Introduction
Both the global history of religion and the history of a particular religion in a separate state have always dominated the attention of researchers, philosophers, archaeologists, historians, and theologians. Journalists write articles in magazines, interview public and religious figures, and gather stadiums of followers. For quite a long time, the United States has lived according to the principle of freedom of religion, which is enshrined in the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (U.S. Const. amend. I).
Even in the Constitution’s first amendment, lawyers enshrined that Congress and other legislative bodies (for example, local ones) do not have the right to declare religious beliefs to U.S. citizens. Religion is a private matter of each person, who forms their worldview independently, following the right to freedom of speech and thinking.
Over time, a pluralism of opinions has become established on this issue, and sociologists are forced, providing polls, and statistics, to state that the United States at the moment, and especially in the past few decades, is losing its religiosity. American society is increasingly showing indifference to religion and distancing itself from this exciting phenomenon, affecting psychological, social, and other aspects.
Usually, young people call themselves non-believers and do not show any interest in the problems of religions, be they traditional religions, world religions, non-traditional teachings, or destructive sects. Young people are more interested in information technology, mass culture, and social networks. Some of the young people of different levels of education view religion (mainly traditional) as an atavism. For them, it seems natural that religion is receding into the background of public life.
The traditional problem of the figure of God worries followers of all religions. It does not matter what faith a person or group of people professes, monotheistic or polytheistic. People are interested in desires of God, history, origin, mentors of God (if they were), and departure into religious eternity, which continues to this day and attracts followers’ attention. Polytheistic religions build mythology and a system of hierarchies around the pantheon of gods.
Monotheistic religions concentrate on logical and consistent plots that reflect the moral and social component of the then society or an individual has chosen figure (often, this is the religion’s central figure; the prominent prophet, like Muhammad, or the only son of God, like Jesus Christ). It is noteworthy that this is not God himself, but his face and soul on Earth, a mirrored entity that came to society for any purpose. Investigations of this issue under different focuses do not stop in civilized countries to this day. Currently, sociologists are noting the problem of decreasing religiosity in society, one of the reasons for which is the lack of religious education in schools for children.
The urgency of the Problem
Over the centuries, millions of people died in the Crusades, defending their religion or trying to spread it. The victims of the Crusades, however, are not the only religious casualties in world history. The amount of bloodshed in the name of religious freedom or religious rules makes ignorant people claim the insignificance of the influence of religion on society. It is impossible to reject and belittle the significance of the phenomenon for the sake of which defenders of the faith killed peoples and destroyed states. In addition, it is inappropriate to assert the absurd idea of the absence of God and religion as such, singling out religion only the role of one of the social constructs. Religion is a social construct, but this construct has a solid foundation with a long and colorful history. It makes religion an incomparable phenomenon with other, younger ones.
The disappearance of religion in society does not seem entirely possible; however, there are alarming tendencies. The number of non-believers can rise in large cities where they live are associated with business, intercultural communication, travel between countries, and other factors that alienate them from the traditional culture. The cultural importance of religion even in modern society is evidenced by the studies of Schnabel and Bock (2017): “Although religion is simply becoming less salient in other societies, it remains important in the public sphere and central to cultural divides in the United States” (p. 697).
Usually, people passed down religious morality from generation to generation; this was manifested in joint dinners at Christmas and other religious holidays, in collective prayers, and in going to church. Many people in childhood read unique religious literature with their parents, which authors illustrated with vivid images. In this literature, children learned about religious subjects playfully. For subsequent generations, the disappearance of the institution of religion will become one of the uncertainty factors, depriving them of moral examples and making their culture and awareness poor.
This issue is troubling because religion is deeply intertwined with the moral foundations of human life. In addition, religion is an essential cultural code of each state or people. Architecture, portrait painting, frescoes, and much more are monuments of art born in the bosom of religion. The authors of these monuments wanted to capture the splendor of a god or god’s majesty to show a religious plot. The foundation of the American nation is Christianity, and American territories were founded as Christian (CBS News, 2021). Indifference and aloofness to religion will lead American society to cultural and moral degradation. Initially, it seemed to many that Americans would not be able to abandon Christianity.
In the Middle Ages and the modern period, religion significantly influenced the development of science and technology. For instance, the mathematician and mechanic René Descartes wrote his works without entering into opposition to the divine meaning of being and the origin of man. He put forward his concept of the dualism of soul and body following the theological idea of the transient human shell and soul, which has a divine origin and a potential desire for God.
