A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into the future. But will they even exist?
Although religion has been prevalent in the past, it appears as though it is fading with each step into the future. All around the world countries and people have affiliated themselves with a certain religion and belief systems but primarily in the United States, it has been seen as becoming less important in society to teens. Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism, and the list continues. Rather than split people into groups according to religion, political affiliations such as Democrats and Republicans have become how we divide society. Mother Beth, priest of Christ Church in Portola Valley, said, “Being Republican or Democrat has nothing to do with the important life cycles that are marked by the church such as birth and baptism, marriage, death, and has nothing to say about the afterlife. It is a broken world and we have the balm to soothe is and help fix it focusing on peace, love and forgiveness. Jesus was a radical revolutionary who was the ultimate nonviolent protest against a huge political empire up until the very very end and never used violence even as they were nailing him to a cross.” Research from Duke University and University College London (UCL) has revealed that the number of people in the U.S. who claim religious affiliations or attend church, temple, or other services has dropped significantly. The study suggested that just 45 percent of young adults ages 18-30 say they have “no doubt God exists,” while 68 percent of Americans 65 and older said the same. Yet San Mateo Reverend Ben Meyers feels differently and thinks religion will remain prevalent in society. “The book of Micah calls us to simply: ‘Seek mercy, love justice, and walk humbly with our God.’ Being with others who are about seeking, loving, and walking the same ways is essentially what makes religions relevant and worth engaging in. The best of religious practice both centers us and prepares us for the challenges of life and compels us to work for justice, mercy and the greater good. In this way, religious practices that bring people together to create greater justice in the world will always be prevalent,” Meyers said. Meyers also feels that religion is a broad concept. Devotion ultimately represents religion, not just to faith but to anything one enjoys and follows. “Religions are not always ‘religious.’ So, whether one worships in the church of baseball or soccer, or mountain climbing, or wealth accumulation, or social status, or politics or one tries to remain ‘agnostic’ and unengaged, that too, can be one’s religion,” said Meyers. Some religions have been shrinking such as Catholicism while religions such as Islam continue to grow and are predicted to prosper. According to Pew Research, over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam is expected to grow faster than any other major religion and to be one of the largest followed religions by by 2050. Pew Research also projected that in the U.S., Christians will decline from more than three-quarters of the population in 2010 to two-thirds in 2050, and Judaism will no longer be the largest non-Christian religion. Muslims will be more numerous in the U.S. than people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion. According to General Social Survey, in the U.S., a third of Americans will have no religious preference at all by 2030. Another factor that tends to steer people away from a population is the increase of religious extremists groups such as ISIS which misrepresent the Muslim people and their faith in Islam. Ian Jones, a senior who practices the Mormon faith, said, “I think religion will continue to be prevalent, faith isn’t something that just goes away. For me, terrorism and faith are separate things. Although there can be religious motives behind it that doesn’t mean that all of Muslims would ever practice it that way, it's more the people. I hope terrorism wouldn’t drive anyone away from religion.” Social concepts that are not accepted in religion, such as being gay and gender equality, has driven people away from religions as well such as Catholicism and other faiths. Pew Research Center has stated that 33 percent of Catholics say that homosexuality is a sin. Yet others who practice Catholicism try to accept social debates such as gay marriage and contraceptives despite their religion. Fifty-four percent of Catholics approve of gay marriage and 76 percent thinks the church should permit birth control. “The world could probably do without religion but not without God. However, as imperfect as religion is it is important to have a community of faith to help one learn and support each other,” Beth said. |