Sojourners Devotion 10 24 2009
Parade Magazine is not necessarily authoritative about religion in America but it’s fun to read.
Read “America is generally… never attend worship services.”
What Americans are doing today is separating spirituality from religion, with many people disavowing organized practice altogether while privately maintaining some form of worship. Fewer people attend religious services regularly or participate in organized religion.
Our spirituality is a focus on practicality. What matters most is that 40% believe that religion offers a source of truth for their lives. This serves as our compass when we are lost or a reference point when we are looking around or the X on the map when we need a concrete marker.
One out of five (19%) picked customs, traditions, and holidays as the most important part of their religion. Another 19% chose teaching morals and ethics to their children; and 8% picked a sense of community. About 14% said that their religion’s most important quality was that it makes them feel safe and secure.
Fear of God, a staple of religious belief in the past, is no longer as pervasive as it once was. A much larger percentage (67%) said they pray because it brings them comfort and hope. What are they asking for? Lots of things—72% pray for the wellbeing of others, 60% for forgiveness, 27% for personal success, and 21% for money and other material things.
What does this mean to us as Sojourners? In many ways, we reflect this Parade Magazine study. But as a group, we have affirmed over 40 years that the reason why we are together is the truth in God that we believe or the tradition and custom of meeting once a month or teaching morals and ethics to our children in the way we live our lives or how we see ourselves as a beloved community and that when we are together, we feel safe and secure, these have been the virtues that we affirm as people of faith.
I pray that the Sojourners will remain faithful, true, and committed to remaining a beloved community in the many years to come. Let us invite others to enjoy our customs, traditions, and holidays. Let us live moral and disciplined lives. Let us tell others about the truth that we have in this ever-changing world. Let us pray for others’ wellbeing and invite them to feel the same sense of safety and security that we have to give.
Amen.