Author: Kara McVey
On March 23, CNN.com featured a blog post entitled “Organized religion ‘will be driven toward extinction’ in 9 countries, experts predict.” The post discusses a recent study which used decades of census records to mathematically map the decline of organized religion in nine western countries. The blog suggests that much of the world is steering away from organized religion and that non-identification and secularism are taking its place. If this is true, it means that religious organizations’ hold on American society will slowly diminish, along with the negative effects of having a culture based around a dominant faith.
Despite the fact that the survey did not include the U.S., it seems that the U.S. is moving in the same direction as many other western countries — towards secularism. Between the increasingly non-affiliated popular media and the advocacy of non-religious groups, organized religion in the U.S. has never faced as many opponents as it does now. Given the deep-seated religiosity of certain regions, the proselytism of organized religions and the fervent beliefs of many Americans, it seems unlikely that organized religion will go extinct anytime soon. Rather than people giving up on religion, in many Western societies (including the U.S.), people are becoming less focused on dogma and more open to other ideas, which is a positive development.
Everywhere from mass media to legislation, there are indications that the U.S. is slowly leaning more towards secularism, science and acceptance. Dogmatism is beginning to give way, in many instances, to pragmatism. People are beginning to see that one person’s idea of morality may not hold for everyone and that when ideas are contradicted by logic, science and necessity, the ideas must be altered.
For example, efforts to introduce sex education in public schools are often met with criticism by religious groups who fear that educating the youth about sex will make them more likely to be promiscuous. However, the movement towards sex education has grown as studies, including one conducted last fall by the Centers for Disease Control, have emerged linking abstinence-only education with higher rates of unplanned pregnancies. In cases such as these, practicality, logic and acceptance are beginning to gain ground. As acceptance becomes the norm, the U.S. is unhitching itself from centuries’ worth of religious dogmatism and judgment and becoming a secular nation.
We see this trend towards acceptance and diversity in the media. Twenty years ago we had “Saved by the Bell” and “Growing Pains,” two shows that, despite efforts to represent the struggles of adolescence, remained very vanilla — and now we have “Glee.” All of these shows enjoy great popularity among teens, but unlike its predecessors, “Glee” deals with issues of sexuality, even when they are controversial. Popular media is changing, and it’s changing in a way that makes it more edgy, but also more representative of a broader range of Americans. Programmers are increasingly featuring characters who do not fit in with the traditionally white, Christian and heteronormative images portrayed in earlier media. As these barriers are surmounted by the largely secular media responsible for prime-time broadcasting, it slowly becomes culturally acceptable for individuals to educate and seek help for themselves. In the process, the public is becoming more aware of and more tolerant of others. This is a good thing.
For many, faith is becoming less about established churches and more about developing a personal set of beliefs and morals. At Occidental, there are many different faith-based groups, but we have still come a long way from the college’s Presbyterian roots. Now we have an Interfaith Council to help the different religious groups work together and understand one another, and the College encourages open discussion about morality, identity and beliefs. In many ways, our community is still shaped by religion, but non-identification is becoming increasingly acceptable as an alternative to organized religion.
Kara McVey is a sophomore ECLS major. She can be reached at mcvey@oxy.edu.
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