Biggest Religion Story of ’09: Faith Gains Ground

Beliefnet

Home

Faiths & Prayer

Biggest Religion Story of ’09: Faith Gains Ground

posted by Brad Hirschfield | 12:04pm Tuesday December 29, 2009

Any retrospective glance at a year’s worth of stories, except this one of course , will always privilege the familiar over the emergent, and style over substance. And because of that, the most interesting and important stories are often missed. Nowhere is that more clear than in the response offered when members of the Religion Newswriters Association were asked about the top 10 religion stories of 2009.
From the #1 ranked story, President Obama’s speech in Cairo, to #10 — the invocation shared by Reverend Rick Warren and prayer offered by openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson, the stories tend to be about doctrine and how we fight about its application to life, be it private (abortion) or public (health care). However bitter these fights remain, what these answers miss is that faith is on the move in this country and it’s moving away from those kinds of fights.
Americans are increasingly interested in the role faith plays in their lives, but not in how a specific doctrine or dogma directs them to vote or otherwise behave. So faith remains strong in this country even if religion as a set of rules is taking it on the chin. A new religious America is emerging. Or more accurately, we are witnessing the next stage in a process that has been unfolding for decades. That’s the biggest story of ’09.
More than ever, Americans reject rigid categories when it comes to faith, and an unprecedented number answer the question about the religion to which they belong with a single word, “none”. Not only are the “nones” the fastest growing religious category in America, but they outrank every other group except for Catholics and Baptists.

But saying ‘no’ to our parents’ religion, the one in which we may have been raised, or all religion as currently defined, does not necessarily mean saying ‘no’ to faith and/or to God. And woe to those who make that assumption, no matter how many statistics they use to prove their point.
Nowhere is that more true than when demographers, sociologists and statisticians use simple, rigid categories to describe something as complex and nuanced as spiritual identity. That’s why we should beware sweeping conclusions like the ones which accompanied headlines in March of this past year, which suggested that faith is vanishing in America.
If the new American Religious Identification Survey study tells us anything at all, it is that the categories by which people measure and define their own faith are shifting, but that is hardly something new. The personalized, even idiosyncratic nature of faith in our culture has been a growing trend for a very long time.
We may look back to 24 years to Robert Bellah’s Habits of the Heart, which studied individualism and commitment in American life, or the emergence of the radically democratic American Pentecostalism which grew from a Los Angeles stable 100 years before that, or even the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock.
The bottom line is that we have always been a culture that rejected the spiritual status quo. But we have not ever been, and are not now, a culture that rejects faith. We just want in on our own terms — that is the American spiritual tradition. The American Religious Identity Survey actually confirms that. The results of the American Religious Identity Survey suggest that we live in a time of incredible spiritual ferment, one in which personal freedom and individual dignity is celebrated more than ever. As one whose own personal spiritual journey took beyond the forms and practices with which I was raised, I especially value this trend.
The renewed ferment of contemporary American faith is the story of the 2009, and it’s a story filled with emergent promise even if nobody can be sure where it’s heading. There’s a great deal more to being a “none” than I think we can possibly appreciate just yet, but that’s one of the stories to watch for in 2010.

post a comment

posted December 29, 2009 at 12:52 pm

Perhaps you can try to provide some solace to Rabbi Shumley whose latest blog (http://blog.beliefnet.com/rabbishmuleyunleashed/2009/12/the-alternate-reality-decade.html) was full of despair re: the current moral and spiritual state of the U.S. While I agreed with much of waht he had to say, I also commented on just the thing you wrote about today. Someone else commented that there is a big difference between what people say and what they do.

Sky

posted December 30, 2009 at 11:37 am

Thank you for explaining more about being a “none”. I have firm beliefs, and sometimes it is dissettling to me when others are completely unsure of their belief, except that it is there. I have more peace and understanding for some of these individuals. So thank you for adding peace to my world:)

posted June 23, 2010 at 8:12 am

k
http://002evolves.blogspot.com

payday loans toronto

posted July 26, 2010 at 7:53 pm

blog.beliefnet.com is great! Cash payday loans are cash advance loans that are convenient for anyone that needs some quick money Most Viewed in the FinancePayDayLoans Category days

Mr. Payday Easy Loans Inc.

posted September 8, 2010 at 3:51 am

Thanks for making such a killer blog. I arrive on here all the time and am floored with the fresh information here. dsgsprligytakeshzeztvyysumwvlmnamvs
Mr. Payday Easy Loans Inc.

payday loans no fax

posted September 22, 2010 at 5:13 pm

Effective submit. Thank for sharing. wxhsoeebuyy

loans no fax

posted September 25, 2010 at 5:35 pm

This site is a complete internet resource for this. You’ll find all you wanted or needed to know, here.

loans in canada

posted September 26, 2010 at 3:18 am

Well, the post is actually the sweetest on this deserving topic. I agree with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your incoming updates. Just saying thanks will not just be adequate, for the wonderful clarity in your writing. I will at once grab your rss feed to stay informed of any updates. Good work and much success in your business endeavors!

loan canada bad credit

posted September 26, 2010 at 3:55 pm

This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. This is very nice one and gives in-depth information. Thanks for this nice article

loan in british columbia

posted September 27, 2010 at 4:41 pm

Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site some thing like that. Can I take part of your submit to my blog?

payday loan ontario

posted September 28, 2010 at 6:30 am

This is such a awesome resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. It is the old what goes around comes around routine. Did you acquired lots of links and I see lots of trackbacks??

loans for bad credit

posted September 28, 2010 at 5:24 pm

Finally, an issue that I am passionate about. I have looked for information of this caliber for the last several hours. Your web page is greatly appreciated.

loans bc in canada

posted September 29, 2010 at 5:45 pm

Finally, an issue that I am passionate about. I have looked for information of this caliber for the last several hours. Your site is greatly appreciated.

canadian loans bad credit

posted September 30, 2010 at 8:00 pm

This web site is a complete net resource for this. You’ll find all you wanted or needed to know, here.

losing weight

posted October 2, 2010 at 5:08 am

The post is really the best on this laudable topic. I concur with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your future updates. Just saying thanks will not just be enough, for the exceptional lucidity in your writing. I will at once grab your rss feed to stay privy of any updates. De delightful work and much success in your business dealings!

faxless payday loan

posted October 4, 2010 at 3:17 am

Pretty useful article. Myself & my neighbor were preparing to do some research about that. We got a fantastic book on that matter from our local library and most books were not as descriptive as your information. I’m incredibly glad to see such information which I was searching for a long time.