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April 5, 1996
RELIGION EXPERTS DISCUSS RELIGIOUS TRENDS IN AMERICA
April is a month of religious celebration in this country and all over the world. Jews begin observing Passover on April 3, Easter follows on April 7 -- or April 14 in the Eastern Orthodox tradition -- and Muslims celebrate the festival of Sacrifice, Id al-Adha, on April 28.
Even back in the 1830's, Alexis De Tocqueville remarked how religious he found the American people. The diversity of American life has resulted in a rich diversity of religious expression. Statistics on religious affiliation are hard to pin down (the Government is not allowed to gather such data), but according to the Gallup Poll, 96 percent of Americans believe in God. 71 percent say they belong to a church or synagogue, 45 percent say they actually worship regularly.
The traditional faiths still dominate. 56 percent of Americans identify themselves as Protestants, 27 percent as Catholics, 2 percent as Jews. Islam is now one of the fastest growing religions in the nation. Estimates on the number of Muslims in the United States range from five to eight million people.
As churches, synogogues, temples and mosques fill, the Online Newshour turns to Richard Ostling, Religion Correspondent for Time Magazine, and Martin Marty, Professor of American religions at the University of Chicago, to answer your questions about the role religion plays in our secular society.
What do you think? What do you see as the major trends in religion today? Do you think Americans are becoming more or less religious?
Related Links:
On Christmas day, the NewsHour looks at the role of religion in society.
Richard Ostling reports on how public schools are handling Christmas.
Click to see a Forum Menu.
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A question from Richard Feder of Yonkers, NY
Is it a coincidence that Easter and Passover fall conveniently at the same time of year as ancient Greek and Roman seasonal festivals?
Professor Marty responds:
Yes. Christmas may very well have been chosen to match or counter a winter solstice festival, and Easter no doubt gets its name from the spring goddess Eiostre. Remember, the Bible does not say Jesus was born in December; the Christians could have chosen any day. With Passover and Easter: these dates, as no doubt all know, are set in connection with phases of the moon . The ancients were very mindful of seasons and turns in the heavens. It took centuries for Christians to agree on observance dates--and they do not all even do that. The huge Eastern Orthodox branches have different dates, for instance. Finally: all faiths, including Jewish and Christian, are "syncretistic" to some extent--even when they oppose syncretism. That is: they absorb some elements from their environment even as they fight the "paganism" around them.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
I'm not an expert in ancient Greek and Roman calendars, but probably good reference works in your Yonkers public library would answer this one. Check the Passover article in Ency. Judaica and the Easter articles in the Catholic Ency. for starters.
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A question from David Pearl of Potomac Maryland
New media makes it possible for many people to work in physical isolation in remote areas. How will this effect communities that were traditionally formed by people with a common religion, and religion in general?
Professor Marty responds:
Will new media like the one we are using complicate religious expression ?No doubt about it: there is and will be change, but the change has gone on through all phases of industrial/transportation/communication revolutions, and still communal survives. Ben Barber has written a book on Jihad vs MacWorld: he sees "tribal/communal" impulses growing as international homogeneities and interactions grow. Yes, many flee or cannot find community, but there are also compensatory hungers for it. Things won't remain as they were, but I'd not bet on exactly how they'll come out.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
I think you're onto something important. We have good sociological surveys showing that Americans who actively attend worship are far more likely to volunteer time for other civic organizations and hands-on charity, and are far more likely to turn out to vote (Ralph Reed take note).
As we enter an era where people think they participate with the outside world through watching TV or typing out messages like this one into computer networks, that's bound to decline. Church attendance is undercut by our lust for weekend leisure. Churches and even more, synagogues, will have their hands full to maintain vital in-person worshipping communities in the 21st century.
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A question from Joan Weber of Baltimore, MD
What about trends in religious tolerance?
I was raised in a rural area in Maryland. The issue there has never been whether or not you are religious, but rather how everyone else's religion is wrong. I consider myself a religious person, but fundamentally believe in both the separation of church and state; and in religious freedom of expression. To not be a part of a specific denomination raised far too many eyebrows in my opinion. I recall a conversation I had with a woman in my hometown. She explained how her church splintered off from another one that had previously splintered from another one. She said the reason was because they interpreted the Bible wrong. She believed that she had the key to salvation. In frustration, I finally turned to her and said, "What you are telling me is that the only humans to be accepted in the Kingdom of Heaven will be the 35 people in your church?"
The presence of religion in this country has never been in doubt. The presence of religious intolerance and bigotry is a serious issue in far too many communities.
