Author Derek Thompson is a self-identified agnostic.but His latest article in the Atlantic Clarifying the problems associated with the de-churchization of America.
of Latest research from the Public Religion Research Institute It turns out that more than a quarter of Americans now identify as “religiously unaffiliated.” In fact, according to PRRI, the only “religious” group in the United States that is growing is “independents.”Worse, tens of millions of Americans stopped attending church Over the past quarter century.
Armed with this data, Thompson tried to answer that this was not the case. why This phenomenon is occurring, but at what cost?
benefits of religion
Mr. Thompson said organized religion provides people with the essential infrastructure to develop meaning and lead fulfilling lives.
he wrote:
Relationships with organized religion provided many things at once: not only a connection to God, but also a historical narrative of identity, a set of rituals that organized the week and year, and a family community. PRRI believes that as the number of Americans attending religious services several times a year declines, the most important characteristics of religion are “experiencing religion in the community” and “instilling values in children.” I discovered that.
digital life
The dechurchization phenomenon coincides with a “historically unprecedented decline in in-person socializing” and the rise of technology, Thompson said.
This poses unique problems.
Thompson said Americans are not only interacting less with their communities, but also embracing “a new relationship with smartphones, a technology that in many ways is the diabolical antithesis of religious ritual.” .
Thompson explained that smartphones, by their very nature, have created a “digital life.”intangible, asynchronous, shallowand Lonely.“Religious life, on the other hand, is essentially its community, rituals, and values.”materialized, synchronization, deepand collective.”
Religious life, Thompson says, therefore serves as a “retaining wall against the destabilizing pressures of American hyperindividualism, which threaten to expand and spill over in the absence of religion.” he writes.
In conclusion, Thompson doesn’t say it outright. But if you read between the lines, it’s clear that Thompson understands that religious life is a net positive for our society, and believes that America hasn’t factored in the costs of abolishing the church.
“In abandoning organized religion,” he wrote, “has an isolated nation abandoned an ancient and proven source of ritual just when we need it most?” “It took decades for Americans to lose their religion. It may take decades to understand the full extent of what we have lost.”
Thompson’s article is a great reminder of unintended consequences. And in a culture increasingly hostile to people of faith, it’s especially refreshing, and perhaps even vindicating.
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