Alien Anthropology: Religion Is Dead, Faith May Yet Prevail
December 16, 2007 (19 Responses)
WE VISITED AN ALIEN WORLD this morning. It had been many many years since I’d seen the inside of a church, excepting of course the usual weddings and funerals that require perfunctory attendance but none of the usual alertness I’d associate with the giving and receiving of actual organised religion.
This morning SusiQ and I attended a mass (the reasons for which are not really central to the theme of this post) and as I sat there and looked around at the church, the audience, the priest, the whole interaction I was struck by how alien it all was for me. The church in question was one I’d frequented when I was a young boy growing up in Dublin, but by the time I was twelve I’d basically bailed on the whole organised religion thing and left mass and churches behind in the process, much to the distress of my mother.
And so it was that I found myself back in this church, with my mother as it happens and SusiQ, and the occasion provided me with an opportunity, anthropologically speaking, to observe the alien process in action and see for myself how things had changed in the decades since I last found myself in that church.
For starters, the audience congregation had changed dramatically. I’d say only 25% of the seats were taken up, and of those probably 90% of the participants spectators were at the over-sixty stage. I only counted two kids in the entire church and probably four or five middle aged or young couples, most of whom were eastern European by appearance. Attendances have dropped off significantly from when I was a boy.
My first surprise was when the priest stood up and announced the start of the service for ‘those listening at home’; they were broadcasting over a church radio network. An obvious progression I know, but still I wasn’t expecting it for some reason. As the priest droned on in the usual monotones I took stock of the churchgoers in the rows and rows in front of him and would liken them to robots, going through the well established and comfortable motions, rather than active partipants in any religious ceremony. They came in, sat down, switched off and performed when required. There was no real engagement as such.
Then of course it got weirder, which is only to be expected I suppose in an alien landscape…
The priest kicked in with his keynote sermon and in a nod to modernity he referenced Bono and the lyrics “Still haven’t found what I’m looking for“. As I recall he went on to say that “John the baptist was singing this same song when he was incarcerated in a prison cell” and then he challenged the good folks in the pews with “Does anyone here know what John was looking for?”
Unfortunately the agnostic in me was thinking the answer was perhaps a record deal. Still it seems the real answer was the meaning of christmas or some such dribble. More minutes pass and then sermon is completed to what I can only describe as a vacuum of any recognition whatsoever. People stood, kneeled, sat and mumbled upon command but never really seemed to engage.
There are no alter boys any more; probably because of all the sex scandals within the Catholic church. There are no choirs any more – now replaced by smaller folk-ish groups who still haven’t found what they are looking for either (i.e. some harmony). Pretty soon some coloured rubber condoms were passed around for the collections. In my day it was a wooden basket which was passed around, and the priest used to always announce what the collection was for; however today it’s just a blue condom first, followed by a red condom and no mention of what the money is to be used for or where it’s going.
I sat there, observing and noting the changes from my childhood recollections, but I also took stock of the status of things. My generation (Generation X I think they called us sometimes) broke the mould. We walked away from the church and any organised religions. We embraced sexual ambiguity, abortion, divorce, freedom of choice, multi-culturalism, anti-racism and a whole lot more. We broke the taboos and reported the sex offenders in the priesthood and the christian brothers. We changed the face of Ireland utterly, and all in a matter of two decades. Those that follow us live in a new Irish paradigm as a result.
When you consider that each successive generation is less connected to the Catholic church in Ireland than the last, the long term prognosis is pretty bleak for organised religion in this country. In my day there were entire families in church, kids in tow, every single Sunday. Today I saw two kids in church. The presentation may have changed slightly (church radio, more singing, the odd nod to modernity in a sermon) but the basic content still remains the same and is aimed at the older generation in the pews, which is why organised religion in this country will ultimately fail and disappear within a generation or two at the most.