Professor Marty responds:
I doubt whether that's our biggest religious problem today. Today Baptists might fight Baptists, Catholics fight Catholics, Lutherans fight Lutherans, but it's almost unheard of to hear Baptists fight Methodists, etc. Right-wing Protestants who thought a few years ago that the Pope was anti-christ now often favor a Catholic who is to the right of the pope. This is a marvelous country in which alliances constantly change. I think indifference and apathy are bigger problems for religions that would like to define themselves. Of course, there are hard-liners, but they are a minority. And "mere" tolerance isn't very interesting either, if it means: "I don't believe in very much so I don't think it's important what you believe either." I once wrote a book on the theme: the problem in America is that the highly committed people aren't very civil and the highly civil people aren't very committed. I still agree.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
Most devoutly religious Americans, by and large, believe in social tolerance. Even on the Protestant right, talk about electing "only Christians" is relatively rare, though disturbing when it arises. Why disturbing? Because we Americans are fundamentalistic in holding to certain moral absolutes, such as the Constitution's principle that there should be no religious test for office-holding.
But a distinction must be made between that and the internal dynamics of a religion. It's rare for a religion (or a political movement, or even athletic team for that matter) to thrive without a feeling of conviction, that certain things we believe are absolutely true. I believe with every fiber of my being that classical music is wondrous and rock is mostly crap. You may believe the exact opposite. The trick is for religions to maintain this internal absolutism without turning to intolerance out in society. The even bigger trick is for non-religious citizens, or those who think any and all religious beliefs are equally valid, (it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere), to extend tolerance and understanding toward their neighbors who hold deeply held religious convictions.
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A question from Thom McClary of San Francisco, California
My impression is that most of the world's most widely practiced religions share basic values; ritual, tradition. Do you see any trend in organized religion to emphasize the values of religions rather than the trappings--i.e.ritual?
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
Well, I wouldn't say religious rituals are largely shared. The differences strike me more, but maybe that's a journalist's viewpoint. For most religions that emphasize "ritual" and "trappings," these are part and parcel of the belief system. Those religions generally free of such, e.g. the biggest U.S. Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, find their unity in abstract beliefs, in this instance that every word of the Bible is true. There's an excellent treatment of the shared values of all faiths in "Mere Christianity," in which the late Oxford English lit lecturer C. S. Lewis uses that very fact, believe it or not, to argue for the unique claims of Christianity.
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A question from Jenni Smith of Richmond, VA
I am reading a biography on Abraham Lincoln, and what I find fascinating is that Lincoln was not a religious person at the beginning. He belonged to no church, and he did not talk about God. But when he became President and started to make decisions leading to the deaths of thousands of young men, he began to think of himself as a part of a larger plan not of his making. He began to see the Civil War as God's Divine plan, one beyond his understanding. He was not responsible for the death and destruction, God was. It seems to me that there is an interesting dichotomy. It is said that religion is the opiate of the masses. And indeed, religion is stronger in the rural, lower-class areas than in Universities and the suburbs. But what about the people closest to the sun? Has there been a study that looks at whether people in high decision-making positions more prone to religion?
Professor Marty responds:
David Herbert Donald's fine new book does show him moving from agnosticism to a kind of Christian fatalism; he was the only president who never joined a church, but was also our most theologically gifted one. It's complex: he did, no doubt, see America (the Union) and himself as God's instruments at the end. But he also was nervous about claiming God on one's side. We were an "almost chosen people" and the Almighty had a "mysterious will." I think his move toward complex faith was genuine and evident but, as I said, very hard to interpret, and scholars of Lincoln are not likely to agree on one interpretation.
Tagged on to that were questions about geography of religion, about the fact that people in south and rural seem to be more religious than north and urban, and uneducated more religious than educated. I'd say not more or less but different. Today the Christian world, for example, is growing in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Asian subcontinent--the poor and hungry world. But the parking lot of fundamentalist churches in southern cities shows that you don't have to be poor to take on hard-line or enthusiastic religion. I think post-industrial, technological Europe and the American north may be a bit pooped and skeptical spiritually; I don't think temperature has much to do with "opium of the people;" too many kinds of people in too many kinds of places are religious for us to tie it all to geography.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
Trick question: Which U.S. Presidents were not baptized Christians? Answer: Hoover and Nixon, who were Quakers, and Lincoln, despite his image as a deep religious thinker who was profoundly influenced by the King James Bible, which he was. There was an excellent piece on Lincoln's religion late last year in the new Christian journal "Books & Culture," copies available from 800 - 523-7964 and probably via Christianity Online. I suspect sociologists would dispute that U.S. religion is stronger among rural and lower class people as opposed to the university educated, though today's campuses do their level best to acculturate and propagandize youngsters away from religious faith. But my personal hunch (only that) is that the top decision-makers are more secularized than the rest of us, or at least far too distracted from real life for their own good.
