SECULAR "MOVEMENT"? HOW SOME ATHEISTS TRY TO FILL THE GAP

 By William Wolfe, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Over the past few decades, the United States, traditionally protective of religious beliefs, has experienced a significant rise towards secularism.

Gallup released the latest edition of their regular poll on Americans' religious beliefs in the summer of 2022 and found that "most U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81% who do are down six percentage points from 2017 and are the lowest in Gallup trends. Between 1944 and 2011, more than 90% of Americans believed in God."

Phil Zuckerman, writing for the Conversation, mentions that "[the decline in belief in God] drops to 68% among Americans under 30." If you look at it more closely, the trend looks to be getting stronger. Pew polls show that only about half of Americans believe in "God as described in the Bible," while about a quarter believe in "a higher spiritual power or force." Only a third of Generation Z states consistently that they believe in God.

The emergence of "nones" correlates with a decline in religious beliefs. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center in 2021, about three out of ten adults in the United States (29 percent) identify as "not" religious, which includes people who identify as atheists, agnostics, or "nothing in particular." The percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation ranges between 20 and 29 percent, and the majority of this population is referred to as "nothing in particular.".

Another interesting data point that brings us to the topic I want to address here is the decline in church attendance and membership: "congregation membership is also falling. Less than half of Americans—47%—are members of a church, synagogue, or mosque for the first time, according to Gallup in 2021.

The data is clear: every year, fewer and fewer Americans claim to believe in God. In addition, the lack of faith and the decline of Christianity are increasing among the younger generation.

However, these figures cannot tell you that the number of "worshipers" in the United States is not decreasing at all. Each individual adores something. Everyone believes in some "god.".

Furthermore, it may be more appropriate to explain those data by saying that Americans are becoming less religious than that they are exchanging native Christian beliefs for an absurd imagination. Even atheism can be considered a religion.

In addition, religion is the basis of the organization. No matter how dark the hearts and minds of those who reject God may be, they try to fill their shortcomings by abandoning true worship. It is impossible to move quickly, even though man's need for God is great. In confession, Augustine said, "For You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are troubled until they find rest in you."

Unfortunately, this does not stop people from looking for a useless replacement. Jacqui Frost's Purdue University Journal describing the rise of "secular or atheist" churches was recently published on Yahoo.”

Frost begins his article with the following observation:

In the United States, you can find a variety of activities at Christian church services on Sunday morning, including joint testimonies, joint singing, silent meditation, and baptism rituals. However, what if atheists gathered to perform this ceremony?”

What is its shape? In short, humanistic ritual is a practice that manages to imitate the structure of the church but has no spiritual substance or transcendent meaning.

Frost later said, "As a sociologist of religion who has spent the last 10 years studying non-religious communities, I have found that atheist churches serve many of the same purposes as religious churches." Its growth shows that the decline of religion does not necessarily mean the decline of communities, rituals, or the well-being of people.

Custom? Community, maybe. However, "welfare?" The Bible tells us that man is made up of body and soul. We need to know and worship God; we don't just need rituals, communities, or routines. True, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to gain holistic well-being. Jesus rebuked the devil by reminding him in Matthew Chapter 4, verse 4.

"Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God," says the word.

Frost states that "secular congregations often imitate religious organizations by using 'church' language and structures, such as meeting on Sundays or listening to members 'testimonials, or by adapting religious language or practices in other ways."

He and this secular congregation did not realize the meaning of the Sunday morning service we call church, not the fact that people get together and do the routine.

However, the fact that atheists and secular assemblies use so much of Christian tradition in their efforts to re-engineer what God has given us in the church shows that the search for meaning and belonging that can only be found in God is indeed inevitable.

The famous American writer David Foster Wallace vividly expressed this feeling in a now-famous quote:

Here's another strange but true thing: in the daily life of an adult, there is no such thing as atheism or non-worship. Everyone admired him. What we worship is our only choice.

The revival of the secular" church" became a reminder adored by everyone. In the end, atheism is a myth. We were created to know and worship God. Refusing to worship God properly doesn't mean you don't worship; it just means you worship idols in the end. The prophet Jeremiah condemned the unsuccessful attempt to replace the Lord by saying: "For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, a living spring, and made a reservoir for themselves, a broken reservoir that cannot hold water."

A secular assembly is just a broken reservoir created by man and unable to hold water. Although they died of thirst, they dug a well in the wrong place. Their humanistic conference demonstrated their need for living water. Living water can be found only in the Christian Church, where people worship the true Christ, who confirmed and fulfilled the Scriptures, who was crucified for our sins, resurrected to correct us, and now rules and controls all things.

In John 7:37–38, Jesus Himself tells us, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as it is said in the Holy Scriptures, "from his heart will flow rivers of living water."

The Center for Standing for Freedom published it first.

At the Center for Renewing America, William Wolfe was a guest. He previously served as director of legislative affairs at the State Department and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, respectively, as a senior official in the Trump administration. Prior to becoming a member of the administration, Wolfe worked for Heritage Action for America and was on the congressional staff for three members of Congress, including Dave Brat, a former Congressman. He has a B.A. in history from Covenant College, and he is currently completing a Master of Divinity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

William can be followed on Twitter at @William_E_Wolfe.

News Sources: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/secular-church-how-some-atheists-are-trying-to-fill-the-void.html