People are more interested in inner experiences than correct doctrine,

[Guest guest]

" Spirituality in the '90s

End of century, millennium brings new interest in faith

 

It will be hard for future historians, when they consider the 20th

century, to view much of the era in a positive light. The past 100

years have taken mankind to new lows, with unprecedented levels of

violence, barbarity and cynicism.

 

But along with this darkness, and perhaps in part because of it, has

come a new international resurgence in religion, faith and

spirituality at the century's end. . . .

 

According to a Pew Research Center survey released in December 1997,

71 percent of Americans said they " never doubt the existence of

God, " up 11 percent from a similar survey a decade earlier. . . .

Kelley cites the example of his students, who are " surrounded by a

world that can seem real shaky at times. I see them looking for some

thread of meaning, purpose. What I see myself doing in theology is

just giving them a vocabulary, a style ... something you can use to

think about your experience. "

 

In the United States, that religious experience is also mirroring

current attitudes about lifestyle and competition in the

marketplace — as many decide to take what they like from

different faiths and " design " their own spirituality.

 

" This 'pick and choose' approach to faith, the desire to 'take from

it what is wonderful and good,' will continue in the coming

century, " say Richard Cimino and Don Lattin, authors of " Shopping

For Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium. "

 

" The same consumeristic and experiential approach popularized via

Eastern mysticism will be brought to the traditional spiritual

teachings of the West, " the authors predict.

 

" About two-thirds of the country is affiliated with a church, " notes

Phillip Lucas, associate professor of religious studies at Stetson

University in Florida, " and about 60 to 70 million are not. A lot of

[the unaffiliated] began spiritual odysseys during the 1960s, when

they lost confidence in mainstream religious institutions. At the

same time, many people have simply decided that institutional

religion is not for them. People are not identifying with the

religions of their birth as they did before. " . . .

 

He also points toward a 30-year cycle of religious resurgence in

America as a factor in the current interest in faith and

spirituality. There is also the uncertainty many feel as the century

ends and the new millennium begins.

 

" As public life becomes more immoral, fragmented and self-centered,

there's a desire to find something beyond the seeming social

Darwinism of American society, " Lucas says. . . .

 

" People are more interested in inner experiences than correct

doctrine, " says Lucas. " Maybe it has more to do with [the fact that]

the disciplining structures, the religious authorities that would

sanction those with new thoughts, are no longer as powerful — and

people are free to question. " "

 

Bruce Kennedy, CNN Interactive