Book shows the shape of faith is shifting
Once in a while, a book comes along that genuinely pins down
religion in the United States and persuades the reader the future
doesn't look so bad. Such a book is "Shopping for Faith: American Religion
in the New Millennium" (Jossey-Bass, $25). The authors, Richard
Cimino and Don Lattin, have been observing the religious culture
in the United States for decades. Cimino is editor and publisher
of Religion Watch and lives in New York. Lattin is the religion
writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and lives in California.
They wrote the book using e-mail, sending chapters back and forth. First, the book includes a CD-ROM that enables readers to monitor
religious trends on the Internet. This electronic version of the
text, fully searchable and with keyword links, connects readers
to resources on the Web. That's a big help. Secondly, these men write clearly. They're experienced and
have watched the movements of religions for decades. I think what
they're saying is absolutely on track. Here is a sampling of their findings: --Sales of books on the Bible, religion and spirituality shot
up 40 percent in 1997. --Seven in 10 Americans believe that one can be religious without
going to church. --Some 40 percent of Americans believe that one does not have
to believe in God to experience the sacred. Twenty-six percent
report they experience the sacred during sex. --A remarkable 99 percent of family physicians think religious
faith helps patients respond to treatment. --In the 1950s, one American in 25 had left his or her childhood
denomination. Today, more than one in three has left or switched. --Some 70 percent of employees think spirituality has a place
at work; 56 percent pray, chant or play meditation tapes on the
job to relieve stress. --Four adults in 10 report meeting regularly in small religious
groups. --The average Catholic parish is eight times larger than the
average Protestant congregation. But the best parts of the book are the stories of people who
changed their religion -- from Catholic to Buddhist, or from Lutheran
to Catholic. The people found new meaning in life through regular
participation in small groups. The authors say women will have a big impact on religion as
they take up leadership positions in denominations and congregations.
The style of leadership already is changing from authoritarian
to teams. And women are taking control very quickly. Part of this can be explained with the greater number of women
seeking degrees in religion. The book says there are 70 women
seminarians at the Episcopal Church Divinity School of the Pacific
and only 25 men. At the Golden Gate (Southern) Baptist Theological
Seminary, nearly one-third of the student body is women, even
though few Southern Baptist congregations call women to ministry. That trend also holds true in seminaries in the Twin Cities,
where at one institution the student population is 75 percent
women. Even in Catholic seminaries, lay women outnumber men studying
for the priesthood. But downsides have emerged as women become more involved in
the leadership of churches. One is that there may not be enough
jobs for these newly trained female leaders. For instance, mainline
denominations that accepted women the earliest are also the denominations
that are losing membership -- and congregations -- most rapidly. Further, churches aren't immune from some of the gender inequities
that have caused women grief in the workplace. For instance, the
book says women are taking part-time positions in religious organizations
and that may be a sign of creating jobs that become marginalized. Lattin also says church leadership positions may lose prestige
and garner lower salaries as women move into their ranks, a disappointing
result other professions -- such as teaching -- have experienced. One of the statistics that piques Lattin's interest is the
number of people moving from church to church. It would seem no
one has the corner on spiritual truth, he said in an interview. He's also surprised by the number of people who eventually
return to the origins of their faith. He mentioned a phenomenon
he has noticed in California -- that of a number of Jewish people
who turned to Buddhism later turned back to Judaism. "They realize there is mysticism in Judaism. There's a
big lively synagogue out here (in California) and they had a speaker
come in and talk about mysticism. The place was packed. The crowd
even surprised the rabbi," he said. "One woman said she drifted away from Judaism because
of the patriarchy. Then she rediscovered Judaism and she's coming
back, but she is just taking the mystical part," Lattin said. Obviously, times are changing and the congregation where you
worship will look a lot different in the new millennium. But that's
not all bad. And if you stick with it, you might discover a whole new dimension
to your faith.
Clark D. Morphew
Posted For November 14, 1998