For another example, in addition to his mathematical success, Blaise Pascal paid great attention to the existential component of his faith in God. He insightfully described his intentions to God, talked with the reader, and shared his thoughts on Christian asceticism. For Pascal, Christianity’s moral component was prominent, not just the shell, the ritual moment. Like Rene Descartes, he declared the duality of human nature, which was due to original sin. Earlier, as can be judged, people paid great attention to the moral aspect of Christianity, and religion influenced the construction of moral orientations in an intellectually developed society.
At the beginning of the last century, religion continued to be the foundation for family and marriage relations in the American territories. Even earlier, in the 18th century, the Bill of Rights was rightly adopted from Christian motives, which did not restrict human rights, regardless of skin color and origin. People tried to proceed from the idea that all people are children of God, therefore, are equal. People may have different looks, talents, skills, and life experiences, but in the face of God and before God’s judgment, everyone is equal.
The modern church is given a relatively modest role, and the sphere of church influence has significantly narrowed. However, Christian organizations have long fought for people’s rights and advocated for those in need (Krutz & Waskiewicz, 2019). At the moment, church changes and regulations are affecting the field of philanthropy in America. For a long time, the church has stubbornly introduced charity into fashion: now, many businessmen are doing this, considering themselves philanthropists. Despite the primordial church order of charity and a Christian foundation, businessmen and public figures do not consider themselves religious people and do not use charity in conjunction with Christianity.
Causes of the Problem and Possible Outcome
The reasons for religious change, like any dynamic in general, can be very different. They can affect any aspect of society: technologization, geopolitical aspects, and multiculturalism, especially true for America. In the studies, Drescher (2016) is also interested in these aspects: “In a culture in which religions have been, for better and worse, the primary spiritual and ethical system for generations upon generations, we can fairly ask whether increasing unaffiliation, along with the globalized cosmopolitanism” (p. 244). Human values change over the generations, the ethical construct is flexible, and what is valuable to millennials is not so beneficial to Generation Z. Different aspects influence the formation of these generations; one of the essential reasons for the religious change was the lack of quality religious education in schools for children.
School education strives for universalism at the legislative level, at the level of official government acts. Local governments adhere to the same position; the exceptions are only a few examples in small towns and specialized seminaries. Currently, religious education for children and adolescents is the subject of heated discussions. There are no teachers for such a subject, so if the government tries to build a school religious education quickly, the lessons will be taught by specialists of an overly broad profile or city volunteers. It will prevent students from forming a solid opinion about the phenomenon being studied.
Approaches to studying religion can be very different: morality and ethics, plots (can be seriously reduced for younger students), art (painting, architecture). The aesthetic aspect of religion and art can be fascinating since there is much literature devoted to the technique and features of icon painting. Icon painting differs from classical painting and design, it has a separate color symbolism and features of a reverse perspective.
Lack of religious literacy will cause profound ignorance and chaos among young people. It will complicate many times the understanding of foreign cultures, therefore, negatively affecting communication with foreigners. America’s multicultural society should be an exciting feature of these territories, not a cause for conflict. It is difficult to say exactly how the lack of religiosity will affect the process of assimilation of foreigners, people professing some religion on a conscious basis.
However, this will interfere with the balanced assimilation of moderate speed. Foreigners will either assimilate too quickly or will be deprived of such an opportunity altogether. Moral chaos is also inevitable since, for most ordinary people who are not associated with the deep study of the humanities and culture, religious morality is a foundation that has been absorbed since childhood. Respect for the freedom of a person, life, and rights can be based on religion since the example of a religious plot serves as a support for moral judgments.
A different version of the development of events may mature in society in the event of the oblivion of religion. Religious thinking and consciousness are so seriously embedded in the subcortex of the human brain that surrogates of traditional religions such as Christianity can arise. There are such surrogates already now, but they happily coexist with conventional religions. An example is a civil religion similar in rhetoric, rituals, symbols, and Christianity.
People raised in religious families or for other reasons who have absorbed a spiritual attitude towards the world are often adherents of civil religion. They do not have to go to church or pray often, but their psyche is such that they choose a substitute for traditional religion, rejecting the already mentioned Christianity. Such people listen to political sermons, donate money to political campaigns, and attend military or holiday (politically engaged) parades that reflect rituals in traditional religion. At parades, they often feel uplifted, and connected to the great American Nation and its History.