Faith itself may prevail in whatever form it takes. Some folks need to believe in something more in order to get through the day, and that’s ok. Everyone has the right to believe in whatever they want, but I do not think organised religion has a prayer (sorry!) anymore. It’s outdated, outmoded and just plain out of touch.
As an exercise in alien anthropology I did in fact enjoy observing the process at work in the church this morning. Taking the outside-looking-in perspective allowed me to take an objective stance on familiar things from my childhood. It also brought back some old memories and reminded me of just why I bailed on the whole religion thing, but more than that it convinced me that the future of faith in this country is not in the churches and it’s not with the priests. The influx of immigrants and different races, cultures and religions in the last ten years can only be a good thing. The future of faith I suspect lies in the future generations finding a common platform to communicate, support and identify with no matter what colour or belief system is behind it.
If the experience this morning is anything to go by, organised religion – in my humble opinion – is dead in Ireland, or at least it’s taking some last gasping breaths on the way to closing down completely. I guess it remains to be seen how faith will endure, or indeed if it will survive at all. That particular aspect is up to the generations after us I guess.
I wonder what sort of Ireland will be there for me to observe when I’m at the over-sixty stage of my life.
I come from a heavy Catholic background (on my mother’s side). My mom is Puerto Rican and Catholic, as is every other single person on the side of her family. My dad was Lutheran and had a very relaxed view on religion. My steps into the Catholic faith never went any further than my baptism. My dad never thought it was necessary that we went to church. My mom struggled internally with this, I believe. But I do remember that the first time I ever stepped foot inside a Catholic church (for actual mass) was when I was 11. I started to go for a few weeks, more because it was a novelty more than anything else. But after a while I got bored and just realized how ridiculous it all was.
My mom always wanted me to have my first communion and confirmation and all. I’m glad that it was never forced on to me, and I could make my own decisions about what I believed in. My Catholic cousins, however, so this as a Very Bad Thing, and let me know many times under no uncertain terms.
Every year my mom steps farther and farther away from being a Catholic and from organized religion in general. More and more things happen that make her say “this is brainwashing.”
None of her family (in PR or in the US) feel the same way however, and unlike what you see in Ireland, I think that religion has a big hold on a lot of people in the US. Personally, I think that’s unfortunate since I don’t like the idea of organized religion at all.
I agree with you: some people need something more to believe in, and they should be able to if they want to. I do. But the whole organized religion thing just causes problems. People become blinded and close minded by it.
Sweden is very much not religious. I don’t know anyone who goes to church. Not that people don’t believe in things – most people just seem to keep their beliefs as something personal. I very much enjoy that about this country. And I think it’s frightening to see so much religion shoved down my throat when I go back to the US to visit.
Sorry for the long comment! But it’s an interesting topic!
Thanks Irma; good to see the blacklisting hasn’t got your site by the throat this time
It is a shame when people (and a lot of them) judge the whole Christian Church by just a small part. The Body of Christ as the Church is known as should not be judged by a bad figure or dirty feet. Just take your Bible. Read the New Testament with an open heart to hear from God and explore the Churches He sends you to. It will be a real trip. The Bible says that we are strangers and aliens. It’s the true Christian that should be alien to the world (or worldly people = worldlings) and it’s world view. Seek and you will find.
I have no problem with anyone disliking formal religion
because it seems nonsensical and boring to them. However, I can only imagine that they don’t read much and are uninformed about the history of Chrisitan thought because they couldn’t make a statement like that otherwise.
There is a vast difference between worship and what we like to call spirituality. Religious service is for the practice of worship or “worthship” of a greater overriding authority over our lives. Spirituality has more to do with our day-to-day contact with the unseen worlds within and without ourselves.
