The Nones

Why are people abandoning religion?

Recently I was exposed to Eric Weiner’s New York Times article about religious affiliation and the growing numbers of people, as he put it, “running away” from it. With the holidays approaching, I thought it important to speak on this issue. Therefore, I have broken my explanation down into three parts: 1 Eric Weiner’s viewpoint. 2 My assessment of his viewpoint. 3 My own viewpoint.

Eric Weiner’s view on American religion; specifically the rise of non religious affiliation, are as follows.

A) Politics is to blame for the rise of the “Nones” (the 12% of Americans who don’t have any religious affiliation).

B) Truth is what works (i.e. if it makes people more loving it’s truth).

C) The Nones “are drifters” of religion and “only see an angry God.”

D) The solution to talking about religion publicly is to find a Steve Jobs to reinvent a new way of being religious.

My view points are as follows.

A) Politics shouldn’t be blamed for affecting religious belief. When Rome killed Christians, it didn’t stop the growth of the Christianity. When China punished the Tibetan monks, it didn’t stop them from holding firm to their faith.

B) Truth is not necessarily about “what works.” Will what we do make us happy? Maybe yes, maybe no. For example, I worked in a company one time where they asked me to lie to the customer so we could keep the product line going. I was nice to my boss when I told him I wouldn’t lie. My boss didn’t force me to lie. However, I was let go a month later due to “company restructuring.” I wasn’t particularly happy I was laid off.

On the other hand, when I helped a woman jump her car’s dead battery, I was her hero. In that case, yes, I was happy. Truth isn’t always about what works. Sometimes we just do things because it’s the right thing to do, whether we feel good about it or not.

C) Mr. Weiner states that the Nones are “drifters” of faith and that they see “an angry God.” Nones may be drifters, but they cannot see God…He is invisible. I suspect that what Mr. Weiner really sees is anger in people, not God.

D) The solution is not to rely on someone to invent a new religiosity. Man is flawed.

My solution is as follows.

Eric Weiner is on the right track addressing religious behavior. But I believe he would be more accurate to say that religion is a way to live, and that spirituality is the way to God. Some may be embarrassed to talk about God. I am not. I have never had someone dis me when I speak about God. It may have something to do with my delivery. I am proud to announce that I am a Christian. At the same time, I respect those who aren’t. Few people believe there is not a God. That someone would, by definition, be an atheist—one who doesn’t believe God exists. I find this odd, since one would have to be all knowing to say God doesn’t exist. The Nones, on the other hand, is a clever way of saying agnostic—one who isn’t sure God exists.

Many atheists and agnostics have said that if there was a God why is there so much pain and suffering on the Earth? Is that fair? I think we could all give a little credit to God’s misguided followers. People may be blaming God when they are really projecting their own anger against those that are behaving badly in His name. We “religious” folks should always speak the truth, but ensure we speak it in love. Sometimes it works out for the best and sometimes it doesn’t. We should always try to live a good life that imitates our faith—but we are human and will eventually make mistakes.

During this holiday season, we don’t need another Steve Jobs to show us the way. He already did enough for us with electronic devices—Ipad users will certainly thank God for that. It may be that the Nones are the fastest growing demographic, not because of politics or greater awareness, but because they are the children raised by parents that modeled noneness instead of a connection with God.

Mr. Weiner may be right to say that the public is terrible when talking about God. But we shouldn’t be. What we need is more of a deep inward evaluation of how and why we think about life, what we say to others, and what we do in our daily life. If we did that, conversations would be much more constructive and open. It may not lead everyone to a firm decision about God, but it certainly would be a good start. Mr. Weiner hopes to believe in God someday, and I hope he does. Maybe one day he will look beyond the faults of man to find the happy God I know.