THE FADING REGION(S) :Science meets Religion

Having to prove existence of God to an atheist is like having to prove to him/her the existence of the sun!

In recent years, news media have highlighted what appears the decline of traditional religion, as exemplified by the rise of the "nones" -- persons who decline to be identified by any particular religious denomination. Their fraction of the U.S. population has risen from 16.1% in 2007 to 22.8% in 2014. Among younger adults, those born 1981-1989, the unaffiliated have increased from 25% to 34% in this time frame. This increase has come at the expense, predominately, of Catholic and mainline Protestant faiths.

But even among the unaffiliated, according to a 2012 poll, 27% attend worship services at least occasionally; 68% affirm some belief in God; 33% say that religion is very or somewhat important in their personal life; and 41% pray on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Young adults are less convinced of the existence of God than older people are today, but their belief in God and religious practice closely resembles the levels seen among the older groups when the older groups were similarly young. For example, in 2008, 53% of those Americans born in 1981 or later say they have no doubt that God exists, which is very similar to the 53% reported in the late 1990s by those born between 1965 and 1980. Also, more aged 18-29 reported engaging in daily prayer in this study than the similar age group did 20 years earlier.
What's more, 39% of Americans (including 37% of self-described atheists and 48% of agnostics -- more than the population at large) say that they experience a "deep sense of wonder about the universe" on at least a weekly basis. Shouldn't we describe such persons as "religious," in a broader sense of the term?

Even among professional scientists, there is little indication of significant decline in religious belief or spirituality. In a 2010 study of approximately 1700 natural and social scientists in the U.S., nearly 50% identify with a religious label; roughly 18% attend weekly religious services; 15% consider themselves "very religious;" 13.5% read some religious text weekly; and 19% pray at least once per day.

The essence of Christianity
Another study found that although 30% of the scientists surveyed considered themselves atheists, many of these consider themselves "spiritual atheists," meaning that although they do not subscribe to a traditional Judeo-Christian notion of God, nonetheless they have a deep sense of awe and wonder at the magnificence of nature. Many report a deep craving for "something beyond themselves". A scientific colleague of the present author recently declared that in spite of the fact that he hasn't practiced conventional religion for many years, with regards to the magnificence of the universe and the elegance of scientific laws, he is a "devoted worshipper." Such scientists (and others with similar worldviews) defy simplistic categorization into pigeonholes such as "religious," "nonreligious," "agnostic" or "atheist."

Even allowing for lapses such as the numerous religious wars and persecutions in the historical record (not to mention the intolerance exhibited by some religious groups even today), religion has indisputably played an enormous role throughout history as a governor of moral conduct and a promoter of civilized society. For example, historians Will and Ariel Durant (neither of whom were particularly religious) wrote in their 1968 work Lessons of History that "Even the skeptical historian develops a humble respect for religion, since he sees it functioning, and seemingly indispensable, in every land and age. ... There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion."
However, for every one of these grand tragedies there are ten thousand acts of personal kindness and social good that go largely unreported in the history books or on the evening news. Religion, like all social institutions of such historical depth and cultural impact, cannot be reduced to an unambiguous good or evil.
A recent U.S. study found a very strong correlation between religious participation and charitable giving. The most charitable states (in terms of the percentage of discretionary income paid to charitable causes), namely Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina, are among the highest in religious participation, while the least charitable states, namely New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, are among the lowest in religious participation.

It is also interesting to note the prediction, by the Durants, in their volume Lessons of History (published in 1968), that if communism in the former Soviet Union would some day fall, then it is likely that there would be a resurgence of religion, long repressed, in that region. Indeed, this appears to be happening. In fact, a 2008 law in Russia allows theological academies to offer degrees recognized by the state. A editorial comment in the western press noted that healthy traditions such as this are "badly needed" as bulwarks against totalitarianism .
While grinding hard and making ourselves richer,we have to keep in mind that religion is waining among some populations. We all may be one catastrophe away from rediscovering religion.
An asteroid strike can serve as a wake-up call so that we may revive our need to worship God.

Below are some Videos to broaden your horizons on religious issues.