A milestone for Skeptical Faith

Today I’m posting my 25^th blog, having started writing them back in June.

In general, I’m pleased with the blogs and continue to believe they offer a viewpoint and cover issues that are seldom seen elsewhere. However, the feedback has been slim, and I doubt I’m reaching many of the people I intend to reach.

As the subhead on my main Blogger page says, I’m trying to reach people who have given up on God and/or religion. And as I said in one of my early posts, I’m especially interested in those between the ages of 20 and 40. I suspect few people in those categories read them, however.

I send notices of new posts each Thursday to my Facebook friends and LinkedIn and

E-mail contacts, most of whom are over – and sometimes, way over – 40. I ask that they pass along the blog address and individual posts to their children, grandchildren, friends and acquaintances, who may be among those who have “given up.” So, I hope at least a few in the categories I’m trying to reach get them.

According to the studies I’ve read on the religious beliefs and practices of young people, however, one of the problems may be that they simply aren’t interested. Perhaps the title of the blog, Skeptical Faith, is itself a problem. Many of the people I’m trying to reach no doubt have little interest in either skepticism or faith.

If you have suggestions on how to reach them you can use the comments function on my Blogger page - which, if you prefer, allows anonymous comments - or use Facebook or e-mail.

So, what’s my motivation in writing this blog?

 

Back when I was a priest in Bolivia, a colleague and I were talking about the priests who were leaving the ministry in our Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. It was the beginning of an era of mass exodus from the priesthood. “They pack up their tents and steal off into the night,” my colleague said.

His point was that they seemed to disappear from their normal circle of friends, acquaintances, parishioners and families, some of whom were undoubtedly upset they were “abandoning their vocations.” It appeared that few people were engaging them, asking about their reasons for leaving, let alone encouraging them to stay – as if those people had no stake in the priests’ staying or leaving.

It was considered an embarrassment for the priests who were leaving as well as for their families and friends. Talking about it was taboo.

Isn’t that the case for many who are giving up on God and religion today? Which of us attempts to engage them in conversation about their decisions, asking their reasons, encouraging them to stay? Shouldn’t we, their brothers and sisters in the faith, care if they have trouble with the concept of God or with organized religion? Don’t we have many of the same questions, and perhaps some good reasons for believing and for staying despite the doubts? Don’t we have any insights that may be helpful to them?

The strong societal taboo against discussing religion, I suppose, has a lot to do with our hesitancy. And, we may feel inadequate to the task or timid about expressing ourselves on a topic we consider so personal.

Writing a blog about it is my way of overcoming these obstacles. People are free to read them or not, and I won’t know if they do or not. There’s a slim chance I will offend, or that by declining to read, they will offend me. Among my goals is to cover the “hard” issues; write briefly and clearly; keep the blog as positive as possible; avoid “churchy” language  and be empathetic and non-judgmental; in other words, to reach out to people wherever they are. 

I believe a lot of people who have given up on God and religion are not entirely comfortable with their decisions. In some cases, leaving it all behind may have caused painful self-conflict as well as dissension in their families. I know from experience it isn’t easy to abandon something that has been part of your life since childhood. While some may do it out of physical or intellectual laziness, I think many see honest conflicts between faith and common sense.

So, I’m going to keep plugging away at these blogs. I’m grateful to all my readers – including those who haven’t given up on God and faith. (And I’m especially grateful to my editor, Jim Stessman.) And as I say in notices about new blog posts each Thursday, if you like them please pass them on to family and friends – especially those who may be struggling with faith.