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A question from Adolph Bakalar of Ft. Myers, FL
How "religious" are those people who attend church, synagogue, or temple? What percentage join an organized religion simply to "meet like-thinking people?"
Professor Marty responds:
Do some people use congregation/communal religion so that like can meet like? No doubt. There are many motives for churchgoing. It is much easier NOT to go than it was in small intact communities where there was social pressure to belong and attend. Now, increasingly, the neighbors don't know or care, or are themselves away-for-the-weekend and thus unable to observe. Yes, religious people tend to be or to form like-meets-like groups; a good thing about religion is that it meets social needs; a bad thing is that it can breed social closeness and prejudice.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
Impossible to say. Connectedness to real people is a big plus but nonetheless I doubt there are many people involved in a church or synagogue 100% for social reasons, without any beliefs. There are other social outlets available in most communities and the old prestige factor cliché (junior executive joins country club and Episcopal Church to boost prospects) has largely disappeared. Meanwhile, the latest research tells us people would be smart to join actively in worship because it has a major payoff in medical benefits. Could even save your life, if the latest study of open heart surgery patients at Dartmouth Med School is right. (See brand new book "Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief" by Harvard Med School's Herbert Benson, published by Scribner)
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A question from Matt Fargen of Lacrosse, WI
As a student at U.W.-Lacrosse I see peers moving away from organized religons that their parents chose to follow. I wonder if this is a common trend among my age group, a trend that has recently developed or somthing specific to my peer group?
Professor Marty responds:
More and more people are FREE to move away; often through intermarriage outside their faith; often out of rebellion or boredom or because they find more exotic menus. There is more switching than before. But also there are compensatory turnings-toward traditions by those who had rejected them. Once upon a time it was painful to say good-bye to family religion; it's less so now, as people move much, and go shopping.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
See above answer about irreligion and university students. I think your trend there is fairly general, and it's a major reason the more liberal Protestant faiths lose their young adults, because the conservative Evangelicals, traditional Catholics, Mormons, Orthodox Jews and the like tend to stick with it despite subtle social pressure against belief. I'd recommend George Marsden's "The Soul of the American University" (Oxford University Press) as an excellent history of all this.
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A question from Eleni Kirkas of Madison, GA
Is the Christian Coalition a political or religious movement?
Professor Marty responds:
There is no doubt that members of it start out trying to effect a particular religious view, but that can change. Movements like C.C. start with what I call "the politics of resentment," because they have been demeaned and left out culturally and religiously. But it soon becomes the politics of will to power. When C.Coalition overdoes its stands on NAFTA and GATT and balanced-budget and other items not connected with the faith of their churches, they risk becoming "mere" politics. Ralph Reed gives some Republican speeches now, as head of C.C., that hardly refer to religion. Still, religion drove many to seek each other's company.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
Christian Coalition is a movement of churchgoing Protestants and Catholics who want to lobby on a variety of public issues and elect like-minded candidates. Such people think the politics is an aspect of their religion and the search for a good society, so to them it's both. Despite what some press accounts would have you believe, this is a long-standing American tradition, as old as the Revolution against Britain or the Abolition of slavery, and as contemporary as Martin Luther King's crusades for black rights and against the Vietnam War.
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A question from Sally Grossman of Seattle, WA
Instant access to libraries and newsources on the Internet can cause one to feel omnipotent. Is a reliance on technology replacing religion?
Professor Marty responds:
Yes, for many. But I wonder whether this is as much the case as it was a few years ago, when science and technology were MORE believed in than they are now we cure one disease and a new one comes up; we perfect fertilizers and they poison us; bacterial warfare is a byproduct of good discoveries. We late 20th century people still make much, much out of technology, but our suspicions are also aroused.
Religion reporter Richard Ostling responds:
Hmmm. If Internet access makes anyone feel omnipotent, it's time to log off and read the Bible, or attend the nearest church for a few weeks.
General comment on all the questions: a wide variety of topics covered, which exceed the expertise of one mere reporter though probably not of your local public library. People in our game find it much easier to focus on the specifics. One could research most of the above topics for days or more. Happy Easter / Passover / Id al-Adha to all.
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Additional Comments:
Sue Evans of Pearland, TX
What I think we see are several interlinked phenomena. First, there are people looking for answers, particularly ones that have been hit by a crisis that life tends to bring. This is probably very common among the boomers.
