Modernism has reshaped many societal values, and no faith has escaped its influence. The place that religions take in society has been shifting over the past century as globalization disrupted the traditional way of living in most communities (Gauthier, 2019). I think that there are people who are still drawn to religion, yet their reasons for doing so differ from believers from the past. Peace of mind remains one of the critical attractions of religious communities, yet their influence has been wavering. People no longer consider their religious and spiritual beliefs to be essential for their individual happiness (Minkov et al., 2020). With the rise of other sources of a sense of accomplishment, faith has lost many of its followers. In my opinion, religion became an optional path to self-determination, among many others, and comes with many requirements that people may find challenging. The gradual decline in the percentage of believers is a natural course of events linked with modernist philosophies and societal shifts.
People often seek solace in religious or spiritual experiences, yet there were issues with oppression and exclusion in religious communities. However, the situation slowly shifts toward acceptance, as per the teachings of many holy books and figures, although the opposing views on various disadvantaged communities remain (Ford, 2021). Nowadays, there are two distinct movements in Christianity that focus on either one’s identity or one’s nation. The identitarian Christians are a product of modernism, as this community is leaning toward liberalism ideologies, making it highly inclusive for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people (Ryan, 2021). In conclusion, despite the possible conflicts with traditionalists, people can expect to be accepted in religious circles with relative ease due to societal transformations that occurred in the past few decades.
References
Ford, D. (2021). The salve and the sting of religion/spirituality in queer and transgender BIPOC. In K. L. Nadal & M. R. Río (Eds.), Queer psychology: Intersectional perspectives (pp. 275-290). Springer Nature.
Gauthier, F. (2019). Religion, modernity, globalisation: Nation-state to market. Routledge.
Minkov, M., Welzel, C., & Schachner, M. (2020). Cultural evolution shifts the source of happiness from religion to subjective freedom. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21(8), 2873-2888. Web.
Ryan, B. (2021). Christianism. In J. Haynes (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of religion, politics, and ideology (pp. 211-227). Routledge.