The “nones” are increasing dramatically. That is not “nuns” as in religious sisters. No, it is “nones” as in those who do not claim any religious affiliation. According to the latest research 26% of Americans say they have no religious affiliation. Among millennials it is even higher – about 40% among the youngest cohort. Even those who do claim a religious heritage are not as devoted to religious practices as before. Among those who have a religious commitment 54% admit that they only attend church services rarely or never. Just among Catholics, 2/3 of those who were raised Catholic no longer practice. When researchers dig deeper into why this is happening some of the reasons stated are: I don’t believe in God, I question what religion teaches, I don’t like religious organizations. But at the most basic level the “nones” answer: religion is irrelevant to me. And this phenomenon is not limited to the United States. In Western Europe the drop in religious practice is even more dramatic. Even Mexico has started to chart the rising number of “nones” in that country. Of course, we don’t need a lot of scientific research to experience the truth of this reality. If you family is anything like mine, you only need to look at your loved ones. Among my nieces and nephews and cousins and others nobody is mad at the Church. No one expresses any dramatic intellectual objections to Church teachings. No one is that overly shocked at the scandals in the Church. They simply do not find any relevance to what it means to be a religious person and what they are going through in life.
There are many suggestions on how to respond. At the right end of the spectrum people suggest that the Latin Mass is the answer. Back in the day, when the Mass was in Latin, the Churches were full. If we go back to Latin they will fill up again, goes the logic. At the left end of the spectrum people suggest that a wholesale reformation of Church practice is the answer. Do away with celibacy, stop talking so much about sexual issues, get more involved in social concerns, let women become more involved in leadership. If we do that, the Church will be relevant once more. Pope Benedict had his suggestion: the problem is secularization and the Church needs to be clear about what it believes and teaches in order to stand out from the dominant culture. Pope Francis proposes that if the Catholic people would live and convey the “joy of the gospel” people would be attracted to see where that joy is coming from. Even the social scientists have an idea. From their point of view what is going on in religion reflects a larger social trend of individualization, what they call the “atomization” of society People don’t join any clubs or associations or groups nowadays. They propose simply meeting people where they are at. Get to know them and what is going on in their lives before proposing to them what they should do.
What should we at St. James do? With my family I try to convey to them how my faith fills me with a sense of joy and peace. I suggest to them that faith will make their lives happier and fuller. You didn’t know you needed your vitamins either and yet once you have them you feel so much better and are so much healthier. No one is buying, at least yet. So how do we choose from all these various suggestions? Let’s look at the scripture readings for this Sunday to find some hints about a way forward. Take for example the story of Moses in the battle with Amalek. According to the story as long as Moses had his hands raised in prayer, things went well. When he grew tired and stopped praying, not so well. He needed help. He needed others to assist him in his prayer. So that is the first suggestion. Let us learn how to help each other, support each other, be with each other as we battle against the forces that seek to tear us down or wear us down or stare us down.
In the epistle St. Paul tells his young apprentice, Timothy, (in a galaxy long ago and far, far away would he be a padawan learner?) to use the Sacred Scripture, the Bible, as the source of his strength. The Apostle says that the scripture is useful “for teaching, for refutation, for correction and for training.” Of course the problem we have today with taking St. Paul’s advice is that there doesn’t seem to be any attempt to get at bottom-line truth. “You do your thing and I do mine and if we happen to meet it’s beautiful” goes one strain of modern thought. You listen to the Bible, that’s cool. I get my instruction from Oprah and Dr. Phil. But maybe this isn’t just a modern problem after all. The Apostle tells Timothy to “be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient.” “Encourage through patience.” The thought seems to be – keep presenting the revealed truth of God for eventually, since it is the truth, it will resonate with the human spirit.
From the gospel we hear another thought: how important it is to keep working for justice. The widow in the story is not cowed by the presence of a system which is stacked against her. She keeps at it. She knows that justice in on her side. She will continue to batter against the intolerance and rigidity of the unjust judge for she knows she is in the right. In telling the parable Jesus wants us to understand that we must have the same tenacious attitude that the widow showed in helping this world look a little more like God intends. Yes, “the man,” as we used to say, is out there. Racism and bigotry and selfishness and greed are out there. But by persistence we can knock down those walls. As Dr. King put it, the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
Which one of these strategies will work? Will the Pope’s or the social scientist’s or the Bible’s work in helping people to come to connect with God? I don’t know. What I do know is that we have to try. We have something very precious in the faith and people, even if they don’t know it, are starving for what we have: the love, grace and compassion of God.