Second, (and this gets lots of publicity), is the perceived cultural war between the "Christian right" (not everybody who is disturbed by the cultural problems is in that category), and the "liberal left", over where the line between values and liberty should be drawn. This is an area potentially fraught with great danger, because few things in the world get people into angrier and reactive positions than a threat (perceived or actual) to their religious belief structure. Yet with the pluralism we have in this country, it is an arena that can only be worked out in the sphere of law and politics.
I can only hope that the message of loving action that Christ preached will be the guiding light that leads people on, and not the acrimony that we have seen world wide when this becomes the hot issue.
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Thomas A. Robinson of Durham, NC
It is, of course, difficult (and dangerous) to offer generalizations about matters religious in the U.S. A great deal has recently been written about the return of the baby- boomers to the church and synagogue. I am sure that for some the return is based upon a profound interest in spiritual matters and is based upon a realization that God, the Diety, the Almighty, Yahweh, however "named", should be worshipped and glorified. I am reminded of the answer to the first question in the Westminister Catechism (What is the chief end of humanity?) -- to glorify God and enjoy God forever.
I am left, however, with the feeling that for many of those returning to the church, the activity is just one in a long parade of self-indulgent activities, one act in a series of cafeteria-like walks through life. It is as if many are saying, "I haven't tried the church thing for a while. Perhaps I'd get a lot out of it." I think this phenomena is seen in the explosion of growth within the megachurches. With worship activities long on "relevancy", long on entertainment, short on sacrament, bereft of mystery and tradition, full of applause and Christian rock, the activity of the gathered community seems ever inward directed. Entertainment, not worship, seems to be the goal. With a Gospel message in which each of us is asked when did we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the one in prison, many of our megachurches spend as much or more on accountants as on mission activity.
As our Christian baby-boomers (I leave comment upon our Jewish babyboomers to my Jewish friends) return, they may find the Gospel message less than comforting for they may well find themselves, like Peter of old, in an encounter with the risen Lord in which they are asked, while they are standing among their possessions, their schedules, their careers, their plans, their 401(k)s, and their families, "do you love me more than these?" I'd hate to be standing in the door of the church when that question is put to my friends. It is the most difficult question with which I have to wrestle. On some days I do a much better job of answering it than on others.
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Phil Sexton of Panama City Beach, FL
I have no way of knowing whether religion, affiliation with religion, or practice of religion is growing or diminishing. That is the sort of information that I hope to find when viewing your program.
My concern is the effect of organized religion on government, especially on the sorts of laws that are enacted. In particular, I am concerned about abortion laws and prohibition (as in "war on drugs") laws.
Organized religion tends to view such things as drugs and abortion as "evils", never mind any thoughts of liberty of the individual, or proper functions of government, or even practicality of law.
Rather than trying to get a definition as to when the life of a fetus (as an individual) becomes the proper concern of the government, organized religion often seeks simply to ban any abortion procedure as "evil."
Rather than noting the incredible cost to society to attempt prohibition of drugs (or any other thing or substance), or having any concern for the liberty of the individual to abuse or take care of his own body, again the tendency is to prohibit the "evil."
Government must not be based on "evil" as perceived by organized religion or the public in general.
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Jan Andrea Nielsen, Dover, NH:
Atheism in America
I'd be curious to know the growth rate of the number of atheists in the country. Are there any correlations with other data? Also, I wonder how old the Gallup poll data is; and the specific questions that they used to come up with a huge 96% religious population. Does that include agnostics, pantheists, "no comment"s, and other null figures, or is that the raw number of theists?
As an atheist, I am quite concerned about the image that atheism has in society; is it still associated with the 50's anti-american/communist myth? (I've had a few people call me a communist when they learned of by lack of faith, but not entirely seriously.) Of course I have a ton of other questions, but those will have to wait :)
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Mark Archer, Tulsa, OK:
I believe that Americans may talk the talk when it comes to religion and beliefs, but we don't walk the walk.
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Arto Woodley, Jr., Dayton, OH
People are searching more and more for religious fulfillment, but our society as a whole is less religious. What I mean by being less religious is that faith has less of an impact on most people's day to day lives.
Even though most Americans claim faith in God, our societal behavior does not evidence this faith. All kinds of crime, teenage pregnancy, the erosion of the family are all factor that point to Americans lack of real faith. Our country was created as, "One nation under God," but the true impact of God on our daily lives are less evident than in past years. The whole issue of religion has also become very divisive and politicized. of the country will be seen as imposing your beliefs on others. Religious beliefs wereonce a unifying factor, but not anymore.
My conclsuion is, we more talk about true faith (religion), but we are actually less dedicated than we once were. True faith in God is evidenced in how we live not what we say!
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