The trouble with most people is that they go into a religious context without any understanding of it and make a judgement they have no right to make. They are not entertained, therefore it has no practical value to them. That makes no sense. If they were wanting to practice worship, that’s where they could formally go to stand with others of like belief and GIVE worship. One has to personally immerse himself into the context before a worship service can take on any meaning at all. As a matter of fact the attitudes of humility and thankfulness are what charge a person’s spiritual batteries for life in the real world. That is the purpose of worship. A visitor cannot make a reasonable judgment on it. To the Christian, the blood of Christ carries a certain spiritual, metaphoric and historic meaning which requires that worthship be expressed in order to fertilize one for the spiritual realities to manifest in everyday life.
Why not make the same statements about Native American ceremonies? Take the costumes away, dress everyone in slacks and skirts and have them speak English only. The actions are not so different from a Mass. You might be bored there also and you would certainly think they were brainwashed as well.
So, I would ask what form of worship do you practice and how does it compare to “organized” worship? Why don’t you like organized religion? Could it be that you have no idea what it really is? Organized religion is much more than its thanking ceremonies. It’s also feeding the poor and works of charity, in addition to worship. Do you also dislike feeding the poor, or is it the thanking part that bothers you?
The other thing about the kneeling and mumbling has to do with submitting oneself in unison with others to a concept bigger than anything we know. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that our affluent society has become a bit less thankful and perhaps less humble?
Hmmm. In the Catholic tradition, inner contemplation overrides outward emotional expression for a reason.
Something to think about. Not trying to offend.
Thanks
Boris
No offence taken Boris. To answer your questions:-
1) I use the catholic church as an example of organised religion because it’s one I’m familiar with; I grew up in, around and outside it.
2) An organised religion to me is a belief system which is policed by those in power and authority, and communicated to others via strict procedures, processes and rules. It is a system which is sometimes exclusive as well (e.g. believe this one because it’s the right one, all others are false).
3) I don’t kneel to anyone; so I’m never going to understand that. Any system which requires that level of submission and protestation is a little bit too far for me I’m afraid, but fair enough to anyone else who goes for that sort of thing.
4) I don’t worship. I’m agnostic.
5) What I was commenting on most in that article above is the differences I’ve seen since the last time I was in that church, the decline in the audience, the cross section (older, no kids anymore), the minor nod to modernity in presentation (church radio, bono) but the lack of any real change in the content, hell even the lack of any real communication during the ceremony between the prest and the crowds – it was all just automatic send/receive stuff. My impressions were that this form of “worship” as you call seems to be on the way out in Ireland for all of the above reasons.
Hope that clarifys your questions.
That’s rather my point.
Loved the article. Don’t agree with it but unfortuately I know my kids do.
Hope noone really believes it
Yeah, religious congregations are really dwindling aren’t they? I suppose that must mean they’re barking up the wrong tree, since the best things are always the most popular. I suppose we should all follow the crowds to Dundrum Shopping Centre, the latest overpriced restaurant, or a Take That reunion concert.
I’m not much of a mass-goer, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the minority often tend to be right, and the things that it’s trendy to malign (religion, literature, restraint, social graces, etiquette, history, etc. etc.) are often more admirable than the socially accepted virtues (consumerism, individualism, irreverence, self-indulgence etc. etc.)
You don’t really think it’s politically incorrect to attack organised religion, do you? It’s been the ritual behaviour of anyone who wants to think of themselves as “liberal” or “sophisticated” for the past forty years. In modern Ireland, it’s a daring columnist or intellectual indeed who will come to the defence of the church. Criticise chuch-goers all you want, but don’t pretend you’re striking at a sacred cow. You’re being uber-PC instead.
Quite frankly, it can’t be said that organized religion is a dying thing. It probably depends on where you live. While there is a strong push from the secular left in the US to rewrite the history of this country, it nontheless remains a widely religious country. Worldwide, Chiristianity is, (especially evangelical Chrisitianity) growing by leaps and bounds–particularly in third world countries—as is Catholicism.
In the most liberal areas, Judeo-Christian religion is of course being heavily challenged by the secular religious movements of the left such as environmentalism. I would agree that faith is very much alive in many of the neo-paganist movements, and this has happened before.
