As the festive season passes, articles are surfacing of churches around the world reporting declining numbers of attendees – with empty pews and some former houses of worship being converted into bars, clubs and condos. The polls tell the same story – where once 80% of Americans for example said they belonged to a church in the late 1940s, that number is down to just 45% today.
This prompted my husband and I to have a discussion about what might be the reason. He was raised Catholic but hasn’t been in a church for decades. I was raised Anglican – the daughter of bigoted parents who never went to a church but ‘forced’ us kids to go – and found out much later from European Jews on my mum’s side.
My early beginnings
I loved church. I was going to be a nun (despite not being Catholic). I loved Sunday School – and was a member of the Inter-School Christian Fellowship in Primary School. But I always questioned (probably my Jewish roots coming out!) … though much later as a 21 year old I got kicked out of a bible study class for asking too many questions!
This led me down a different path. To investigate lots of different religions and faith-based systems – eventually landing on what I really connected with – I guess, “paganism” but for me just a spiritual connection with the earth and its vibrations.
Undoubtedly people are losing faith in the church. One poll found child sex abuse cases could be one reason people are leaving the church, but I think like everything else, we are seeing a cycle.
The Circle of Life?
Everything is cyclical: birth-death-rebirth; moon phases; the seasons. This got me thinking maybe we are in that phase of humanity coming full circle. Consider this very basic cycle:
Once upon a time there lived the pagans. Happily living life in connection with the environment, sowing and reaping, with festivals that aligned with and honoured the seasons. A tribal based system where family and tribe were what you protected … because what you sowed was yours and had to be protected from those who didn’t have a great harvest.
Then came the Romans. Originally a pagan people feeding Christians to the lions, emperor Constantine “saw the light” in around 313AD and spread Christianity throughout the empire … using intimidation, threats and force where necessary. Sights then turned east, and wave after wave of Crusaders tried (unsuccessfully) to convert the Muslim world.
Then came the scientific enlightenment. Great strides were made in every scientific field. We came to understand how the world began, why things grow, what sustains life … and we went to space and found … nothing. That put a damper on religion, based on faith in a higher power but where was It if not “up there”?
People began to become disillusioned with the church. They began leaving … in droves. But what went with them was a moral compass: A set of rules to live by that differentiates us from other animals. Schools stopped teaching religion, and the “religion” became whatever social media said was “in”. When you have no moral compass you have the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest.
Then came the toilet paper wars of 2020 where love of community and compassion for others devolved into “I have to look after myself and my family unit which is more important than yours” … and we come full circle back to tribalism.
Will a return to religion help?
When looked at through that lens it’s clear to see that without something to believe in people become lost to baser instincts.
Is the answer a return to religion? I’m not sure. I’ve spent a lot of time reading, and in contemplation, listening to different viewpoints and formulating my own ideas that I’m comfortable with. For what it’s worth I don’t believe there’s a god, or heaven or hell in the traditional sense. In the great pantheons of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, humans were playthings for their amusement. In recent years I’ve come to think the god of the monotheists isn’t much better.
We have certainly come full circle. The majority of people are just living their life looking after their own little family unit with no concern for the wider community other than to whinge on Facebook community (the irony!!) pages about how the council isn’t decorating street trees for Christmas, or doing midnight fireworks for new year. And yet we have no one volunteering anymore. I tried this year to find volunteering opportunities for Christmas … nothing. All charities asked for money, not help.
Pagan revival
So as people lose faith in religion, society and each other, have we come full circle? There has been a rise in interest in paganism and earth based belief systems (take a look at the tens of thousands who took part in this year’s winter solstice at Stonehenge).
I truly believe what we are seeing in society today – the angst, the anger, the disillusionment, the selfishness – all stems from the fact we no longer have a moral compass. This was provided once upon a time by the church. It was reinforced by parents, family, and the education system. With the demise of the church and the reluctance of educational institutions to teach it, the rise of ‘influencers’ and ‘reality’ TV, and families no longer enforcing morals and ethics, people have nothing else to believe in and we fall back on our baser instincts.
A possible way forward
Perhaps the answer isn’t a return to religion as it was, but a reimagining of what belief and community mean in today’s world. We need something that grounds us—not in dogma, but in shared values that foster compassion, cooperation, and responsibility.
The rise in earth-based spiritualities and practices like those at Stonehenge reminds us of humanity’s deep connection to the natural world and its rhythms. Maybe the path forward is a blending of the old and new: honouring the cycles of life, rediscovering our place within a larger ecosystem, and rebuilding a moral compass rooted in respect for one another and the planet.
We’ve come full circle, but perhaps this time, we can rise above tribalism and learn from the past to create a future that values both individual freedom and collective good. The question remains: what will each of us choose to believe in, and how will we act on it to make the world a better place?