Loss of Confidence in Organized Religion

People tell me they don't believe in organized religion and so I like to ask them if they prefer disorganized religion!

The reality is that institutional forms of religious faith are finding that life is difficult. Yes there are those big mega-churches that get bigger and better every day, but by and large religious groups are struggling and the percentage of people involved in religious organizations is getting smaller.

And so the reports are out that tell us that only 46% of Americans have confidence in organized forms of religion. In truth, I'm surprised it's that high. With all the recent scandals and the seeming apathy about involvement in a religious community, that may be a higher number than expected -- but the only year that it was lower was in 2003. In 1975, when Gallup asked this question, confidence stood at 68%.

Of course, as bad as things are for the church, they're not as bad as confidence in the presidency or the Congress -- both of which stand at 25% or below.

Is there a solution to this? Fewer scandals might help -- but in reality this is an issue of a loss of confidence in institutions as a whole. People are interested in spirituality, but they prefer do-it-yourself varieties. God to Borders or on line at Amazon, pick up a couple of books and you're set -- no overhead. Now that's not good for a person like me who derives his living from religious institutions -- but maybe I can be an online pastor. The only problem is that I believe in the importance of community. And so we come back to the root of the problem -- can you have community without some sense of institution?

For more of the story go to Ethics Daily here.