This article probably isn’t about what you think it’s going
to be about.
When I think of being religious, the first picture that pops
in my head is of the beautiful cathedral of Notre Dame in France. Another picture
which pops in my head is the Islamic mosque located off of I-75 approximately forty-five
minutes north of my home.
Christianity and Islam are two of the most prominent world religions
and certainly have a coast to coast presence in America, but neither of these
two religions is the predominant religion in America. If you read the stats
from recent surveys, it would appear that Christianity is overwhelmingly the predominant
religion in America followed by a growing population of religiously unaffiliated
people.[1]
But my research indicates that neither of these stats is
correct; Christianity is not America’s most predominant religion and there is
no such thing as religiously unaffiliated. Instead, I believe there is another
religion which has swept this country, having won the hearts of people from
coast to coast.
What is this mysterious religion and how has it been so
successful at winning the hearts and minds of people all over this country?
Defining Religion
We begin our investigation by defining the word “religion.” Although
many of us have a picture in our heads of what constitutes religion, many of us
have only applied this definition in certain contexts thereby preventing us from
seeing the broad spectrum of various religions which exist in this country. Two
distinguishing characteristics of a religion are: (1) a god and (2) worship of
that god. Let’s take a brief look at both of these components.
A God
Martin Luther, a sixteenth century philosopher and
theologian, defined a god as:
To whatever we look for any good thing and for refuge in every need, that is what is meant by “god.” To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in him from the heart…To whatever you give your heart and entrust your being, that, I say, is really your god.[2]
Luther’s definition of a god is progressive. The foundational
component of a god is that he must be able to meet our needs. When we find
someone or something who is able to meet our needs, then we begin to trust that
it’ll continue to meet our needs. This will then lead us to entrust ourselves
to this god.
Worship
John Piper, a more contemporary philosopher and theologian,
defined worship as follows:
Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of his worth.[3]
Whether we are worshiping the God of the Bible that Piper is
referring to or we are worshiping another god, worship is defined the same way;
simply replace the capital “G” in “God” with a lower case “g”. Before moving
on, I need to point out the importance of the word “gladly” in Piper’s
definition. If radiance is reflected back dutifully with no emotion in it, then
it’s not worship; worship only occurs when we reflect radiance gladly.
Christianity is Not the Predominant Religion
Now that I’ve defined a religion and its two most necessary
components, let’s take a quick look at why I believe Christianity isn’t the predominant
religion in America.
What gods do Americans gladly
worship? If I was to go to an Ohio State Buckeye football game on a Saturday
afternoon, I would see a lot more worship going on there than in most church
buildings on Sunday mornings. When people go to an Ohio State Buckeye football
game, they gladly stand to their feet and cheer when their team hits the field.
They gladly jump out of their seats and scream when OSU scores a touchdown. And
they gladly sing their praises when OSU wins the game. Conversely, it’s like
pulling teeth to get people who attend church services to read their Bibles, pray,
and sing God’s praises. This is what leads me to the conclusion that
Christianity is not the predominant religion in America.
There Is No Such Thing as Non-Religious
Whether we like it or not, everyone worships someone or something.
As an example, look at the worship which takes place every autumn Saturday at
college football stadiums around the country. They may not worship an invisible
god, but they obviously worship a god whether it’s the OSU, Alabama, or USC
football teams. We may not all worship the college football gods, but we all
worship one god or another, making us all very religious.
The American god
Now this brings us to the point where it’s time to unveil
the god Americans are worshiping. It is true that there are some Americans who worship
Yahweh, Allah, or Buddha, but there are many more Americans who worship another
god. Who, then, is this god?
Another way of asking this question is: Who or what is most
valuable to Americans? Is it money? A big house? A luxury car? A smoking hot
spouse? A successful career? A happy family? All of these things are at least
somewhat valuable to most Americans, but they are not the most valuable things
to most of them. Above all else, the most valuable thing to most Americans is…me.
Now, I don’t mean me personally; I hope no one is worshiping
me since I’m not worthy of being worshiped. What is most valuable to the
majority of Americans is themselves. On the whole, we trust in ourselves to
provide for all of our needs.
In America, we are our own gods who worship ourselves. The
resulting religion is what I call Me-ism. Me-ism has captured the hearts of
Americans from coast to coast, making it America’s predominant religion.
–
Take a few minutes to meditate on these questions: Who or
what is your predominant god? Is this god the same god as the one you
previously thought you were worshiping? Is this god the god you want to continue
worshiping?
[1] Alan
Cooperman, “America’s Changing Religious Landscape,” Pew Research Center, May
12, 2015, accessed July 18, 2017, http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/.
[2] F.
Samuel Janzow, Luther’s Large Catechism:
A Contemporary Translation with Study Questions (St. Louis: Concordia,
1978), 13.
[3] John
Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a
Christian Hedonist, rev. ed. (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2011), location
1393, kindle.
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