What I find interesting is that the more “relevant” the old orthodoxies try to become in the modern West, the weaker they seem to get.
What I find interesting is that the more “relevant†the old orthodoxies try to become in the modern West, the weaker they seem to get.
I entirely agree….in Paul Johnson’s excellent book “History of the Jews” he makes the point that, in historical terms, it’s the more hardline religions that tend to survive. For instance, Orthodox Judaism is more robust now than liberal or reform Judaism. It seems to me (and I mean no insult to anyone’s religion) that in Europe, the faith amongst Protestant populations seems to be weakening, while more Catholic countries retain a higher degree of religiosity. If religion survived by adapting, this wouldn’t make much sense.
I find the neo-paganist movements interesting, but I wonder if they can really be described as a religion? Their creed is often so nebulous and ill-defined, it’s difficult to accept it as a specific belief. Usually it boils down to some vague belief in “harmony in nature”. Which is perfectly valid, but more an attitude than a religion. Whatever your view on Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, one has to admit that their respective theologians and philosophers have worked out amazingly intricate and fascinating systems of thought.
@Maolseachlann & Boris: Just to be clear folks, I’m not ‘attacking’ any organised religion.. I was simply commenting on what I’d seen and how things had changed in the interviening years between when I was younger and attended church and now. I’m not striking at any sacred cow or trying to be politically incorrect in doing so; it was just a personal view on the state of things based on that visit to the church and what I can see around me in this country of ours.
Personally I do think that organised religion has had its day in the sunlight and will gradually fade away or go underground as the world moves on and past it. However – I could be wrong; it is after all just my opinion
Well, that’s fair enough. And I don’t even think there’s anything wrong in attacking organised religion; I just think it’s rather redundant at this stage, it’s been done so often. The news that mass attendance and the authority of the Catholic Church is declining in Ireland is hardly news at all. To be fair, your post DID try to discuss this in a reasoned and moderate way, but it seems quite confused to me. For instance:
My generation (Generation X I think they called us sometimes) broke the mould. We walked away from the church and any organised religions. We embraced sexual ambiguity, abortion, divorce, freedom of choice, multi-culturalism, anti-racism and a whole lot more. We broke the taboos and reported the sex offenders in the priesthood and the christian brothers. We changed the face of Ireland utterly, and all in a matter of two decades. Those that follow us live in a new Irish paradigm as a result.
Have we created a new “Irish” paradigm? What’s specifically Irish about it? I think the generations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century forged a rich Irish national consciousness, built upon their vision of the past, and in which Catholicism was a central element. We have walked away from that, certainly, but I don’t see we’ve replaced it with any new interpretation of Irishness. We’ve just become part of the international, consumerist, liberal-democratic club. What new expressions of Irishness has our generation created? u2? The Munster rugby team?
I can accept your list of concepts that Generation X accepted until we talk about multiculturalism and anti-racism. What could be more anti-racist than Christianity, that preached the brotherhood of man at a time when the idea was positively outlandish? And, in more practical terms, the Church has been as supportive of immigrants and asylum seekers as anyone else. In fact, I think they’ve been excessively supportive, since multiculturalism is a belief I don’t subscribe to.
I hope you’re not right, that we’ve moved beyond organised religion, but I fear you might be. The question should be, have we gained more than we’ve lost?
Just to set the record straight from this end—I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school until I was 17. I stopped practicing when I was quite young and have been turning over my own stones, so to speak, for many years. In the process I have come to appreciate what religion does for people and have a huge respect for the underlying ideals. Having experienced certain things that fall into the mystical category, I understand how religion positions the mind for those wishing to go further with it.
