Historically, the percentage of Americans who said they had no religious affiliation (pollsters refer to this group as the "nones") has been very small -- hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent. However ... the percentage of "nones" has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans. (via ABC news)I certainly know what it is to be young and religious. I was raised as a Catholic and was quite faithful until my mid-30s, when I locked onto Christian Science. But it took until my mid-60s to see what more and more young people today are seeing, according to the above poll.
It is only now after having been away from the absurdity of religion the past four years that I am gaining a sense of what I lost. For over 30 years I fancied myself - and tried hard to be - a spiritual healer, a thinker, a defender of the faith, a biblical scholar, a visionary, and at times even a savior of a church. Though along the way I met a few interesting and lovable co-religionists, in the end I just couldn't abide the hypocrisy, the dullness, the meanness and the arrogance of those who were supposed to be my leaders and examples. Also, unknowingly, I was slowly (at first) losing my ability to swallow some of the absurd beliefs and traditions of both conventional and unconventional religion.
Yes, this took a long, long time to devolve. Shortly after I left the fold, I resumed being the person I was when I was took the leap of faith and set off on a spiritual career. That's why these days I often say I'm immature for my age.
It took a few years, but I gradually reestablished my interest in music. Today I play in a brash blues dance band and work part time at a cool computer store. I can't help wonder where I would be by now if I had stayed on a musical path, developed my skills as a writer and composer, poet, essayist, etc. I'll never know. What I'm grateful for is that during that lost period I somehow managed to keep those embers glowing - though on a back burner.
So I'm somewhat resentful - ya think? - that I wasted my youthful years - truly wasted them since I never really fulfilled even the religious/spiritual expectations. I don't want to admit it, but I am getting to be an old man and while I rejoice in my present activities I know that I will never ever achieve my potential since I am 30+ years behind where I would be if I’d continued to develop along my natural, non-religious lines.
That's why I occasionally speak out against religion - especially for young people. I know what a comfort it can be to adhere to what seems certain, authoritative, and beneficent. When things get crazy in your life the orderliness and fixedness of religious belief seems like safety. But it isn't. It's a huge waste of your time. Get to your true potential - explore it, hone your skills, learn from your mistakes. Yes, if you're going to make mistakes - and you certainly will - let them be in the right direction. Don't let them be like mine, thousands of mistakes within a single Big Mistake.
Your life is yours to develop, not some supernatural being's, not some evangelical community's, not some spiritual leader's or some sacred book's. Religion has been invented to give you the assurance you crave but can never achieve. The ultimate facts are that we live and then we die. In between, we develop our talents and abilities - and have some fun. Work on those and don't waste your time on fantasies of salvation or eternal happiness.
2 comments:
This is interesting - this business of young people and religion.
A married couple I know has one young son. The husband is a non-observant Jew. The wife is a fairly faithful Protestant. They've very happily agreed that their kid is "hands off" as far as religion is concerned. That is, they'll encourage him to pursue religion if he wants, but neither parent will advocate for a particular religion (or for non-religion).
I told them that their kid is probably better off this way than if he were in a home where both parents shared the same religion, in which case there would likely be an expectation for the kid to follow suit. Too often, this expection results in major, unnecessary problems if the kid ultimately decides to go on his own spiritual path.
I'm curious if your children followed you on your Christian Science path. If so, did they also follow when you changed course?
thanks for your comment. My "children" are already quite mature and have made their own decisions about religion - although one of them told me that it was my commitment that set the standard. So, when I saw through the absurdity, I suppose there was no longer any incentive to continue on my former path.
I feel it is a form of child abuse to raise children in a religion. Children are naturally atheistic and their natural fears and trust have to be manipulated to espouse a belief that doesn't make any sense even to their young minds.
I think Dan Dennett has a viable proposal: to make the study of ALL religions mandatory for all school children. (http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/universal_religious_education_in_america_a_public_policy_project_for_the_fu/0017198) This would counter pressures of parents and their church to make them ignorant of what other people espouse. My feeling is that children who get a wide view of religion will eventually reject it as ridiculous fantasy. It's only by ignorance and threat that kids take up the belief of their parents. So facts need to be marshaled against this cruel exploitation.
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