2 weeks Ago By Lauren Jackson
Americans believe. Most people are wary of the government, the future and even , but they still believe in astonishing possibilities. Almost all Americans — 92 percent of adults — say they have a spiritual belief, in a god, human souls or spirits, an afterlife or something “beyond the natural world,” as earlier this year.
The country seems to be acknowledging this widespread spiritual hunger. America’s secularization is on pause, people have stopped leaving churches, and religion is taking a more prominent role in public life — in the , , and even at . It’s a major, generational shift.
But what does this actually look like in people’s lives? I have spent the past year reporting “Believing,” a new project for The Times. This project is personal to me. I was raised a devout Mormon in Arkansas.
I’ve left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I understand how wrestling with belief can define a life. I hoped to capture what that journey looked like for others, too — both inside and outside of religion. I interviewed hundreds of people, visited dozens of houses of worship and asked Times readers for their stories.
More than 4,000 responded. In my reporting, I found that there are many reasons for this shift in American life. Researchers say the pandemic and the country’s limited social safety nets have inclined people to stick with (or even turn to) religion for support.
But there is another reason, too: . They feel an existential malaise, and they’re looking for help. People want stronger communities, more meaningful rituals and spaces to express their spirituality.
They’re also longing to have richer, more nuanced conversations about belief. Unsatisfying alternatives Over the past few decades, around 40 million Americans left churches, and the number of people who say they have no religion grew to about 30 percent of the country. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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