The fact that many people change their religious affiliation nowadays is a healthy trend. Changing dominations shows that people are thinking about their beliefs. People are paying attention to what nourishes them spiritually and what leaves them dry, empty and uninspired. No longer are they satisfied with the beliefs that were passed down to them through their families. They want first hand experience of the Divine. The shift to a new religious paradigm relies on tuning into themselves and taking more responsibility for their spiritual lives. And that is what the Pew survey is identifying.
Often having many spiritual choices is demeaned by the phrase “the shopping mall mentality” of religion. This spiritual smorgasbord is a threat to the mainline churches that are struggling with declining membership. These churches, for the most part, are established to articulate and inculcate beliefs. But the spiritual hunger lies in establishing a relationship with the Divine, not “believing” in a masculine God who lives disembodied in the sky. The anonymous quote “Religion is for people who believe in hell; spirituality is for people who have been there” still holds true.
During my years at Princeton Theological Seminary I did field work at Trinity Episcopal Church that was adjacent to the campus. I’d go to the early service, teach confirmation class and then travel several miles down the road to the Quaker Meeting House. I needed both of these avenues: ritual filled with words and song and to sit in utter quiet amid people I hardly knew in an effort to collectively open our hearts to the inner light of the Divine.
Underneath all the searching, we are hungry for spiritual sustenance. We long to live a symbolic life that has meaning beyond our everyday activities. We long for a safe place to express our devotion and to light a candle for our deepest hopes and longings to be manifest in the outer world. Or, we may need to support our creativity by igniting the creative spirit through insight and awakening the imagination through new experiences. Other times—as Mary Oliver says “if it all we can do to keep on trudging” then we need to find a place that will deepen our faith as we white knuckle it through.
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