Even as the world goes through sometime cataclysmic changes,
the hunger for meaning in life remains, research indicates.
Unfortunately, research also suggests that people are not finding
the answers they seek in traditional institutions.
Even as the world goes through sometime cataclysmic changes,
the hunger for meaning in life remains, research indicates.
Unfortunately, research also suggests that people are not finding
the answers they seek in traditional institutions.
Recently-reported data shows two contrasting trends –
a decline of attendance at religious services through industrialized nations
and a persistence of religious beliefs and spiritual concerns, reports the Emerging
Trends, a publication of the Princeton Religion Research Center.
Of 20 advanced industrialized societies, only two show increases
in church attendance, the newsletter reports. In contrast, attendance is growing
in five of seven ex-Communist societies, the publication notes.
At the same time, even industrialized regions show a persistence
of spiritual concerns, data indicates. Modern persons “are less attached
to traditional forms of religions, … but they are more likely to spend more
time thinking about the meaning and purpose of life,” the October issue
of the monthly newsletter says.
Indeed, on a whole, when persons throughout the world are asked
to rate the importance of God in their lives, the responses have remained fairly
consistent during the last 20 years. Only half of the studied nations show a
declining emphasis on the importance of God – and the average decline is
only 1 percent, research indicates.
For instance, attendance at religious services declined from
60 percent in 1981 to 55 percent in 1998, the newsletter notes. The number of
people who rate the importance of God as 10 on a 10-point scale remained constant.
However, overall, the number of people saying they think often
about the meaning and purpose of life has grown – even among advanced nations,
the newsletter reports. “The percentage saying they ‘often’ think
about the meaning and purpose of life increased in 26 of the 37 societies (studied),
… and the increase was most pronounced in the advanced industrial democracies,
where 16 of our 20 societies show increased interest in spiritual concerns.
(The United States is one of the four advanced industrialized
nations recording a decline in that category – from 48 percent in 1981
to 46 percent in 1998.)
Still, the overall trend is more positive.
“The power of the hierarchical church may be declining, but the rise of
postindustrial society does not necessarily diminish interest in religion,”
the Emerging Trends report concludes. “Indeed, the evidence suggests that
it leads to growing interest in spiritual concerns.”
For the modern church, the statistics offer a clear challenge
– how to connect with persons who are searching for spiritual direction
but not necessarily looking to traditional avenues for their answers.