• Ideas

Don’t Lose Faith in Faith Just Yet

4 minute read
Ideas
By Rabbi David Wolpe
Wolpe is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, the author of eight books and has been named one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post.

Religion in America is fading. According to a new Pew Research Center report, almost 23% of all U.S. adults in 2014 said they were religiously unaffiliated, up from about 16% in 2007. While most of the unaffiliated describe themselves as “nothing in particular,” a growing share say they are atheist or agnostic.

Why is religion in trouble, and should we be fighting to save it?

Some religious groups are holding fairly steady, including the evangelical and historically black Protestant traditions. But organized religion is struggling, and there is a striking correlation, as we have seen before, with income and education, and non-affiliation.

The first adversary religion faces is self-sufficiency. Educated, affluent Americans feel they are doing well. Part of the drive to religion has been to improve one’s lot in this world through prayer, community, and the solace that religion brings. As people feel that their lives are on course and they are able to take care of their own needs, there is less motivation to accede to the demands of time and attention that religion requires.

The second adversary religion faces is a scientific hegemony over the life of the mind. Institutions of higher learning are for the most part, resolutely secular. There is religious life on campus, but most mainstream academic institutions are hospitable to a scientific, secular mindset. You can see this mentality on display in the bestselling and provocative book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Its author, Yuval Harari, blithely proclaims that all values are human constructs, all religions are mythological motivators, and science has no dogma. This is all taken more or less for granted in the halls of academe.

The third adversary to religion is the decline of genuine community and extended family. Modern social arrangements sap religious vitality. The Bible’s first statement about human nature has also been one of religion’s great appeals: “It is not good for a person to be alone (Gen 2:18).” Faith communities enable powerful bonds of association. Even modern studies confirm unambiguously that nothing is more important to longevity and health than the quality of one’s relationships.

Yet in an age of social media, our relationships are increasingly less likely to be dependent on gatherings like those at houses of worship. People who went to church socials to meet a mate are swiping through profiles on dating sites. Grandparents, whose religious affiliations were so decisive in moving grandchildren to devotion, are often no longer living in the same house with their grandchildren, but are visited occasionally in assisted-living complexes.

Religion itself has a lot to answer for as well—including some worship services that are disconnected and dull, beliefs that run powerfully against the grain of modern discoveries or modern sensibilities, a smug authoritarianism assumed by some religious leaders, and the view that religion is at the fulcrum of much of the world’s violence.

Yet although this finding will be applauded by many, do not celebrate too quickly. Not only is religion responsible for much of the world’s good works, but houses of worship serve a crucial function of community in a fractured, polarized, and screen-obsessed society. In my synagogue each week, people put their arms around each other and sing. Theology aside, that deeply human and moving experience is rarely found elsewhere in the modern world.

Today is not the only day that matters. History, tradition, and collective wisdom are not negated because of the ingenuity of the latest app. Religion is our spiritual time capsule, bringing us what was precious to those before us. Much has changed, but not the human heart. Modern leaders need to learn how to speak anew, not only of God but also of ideals like dedication, self-sacrifice, kindness, and love.

Inside the Most 'Bible-Minded' City in America

A giant cross by highway I-65 is illuminated at night, marking the site of Gardendale First Baptist Church in Gardendale, Ala. on March 21, 2015.
A giant cross by highway I-65 marks the site of Gardendale First Baptist Church in Gardendale, Ala. on March 21, 2015.Matt Eich for TIME
Pete Garrett prays over breakfast, with his son P.J. and wife Dr. Cynthia Garrett, at their home in Trussvile, Ala. before attending Sunday worship at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on March 22, 2015.
Pietro “P.J.” Garrett, 17, and his family pray at breakfast before heading to services at 16th Street Baptist Church.Matt Eich for TIME
Pete Garrett's hat and bible rest on the kitchen counter prior to church service, at his home in Trussvile, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
Pete Garrett's hat and bible rest on the kitchen counter of his home in Trussvile, Ala.Matt Eich for TIME
Pete Garrett prepares to leave home to attend Sunday worship at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on March 22, 2015.
Pete Garrett prepares to leave for services at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.Matt Eich for TIME
P.J. Garrett holds an umbrella for his mother, Dr. Cynthia Garrett, as they arrive at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
P.J. Garrett holds an umbrella for his mother, Dr. Cynthia Garrett, as they arrive at 16th Street Baptist Church.Matt Eich for TIME
Left: The old sign from 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Right: A deacon gives instructions to two young greeters at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
Left: The old sign from 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Right: A deacon gives instructions to two young greeters at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015. The church, an icon of the Civil Rights movement, is struggling to keep up attendance. Pastor Arthur Price says he tries to relate the deadly 1963 bombing at the church by white supremacists and the current mission. “Because of the tragedy, triumph took place—the ‘64 passage of the Civil Rights Act and the ‘65 passage of the Voting Rights Act, which galvanized a generation and motivated a movement so change would be continuous throughout the ages," he says. "I believe the early pioneers of the Civil Rights movement continued to move forward because they didn’t want that innocent blood to be taken in vain.” Matt Eich for TIME
Left: A stack of hymnals at 16th Street Baptist Church. Right: A woman wears cross earrings during a service at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
Left: A stack of hymnals at 16th Street Baptist Church. Right: A woman wears cross earrings during a serviceMatt Eich for TIME
Left: Flowers at the cornerstone of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Right: A cross marks a parking spot outside of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
Left: Flowers at the cornerstone of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Right: A cross marks a parking spot outside the churchMatt Eich for TIME
Worship time at Church of the Highlands, a rapidly growing mega-church, in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
Services at Church of the Highlands, a mega-church, in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015. In a region with plenty of large houses of worship, Church of the Highlands -- one of the fastest-growing churches in America -- may be the largest. Sunday worship service at Grants Mill—headquarters for a dozen campuses—averages over 3,500 people, mostly couples in their 30s with young kids. That number is up from 600 in 2001, and there are some 31,000 weekly worshippers across the 12 sites. Matt Eich for TIME
People pray and sing during worship time at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
Worshippers at Church of the Highlands.Matt Eich for TIME
The view from the sound booth as Associate Pastor Jimmy Bowers delivers a message at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
The view of services from the sound booth at Church of the Highlands.Matt Eich for TIME
A family waits outside of the auditorium at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
A family waits outside of the auditorium at Church of the Highlands.Matt Eich for TIME
(L-R) Michael McClure Jr., Michael McClure Sr. and his granddaughter Brooklyn, and Darius McClure laugh during a lively family dinner at the home of Rev. Michael McClure Sr., in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
(L-R) Michael McClure Jr., Michael McClure Sr. and his granddaughter Brooklyn, and Darius McClure laugh during a family dinner at the home of Rev. Michael McClure Sr., in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015. Matt Eich for TIME
A family dinner at the home of Reverend Michael McClure Sr., pastor of Revelation Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015. Both of McClure's sons have followed in his footsteps and are pastors at churches of their own.
Both of McClure's sons have followed in his footsteps and are pastors at churches of their own.Matt Eich for TIME
Angelique McClure hangs out with her nieces and nephews in the living room during a family dinner at her father's home in Birmingham, Ala. on March 22, 2015.
Angelique McClure hangs out with her nieces and nephews in the living room during a family dinner at her father's home.Matt Eich for TIME
The stained glass glows at night from inside the First Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 21, 2015.
The stained glass glows at night from inside the First Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. on March 21, 2015.Matt Eich for TIME

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