What is important, however, is a desire to see, rather than a desire for proof. There is a fine line. That’s the faith part that requires a surrender of sorts. It’s not possible to understand this dynamic without actually doing it and a skeptic or agnostic mind is like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. That’s not a bias on my part. From my experience, it’s just the way it is. It’s a real struggle with the rational mind. I replied to your blog not because of your observation about church attendance, but rather to your choice of words in doing so. There so much more to the story.
I actually agree with you that the future is not in the hands of the priest, however. Even Jesus had his problems when it came to congregations and He ended up looking in places where the faithful attitude was present. I think that statement is clearly made in the Bible time and time again. I would also agree that there needs to be a turning of faith within the priesthood because your observations are not entirely without merit. I have a feeling that the Western Church may have to collapse in order to find itself. The problems with the priesthood stems from an already disbelieving congregation in my view. A community fervent in its belief could not help but produce a strong priesthood.
Great subject.
hmmm.. you’ve got me thinking about another topic now, and I’m working up a draft of the post for that one which will no doubt lead to some debate, but I’d be interested in your views on it.
Drop back in the next few days and see what you think folks.
Religion is not dead … it’s alive and well … the thing is that there are things that you should take notice
1 – ” Liberal ” religion is dying — http://search.speedbit.com/searchresults.asp?site=web&prevsite=web&q=Liberal+Christianity+dying&client=pub-1734327923886716&forid=1&channel=9518150362&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BFORID%3A11&hl=en&sa=Google+Search
2 – Breeding for God — http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7913
Birth rates are falling all over the world … from 6.5 to 2.6 worldwide … in 3 generations if trends continue religious people will be more than 92 % of the world population
Post secular http://search.speedbit.com/searchresults.asp?q=Post+secular&client=pub-1734327923886716&forid=1&channel=9518150362&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BFORID%3A11&hl=en
3 – Christianity in Europe/USA is not authentic Christianity … it is either too commercial/fake/polictical ( USA ) or anemic/weak/unbiblical ( Europe )
4 – Due to the World wars ( and many other factors ) Europeans lost faith in everything … in God/religion , culture , in nationalism and in themselves … and the high taxes that they have to pay … poor things
5 – Religion seems to be dying but it isn’t … it’s in the hearts of the believers … people would call this the ” Return of religion to Europe ” but that is irrational … religion never dissapeared … it went underground … of course you don’t know but countless immigrants ( due to the low birth of Europeans ) come to Europe to replace these populations and bring their religions/beliefs/faith with them and a good proportion is Christian
6 – The churches in Europe have forgotten how to reach the unbelievers … they have become too tangled with themselves … on the other hand those whom try to become ” modern ” also lose since they become liberal or unbiblical and therefore millions of believers run away … therefore there is a ” moderate ” way that is becoming increasing prevalent in Christianity and is growing there
7 – I myself converted to Christianity … my parents converted as well … entire family too … I am from West/Central Africa … I can tell you personally that I have felt at home in Europe
Europe is not the norm … it is the exception … it is not the unexamined life that is not worth living … it is the animal life … where you just live like an organism without any higher purpose … of course for animals that is fine but with us humans it is not … humans are higher then animals
But the extreme/ultra fundamentalist Christians destroy by putting too much energy into this ” purpose ” ( or faith ) and they kill/mix everything
Why do you think that Jeti , New age movements and ” Eastern ” religions have had such little impact on Europeans ?
Why ? Such little impact on unbelief , doubt , indifference or apathy …
Why ? What can actually replace the void in Europe ?
Hedonism ? Ha … that never did anybody any good
Europe needs balance that is what they need …
Unbelief and nominality never inspired anyone …
Radicalism is a piece of trash too …
I hope that Europe understands this
Religion has died because its has always been a pack of lies. The catholics are some of the worst, playing on the indivisuals quest to humble themselves before something greater. I wonder why they have never been able to put a stop to the rampant sexual abuse. It’s because the priests of that organization always knew that Jesus was half man half alien, and given that there house was built on those lies the pope can’t afford a discruntled employee.
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