Thread by @ChapTaylor2

Since it’s Sunday morning, maybe it’s appropriate to talk about something that’s been on my mind... Recent polls show that for the first time in modern history, less than fifty percent of Americans report belonging to a house of worship.

While roughly two-thirds of Americans still identify as Christian, the fastest growing religious group in America is unaffiliated. There are a lot of people on Twitter who probably believe this is a good thing, but honest people should take time to consider what that will mean.

Start with the fact that data shows religiously observant people are happier and healthier than those who are not. I am not attempting to proselytize and social scientists suggest a number of reasons for this, but this is what the data shows.

People from all backgrounds can agree that America was suffering a crisis of meaning, even before the pandemic forced us to isolate from our social networks. We are ever more atomized, isolated and lonely. And we see the consequences of that loneliness on the news every day.

Next, consider how divided we are as a nation. While America was never a Christian country by law, without a state religion like some counties in Europe, Judeo/Christian culture, mythology and morality was a shared framework, even by those who challenged it.

The question is, where does that leave us? For all its many flaws, organized religion provides a sense of hope, meaning and universal framework for its adherents. It also provides a common cultural language previously shared by a large majority of the American population.

What seems likely at the moment is the human need for belief and meaning will not disappear. Rather, it will be replaced by individual systems of “wellness” or “spirituality.” It may also be increasingly replaced by pseudo-religious cults like QAnon or even CrossFit.

Reasonable people can agree that none of these provide the same positive outcomes as a universal system of belief or a shared community with a lifelong tradition of ritual. Again, this is simply what the data tells us.

And before you simply answer, “Science” or “Reason” please be honest and reflect on all the individuals and systems that have exalted scientific progress or dialectic reasoning with disastrous consequences.

I guess what I’m asking people to do is honestly reflect on what will come next, what impact that will have on all of us, individually and as a country, and whether that is a positive development.

All yours, Twitter...