Yes, I know we've been fearful for a long time about things such as random violence, road rage, and crimes against our person or property. But now we are afraid of everyday things such as air, water and food. These are things we have to be able to trust.

Faith Popcorn, a futurist who spots trends for a living, calls this new phenomenon "AtmosFear," because it involves the basic ingredients of a happy life.

And I think Popcorn is correct. We are afraid of just about everything in our world. For instance, there are few safe places to travel in the world anymore. Almost anywhere you travel there will be warnings about food or water. Certainly every strange city has hostile neighborhoods where you should not walk at night. And that's true even here in the United States.

Much of our fear comes from watching television news and reading newspapers that insist on printing articles about the disease of the week. Here's an example. Recently a nationally syndicated columnist commented on a letter about a woman's 2-year-old grandchild who was diagnosed with botulism poisoning. The infant survived, incidentally.

Then the columnist informed the poor frightened woman that only 8 ounces of botulism could kill the entire population on Earth. He goes on to say that imperfectly preserved foods such as peppers, green beans and asparagus permit botulism to germinate. And when the poison reaches adult stages it becomes deadly.

Having that kind of information coming at us every day, 365 days out of the year, is bound to have a dramatic impact. My guess is this woman will avoid canned vegetables for the rest of her life.

So Popcorn, according to the Los Angeles Times, says she is advising companies to play to the fears. She tells food companies to list the ingredients on all of their products. And she tells airlines to list the training and experience of their flight crews where passengers can read them and be reassured.

One wonders what the implications are for religion in this new "AtmosFear."

First, it is obvious that a religious meeting place should be a safe place. As we are threatened by many things, all religions should be reassuring members that both children and adults will always be protected.

Second, there is a great void of hope in this nation. I've said before that preachers should be talking about the meaning of life. And one of the key ingredients of a meaningful life is hope. If we can't hope for a better life, then life is meaningless and we are lost in despair.

Religious organizations also can promote hope through projects. Nothing feels better than being able to help someone less fortunate. Organic gardens are one way to help people find uncontaminated food. And some religious organizations are already holding farmers' markets on parking lots during summer weekdays.

Another trend that Popcorn points out in her 1996 book, "Clicking" (HarperBusiness), is that men and women are different and will move toward a product for different reasons. Women want relationships, Popcorn says, and that means a company has to impress upon women that they are important.

That makes me think of some Christian denominations that do not ordain women and allow women to be involved in the church only in specific ways. Most of the maneuvering in these denominations is based on the premise that men must have power over women.

If there is a trend toward "Eve-olution," as Popcorn calls it, then the denominations that keep women out of power will be fighting a losing battle. In the future, all denominations will ordain women and eventually allow them into the halls of power. But for now, in some Christian denominations, there is unequal status between men and women.

Church leaders, both lay and clergy, should pay attention to these trends because they will determine the future of religion in the United States. Study them as you would analyze market research because they are going to come true. And you don't want to be the last person boarding the train to the future.

Clark D. Morphew
March 28, 1998