Religion Has Nothing to Fear From the 'Nones'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-eric-h-yoffie/religion-has-nothing-to-fear-from-the-nones_b_3033881.html

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
Lecturer, writer, and President Emeritus, Union for Reform Judaism

Posted: 04/08/2013 5:05 pm

Hardly a month goes by when we don't read about the decline or collapse of organized religion in America. But religion -- including the organized sort -- remains vital and vibrant, defying the predictions of doom that appear with numbing regularity.

The latest round of these discussions follows the publication of two studies showing that 20 percent of Americans claim no religious affiliation when asked to state their religious preference. The number of "nones" has doubled in the last two decades.

Writing in The Huffington Post on March 20, Professor Gary Laderman of Emory University argues that religion in America will never be the same. He suggests that the dramatic increase of "nones" reflects profound changes in American society. Americans, he says, have embraced individualism and consumerism and apply this ethic to their spiritual choices; they are greatly influenced by popular culture and increasingly look to film, television and the Internet as a source of spiritual authority; and they define religion very broadly, seeing many venues other than established places of worship as arenas for sacred activities.

Laderman's conclusion is that we are now experiencing "the end of religion as we know it." He urges us to "forget churches, forget priests and pastors; forget the Bible; forget organized religion generally." The future lies in a "brave new world" of spiritual possibilities that will be increasingly unhinged from traditional religious authorities.

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