I make fun of my 15-year-old brother for going to church. I’m a terrible sister and a terrible person but I’m also part of a growing population in the United States.
America is losing its faith. According to a survey published by the University of California Berkeley earlier this month, “religious affiliation in the United States is at its lowest point since it began to be tracked in the 1930s.”
Of those surveyed, 20 percent claimed to have no religion, compared to 5 percent in 1972. And the younger and more liberal you are, the more likely you are to be part of this hell-bound division of the American population.
The survey found that more than one-third of 18-to-24-year-olds and 40 percent of liberals claimed no religion. Not especially surprising, since 18-to-29-year-olds have dominated liberal demographics for more than a decade, according to Gallup polls.
The year I spent at St. Patrick’s Catholic preschool was the most religious of my life. There was also that time I “found Jesus” on a camping trip my senior year of high school, but I don’t think that counts. Simply put, I’ve just never related to religion.
When my brother decided to get baptized a few months ago, it troubled me. I feared he was being brainwashed with narrow-minded conservative beliefs. On a family road trip over spring break, I grilled the poor kid with questions about his Christian-ness throughout the seven-hour car ride.
“Do you think gay people are going to hell?”
“Do you endorse slavery? Because the bible says you can have slaves as long as they aren’t your neighbor’s.”
I also made sure to toss out an insensitive comment about being in a “place of God” every time we passed a church. It was all in fun. Mostly.
I’ve since realized, however, that anti-gay sentiments, the belief that one man may own another, Immaculate Conception and (God forbid) creationism, have nothing to do with my brother’s choice to go to youth group each week. For him, church is a place to be with friends; a place to discuss life’s hardships and wonders without judgment.
The sense of community found in youth groups, bible studies and church services (believe it or not, I’ve been to a few) is unparalleled and I don’t blame anyone for wanting that in their lives. I think it’s great that so many students are involved with religious groups on campus. At a small school like ours, having access to people with common beliefs and interests is an invaluable opportunity.
I think it’s a beautiful thing when someone believes in something so fervently that they base their entire life on it. And that’s why I find it sort of discouraging that so many young people are turning away from religion. It isn’t just about “God” or “Jesus” or whoever the higher power of their choosing happens to be; it’s about faith and believing in something.
The portion of Americans claiming no religion increased by 15 percent in just 40 years. If the trend continues, half the country could be non-religious within much of my generation’s lifetimes, and certainly our children’s lifetimes. For some reason, this worries me. I don’t know if lack of faith is going to make us a smarter, more forward thinking nation or just leave us a bunch of jaded cynics.
I wonder what my fellow members of the one-third offer as their reasons for claiming no religion. For me, the wholeness I feel from my family, my cat, crappy horror movies, punk music, writing and iced coffee are enough. But I can’t assume an entire third of my generation finds fulfillment through Dunkin’ Donuts and Jesse Lacey.
So what’s the catalyst here? Is scientific proof becoming too hard to undermine? Were we disheartened by knuckle-lashing Catholic school teachers? Did our no-driving-after-dark/Jesus-is-always-watching-parents ruin things for us?
Whatever the common denominator is behind the trend, it’s clear that American ideals are changing. I don’t exactly know what that means but I stick by those who choose to have faith — even it’s only for the sake of having something to believe in. I’ll probably continue to taunt my brother and follow him around with his bass guitar singing “Kum Ba Yah,” but I’ll understand — and even appreciate — his motives.
