting way at looking at the issue. With the 3 different “Great Awakening” moments, religion persisted through a significant social change. Maybe religion isn’t going away, it’s simply transforming. As a journalism student, this seems reminiscent of the current changes in our field. It’s not going away, it’s just changing its format. I think the media is highly connected with faith. We are in the information age, and it seems anything we want to know, we can easily find. The convenience of choosing and finding religion at the click of a button has definitely changed the dynamic. It’s exactly mirrored by our current news interests. Everyone has something to say, and any news information is incredibly available, just the same as religion.
Talmadge Haslam-
ReplyDeleteI feel like the decline in religious activity has two main contributing factors. The first is a change in logistical priority. Although it is true millennials are to blame for their own actions, I also believe the previous generation, IE their/our parents, initiated a change in scheduling priorities that make it increasingly more difficult to make church a priority. America's obsession with productivity and excellence in sports, academics, and whatever else has contributed to the fact that Sunday, and other weekday services got kicked to the curb and replaced with soccer tournaments or another honors course. Children whose parents chose to drive them to a sports tournament on Sundays have instilled a huge change in priority for the milennial generation as they have grown up, so it should be no surprise that they(we) consciously choose to place other priorities over church, even if we don't see anything necessarily wrong with organized religion.
The second greatest contributing factor to the decline in affiliation would be the opportunity to participate in organizations and dogmas that appear to be non-religious, but are strikingly similar. Although many milennials hear religion as a dirty word, they still need something to believe, because of their human nature. Instead of attending a church every Sunday, they ascribe to the religion of social change and tolerance. Thought leaders among these movements would never call themselves a religion, but it is a belief system that is evangelized heavily, in a non traditional way.
These varying social change groups fit perfectly into the milennial lifestyle because they require shares on social media, or a casual bar conversation in place of a Sunday service and mission trip.
What if the demise of modern “religion” is rooted in the doctrines of Christianity itself? Let me be the devil’s advocate here for a minute. Christ was certainly a character that redefined what it meant to be religious in his time. Sure - he must have went to synagogue more than the average, but he certainly wasn’t the norm of what it meant to really be religious. In fact, the hypocrisy of the self-proclaimed religious seemed to be a focus in his teachings. (see the story of the Good Samaritan, Matt 25:40-46, Matt 23:14)
ReplyDeleteChrist was crystal clear when he outlined the importance of saving ordinances such as Baptism and the Sacrament, but maybe religious practice shouldn’t be defined as reading scriptures, going to church, going to mutual, etc.
James outlines a few religious practices below.
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
So maybe Religion is a means to an end and is only in place to produce spirituality?
Maybe there is a rise of the “nones” but people are more religious than ever before? How many people are visiting widows compared to 1960? In any case, I am confident that organized religion does help people keep themselves “unspotted from the world” as James proclaims.
Spirituality is who you are, while religion is what you do. This seems to have become the dominating ideology among Americans regarding spirituality vs. religion. My mom, who would probably categorize herself as a “none,” has told me throughout my life that attending church services isn’t as important as it is to believe in God, be a good person, and do good to others. This is what she would term as “spirituality.”
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with her about all of those things, I also believe that religious institutions are in place to teach people values and principles that lead us closer to God and help us serve others. From an LDS perspective, I believe that attending church is also in fulfillment of commandment and helps me renew the covenants I have made with God. Participating in such activities has the ultimate goal of generating greater spirituality.
However, there are those who attend church out of habit, or to be “seen of men” (Matt. 23:5). They are those who complete their church assignments so as to simply “check them off” and not out of sincere desire. They claim to be active in their faiths, but are only active on Sundays. Such church-goers contribute to the negative stereotypes that religious organizations have come to have.
In the end, I believe that it’s best to not only be “spiritual” or “religious,” but both. Religious activity can lead to greater spirituality and spirituality can lead to more sincere and beneficial participation in religious activity. Life is a constant quest for balance between spirituality and religiosity.
***I added the class late so this is why this post is just now appearing
ReplyDeleteI really liked the reading entitled “None of the Above” because I have family members and friends that would describe themselves as a “none.” My mom is one of two active religious members out of her siblings of five. One of her sisters is a spiritual life coach, and the other two don’t identify with any religion but attend church on major holidays like Christmas and Easter. When I read the following statement I immediately thought of my aunt: “To say that one is 'spiritual but not religious' or 'spiritual and religious' is often a way of saying, 'I am dissatisfied with the way things are, and I want to find a new way of connecting with God, my neighbor, and my own life.' It might not be a thoughtless mantra at all — in many cases, it may well be a considered commentary on religious institutions, doctrine, and piety." Although my aunt who is a life coach is spiritual, she no longer defines herself as religious. Yes, she believes that ultimately there is a higher power, but she believes you control your destiny. On the other hand, my aunt and uncle only go to church on Holidays and usually it is more of a social aspect rather than religious. Neither pray nor teach their children about God or a higher being. Sadly, they do not fall within the 70% of people that believe religion can lead to eternal life.
One point that I found interesting was that America no longer is classified as a Christian country. In recent years there has been controversy over the fact the in our Pledge of Allegiance, we say “one nation under God.” I think it is sad that people no longer want to identify with our founding fathers—as a whole we simply don’t think that God is important. Last semester, I went with the School of Communications to a the SPJ convention in New Mexico. After one class, a student from UNM approached two friends and I and asked us about the Mormon faith. He told us that he had grown up as a Catholic but hardly ever attended church and never really had faith in a God. When he moved to college, and was able to form his own opinions and thoughts he said he became an atheist. Surprisingly, the media did have an influence he said because he is an LGBTQ supporter. He said that on the Internet he could not find one religion that didn’t want to punish this group, so he started believing less and less in a God.
Another aspect that I found to be very interesting throughout the reading and watching the video was the question, “How can a loving God send people to hell?” One of the students in the CBS clip said she does not understand how a God who is suppose to be so loving can also send someone to hell because they make a mistake. The reading said that fewer Americans believe in Hell, and very few believe their neighbors will go there. In today’s society, people are so curious and have access to virtually any religion with just the click of a mouse. I think media can be a great tool to learn about other religions, but I do think that it has given rise to the “nones.” For example, when there is a problem or scandal within a church we are much more likely to see it on the news or watch a documentary today than 50 years ago. The media is so instantaneous and not only news reporters have a voice when it comes to the Internet and television. I recently watched the movie Spotlight, a film that follows The Boston Globe’s spotlight team and their investigation into cases of child sex abuse in the Boston area by various Catholic priests. I am going to be honest, after I saw this, I lost a lot of respect for the Catholic religion because I was so disgusted with what they were trying to cover up. Media, whether we like it or not, does play a role in influencing what we believe and think.