 |
The Post 9-11 Religious Revival |
|
By Bill Berkowitz For gosh sakes, are we having a religious revival or not? Everything I read, heard or viewed post 9-11 had me convinced me that we were in the midst of a substantial spiritual and religious revival. Not a mediocre or modest revival but a "Great Revival." People all over the country were flocking in record numbers to houses of worship, Bible sales were up, and Christian apocalyptic novels and Christian CDs were jumping off the shelves.
Bush speaks at the National Cathedral during a ceremony remembering the victims of 9-11
Stephanie Allmon described the country's mood in a late-November article in The Sydney Morning Herald: "In the weeks since September 11, images of Americans holding hands in church and uniting in prayer have run on the front pages of newspapers and led television news broadcasts. Political leaders have worshipped together, and God Bless America has been heard everywhere from public schools to professional sports. Many Americans are hailing this as a time of a spiritual awakening for the nation. Even President George Bush has lauded Americans for setting aside religious differences and coming together to pray for the nation." Allmon's report reminds me of the old aphorism "there are no atheists in foxholes." This time it might be modified to read, "there are no atheists after September 11." For a while, it seemed there were no atheists anywhere. But, truth be told, atheists were grieving too. (Check out http://www.atheists.org, and you'll find all the atheists you need.) We are experiencing a patriotic revival; there is a "God Bless America" revival; there is a display the American flag revival; there is a sing a patriotic song revival. And, yes, there is a religious revival. Well, sort of. So here I am, sailing toward the holidays thinking all religious revival, all of the time and I come across an article titled "Survey Indicates More Americans 'Without Faith,'" posted at -- you guessed it -- the web site of the American Atheists.
The American Religious Identification Survey 2001 found: "Often lost amidst the mesmerizing tapestry of faith groups that comprise the American population, is also a vast and growing population of those without faith. They adhere to no creed nor choose to affiliate with any religious community. These are the seculars, the unchurched, the people who profess no faith in any religion." The survey, "carried out under the auspices of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, is considered a follow-up study of a 1990 census." Using a sample of over 50,000 randomly selected respondents, the poll was described as "the most comprehensive portrait of religious identification in the U.S. today." The American Atheists: The poll "revealed, for instance, that while the numbers of Roman Catholics increased since 1990 from 46 million to nearly 50.8 million, their percentage of the population fell nearly two points. Protestants and other non-Catholic groups remain the majority, but their proportion slipped sharply from 60 percent to 52 percent. And those identifying with a non-Christian religion jumped from 5.8 million to 7.7 million, but reflected only 3.7% of the population." Well, not being one to take the word of the American Atheists as gospel on religious matters, I turned to a November 27 report from the Christian-based Charisma News Service (CNS) and found that indeed "America's churches may have missed the moment afforded by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." This, "according to a sobering report that has found the level of faith in the country has, if anything, slipped since the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked." Since the beginning of this religious revival hoopla I've been bothered most by the notion that America's churches may have missed the moment -- the greater the tragedy, the bigger the opportunity for various religions to sink their teeth into people's lives. I don't know about you but I'm not comfortable with folks standing around waiting for a calamity to drive people into the pews. A survey by the Barna Research Group (BRG), described by CNS as a "leading Christian research group," found "no change in the levels of Bible reading, church volunteering and prayer between August and the last few weeks.
But Christians aren't throwing in the towel. No-ooo! Some Christian leaders believe that if you can't bring your own into the church, then go out and cast your rod amongst other faiths. According to the Associated Press, Rev. James G. Merritt, leader of the nation's second-largest Christian denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, is asking its members to "pray and fast that God will miraculously reveal himself through Jesus Christ to Muslims" at the end of Ramadan, Islam's holy month. This is the same organization that in the past has tried to convert Jews after Yom Kippur, the Jewish holy day. And, in all its wisdom, Congress recently recognized December 4, 2001 as a National Day of Reconciliation. According to ASSIST News Service, yet another Christian-based news operation, "the bill passed the House by a voice vote, was sent to the Senate Rules Committee. And then passed in the U.S. Senate," on November 21. The masterminds behind this voluntary day of prayer were House Majority Whip Tom DeLay and Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan). The prayer event was held from 5-7 p.m. EST on Dec. 4 in the Capitol Rotunda. "This isn't about (Sept. 11), although that has a major part to play," DeLay said on the November 27 Focus on the Family radio broadcast. "This is about the nation that has pushed God out of its institutions and out of its homes and out of its communities, coming back to God and showing God that we are a nation that honors and reveres Him." According to Focus on the Family CitizenLink, the event was voluntary and there were no cameras, members of the press or the public allowed to attend. According to CitizenLink:
Recently, Franklin Graham, the son and heir to the throne of his father, evangelist Billy Graham, said that Islam is "an evil and wicked religion," a statement from which he later was forced to backpeddle. And, according to AgapePress, Marvin Olasky, editor-and-chief of the evangelical weekly, World magazine, said: "Anyone who believes in Christ should be willing to say that Islam is wrong in its inception of who God is." Olasky, the guru of "compassionate conservativism," added that "Islam becomes theologically evil when its leaders do not give those they control the liberty to explore for themselves the truth about God." The conversion hustling of the Southern Baptists, empty gestures by well-known politicians and the intolerant statements by Graham and Olasky indicates that since September 11, there hasn't been so much a religious revival, as a revival of the same old same old. The good news, however, is that there's plenty of room left for a true spiritual revival, especially within the hearts of these folk. Bill Berkowitz is an Oakland-based freelance writer covering right-wing movements. Contact him at wkbbronx@aol.com. |
Perhaps religious leaders are confusing patriotism with a religious revival 
Sen. Brownback: Making a 'petition to the Lord'