Possible Solutions to the Problem of Forgetting Religion and Schooling
Different organizations and institutions can offer many options to return religious education to schools and religiosity to societies. These options directly depend on human courage, creativity, and open-mindedness. The first step is to set up teacher education in such a way as to familiarize young people who will later come to schools with possible programs in religion. Training specialists in this field is essential for starting a change in society if society wants to change from the younger generation and schools.
The program for the study of religions in general or only Christianity should not be based on the tedious study of long texts (Richards, 2019); children should not learn anything by heart. Teachers and other workers in this field should remember the specifics of children’s perceptions and thinking. The program should have a creative component: documentaries and fiction films, plays based on biblical plots (or others), short stories about morality, costume performances, and drawing. In addition, it is crucial to allow adolescents and children to discuss with the teacher and their friends.
A poor-quality program that teachers can develop without proper attention and consideration of children’s thinking and perception can destroy any plans and hopes. Ideas and programs should not only be designed but also carefully introduced into schools. Teachers and other workers in schools and education should not place the burden of the spiritual development of children on the shoulders of parents and blame them for a bad example. Not all parents have the psychological and intellectual preparation for this; not all can show emotional fortitude and patience. Teachers should be a moral example for children, and conflicts will not help this.
The parents’ position is also necessary to understand and realize that some parents will be categorically against religious education. Sometimes parents consider their children to be hopeless and too young to comprehend transcendental religious concepts. In such a situation, teachers need to discuss the teaching program with them. Other parents will view religious programs as disrespecting freedom of speech and religion. If a person has the right to choose religion, they have the right to agnosticism or atheism.
Teachers should introduce creativity into the program; schools should not make a comic shows from religious stories to explain the moral component. Adolescents in a difficult period of their mental maturation can devalue many moral norms, including biblical ones. Teaching children such a complex topic as religion can contain many contradictions and obstacles. Some of them can reach a very high legal level, reaching the law of a particular state. Fundamental social changes require a smooth restructuring of the school system (especially if the mentioned programs are introduced only for adolescents or younger students) and other institutions. Local and state governments should provide support, although it is impossible to prohibit public debate and discussion because this would devalue democratic foundations.
Conclusion
Even though the Christian equality of people before God is enshrined in the US Constitution, modern society is gradually moving away from religion. Sociologists state that the number of people indifferent to religion is growing who have not decided on their worldview and do not consider it an essential aspect of a fulfilling life. There are both mature workers in various fields and very young people, university or college students. People have wondered about the existence of God for centuries, but now their sphere of interest is far from religion. It is fraught with the loss of moral guidelines in society and the future impossibility of transmitting norms of behavior and relations between people to younger generations.
A significant layer of moral values that were understandable for people of all social and educational levels disappeared with Christianity and religion. In addition, religion is an important cultural, and spiritual treasure, and without religion, the culture of a society and a nation becomes poor and simplistic. Religion opens the cultural code for many works of art, such as painting, music, and architecture.
One of the reasons for the oblivion of Christianity is the lack of a complete, fundamental and creative education for children and adolescents. It is necessary to develop specialized programs for children of different ages, considering the peculiarities of their psyche, development, perception, and interests. These programs will mainly contain moral guidelines for the younger generation that will enable them to shape their worldview in the early stages of becoming independent.
The younger generation will be able to avoid chaos in society and thinking if, at the school stage, they receive a detailed explanation of the Bible and other Christian literature. The correct moral guidelines will allow young people to quickly build communication with peers, find friends, and socialize under different circumstances. Children will find a suitable jobs in the future, which will not be psychological pressure on them. Having settled in life and gaining financial independence, children who have studied religion at school have a high chance of creating a solid family. Such families are connected by joint rituals, pastimes, and life rhythm.
References
CBS News. (2021). CBSN Originals | The right’s fight to make America a Christian nation [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Drescher, E. (2016). Choosing our religion: The spiritual lives of America’s nones. Oxford University Press.
Krutz, G., & Waskiewicz, S. (2019). Ch. 1 Introduction – American Government 2e | OpenStax. OpenStax. Web.
Richards, R. G. [ Reformed Forum]. (2019). American civil religion [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Schnabel, L., & Bock, S. (2017). The persistent and exceptional intensity of American religion: A response to recent research. Sociological Science, 4, 686-700.
U.S. Const. amend. XIX.