Religious-secular divide narrower than believed: Marmur [View all]

Atheists seem to crave ‘religious’ access to healthy living as much as others.

By: Dow Marmur Columnist, Published on Mon May 27 2013

We didn’t have to wait for the recently published data in the 2011 National Household Survey to know that nowadays fewer people attend conventional religious services. Spokespersons for mainstream places of worship repeatedly report that their numbers are down and that they find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

For example, the combination of diminished attendance and reduced funds has forced several synagogues in the United States to amalgamate, even though they belong to different religious streams in Judaism. Economics trumps theology.

But that doesn’t mean that people are less religious, only that they’re not willing to participate in conventional public worship or affiliate with traditional institutions. Though they may still want the benefit of clergy for life cycle events like weddings and funerals, they don’t appear to need it for personal devotions or religious instruction. Places of worship seem to be more in demand for grand occasions than for regular services.

People today yearn for transcendence no less than earlier generations, but many resent being directed by pulpit and altar as to where and how to find it. Instead of submitting to traditional hierarchies, they want vibrant informal and democratic communities run by members, not gurus. They say they’re “spiritual, not religious,” even if in reality the distinction between the two isn’t always clear to them or to anybody else.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/05/27/religioussecular_divide_narrower_than_believed_marmur.html