People seek God during times of hardship. More Americans are leaving organized religion during the coronaviruses epidemic.
The survey found that 29% of US adults had no religious affiliation, an increase of 6 percentage points from the previous year. A growing number of Americans are praying less. 32% of people said they seldom or never pray. 18% of those were surveyed by the group in 2007.
Gregory Smith, associate director of research at the Pew Research Center, said in a report that the secularizing shifts in American society show no signs of slowing.
More faith leaders are finding new ways to reach out to the younger generation.
The Rev. Joseph Martin said that he uses a lot of social media to go to where people are.
A person wearing a mask prays at a Christmas Eve Mass in New York City.
Martin is a Jesuit priest and editor at large of America Magazine. He was one of the religious ministers who embraced social media at the height of the Pandemic.
Martin said that he started the Facebook Live programs because he felt that people were lacking a sense of community.
As churches reopen across the U.S., attendance has been slow. The median in-person attendance has dropped over the past 18 months according to a study published in November.
This trend is a cause for concern for the church, but it also serves as a wake-up call for religious leaders to better connect with their members.
"I think that it's taken a while but most churches and religious organizations have realized this needs to be addressed," said Martin.
The East End Temple in New York City has a Rabbi who gives his sermons a boost of energy.
My sermons are getting shorter and more open. I try to encourage people to discuss them with me. Discuss them. Take care of them. "Come and study together so that we can all understand each other."
There is more space for members to debate and argue with one another.
The spiritual experience will not go away. The need to find meaning in our existence will never go away.
New York-based designer and recent convert to Judaism, Fletcher Esbaugh, said that debating is what he enjoys the most about East End Temple.
The arguments and conflicts are very important. Esbaugh said that that is a pillar of Judaism.
Esbaugh embraced Judaism after being introduced to Jewish traditions by a couple of close friends. Esbaugh felt a sense of belonging and fulfillment when he was a child.
Being a Jew gives me a sense of spiritual and intellectual completeness. He said that he was always asking questions and challenging ideas through Judaism.
The Vote Common Good group held a rally at the Mission Hills Christian Church in Los Angeles, California, on October 31, 2018, to speak to voters.
The Middle Collegiate Church on the Lower East Side of New York has attracted younger Christian followers. She encourages her congregants to get involved and take a stand.
We put social justice and democracy in the middle of faith, so that it really speaks to young people.
Lewis said that. We've done a lot of campaigning for the right to vote, the right to choose, and the right to be black.
Lewis, a Christian reverend, said her teachings are inspired by the Bible, but her approach is much more progressive, emphasizing spirituality and community. Middle Collegiate said on its website that it is a church where therapy meets Broadway.
Lewis said that the model is a good thing because it is changing the relationship Christians have with God.
Lewis said he was trying to get God out of the box.
Even though the actual church building was destroyed by a fire last year, the congregation grew by 500 members.
He said he was a gay man and struggled to feel accepted in his community.
I was a Baptist. You had to do things the way the Bible says you should. I feel like the Bible and Jesus Christ believe in love no matter what. Allen shared that he found it at Middle.
A number of younger Catholics are having a hard time agreeing on church doctrine.
There are differences between church teaching and what young Catholics think. Two of the biggest issues are women's ordination and the way the church treats people.
25 years ago, people would have asked how to stay Catholic and have difficulties with church teaching. "Now, I think, young people just say 'I'm leaving,'" Martin said. Right? According to them, there's less tolerance for what they see as behavior that is not right.
The Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, will feature a speech by the founder of the Chopra Foundation.
Some of the teachings in traditional religion don't seem logical or rational, and more people are questioning these teachings.
The interest in belonging to a community and finding a connection has never been stronger.
The Pandemic showed us that people don't like being alone.
The last two years have tested my faith, as it's hard to find sense in so many lives being taken from us.
The author of 97 books is 75 years old and has topics from Jesus and Buddha to the metaverse. He speaks at prominent events throughout the year and has a following around the world. He hosts retreats around the world where the spiritual minded come to heal, meditate and connect.
He said that the retreats were full. We just finished one in Mexico. There are more in Los Angeles. People are at these retreats.
The events can cost a lot. A week-long retreat in Carefree, Arizona, will cost between $6,000 and $8,000. People attend retreats. He said that people are becoming more spiritual despite a drop in religious worship.
He said that the spiritual experience would never go away. The need to find meaning in our existence will never be gone. The need to resolve inevitable suffering will never go away.
He said that the younger generation's connection with spirituality is one way to foster a stronger connection.
The Desai Foundation had an even in New York City.
Megha was raised in Boston but spent a lot of time in India. She worshiped in temples in both countries. She said the Pandemic has changed her relationship with religion and prompted her to ask more questions.
The last two years have tested my faith. It's hard to understand how many lives are taken from us.
She said she's become less religious since she identifies as a Hindu.
"I approach my connection to God from a more spiritual place than through the vehicle of religion, and I think the Hindu rituals I do take part in are the festivals that connect me more to my culture than my faith."
Even if more of America's youth leave organized religion, the search to answer life's hardest questions will continue.
He said that some of the things that are told in traditional religion don't seem logical or rational. Humans still have the same questions as people are leaving. Why do we suffer?
