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My Take

Belief in God

Mark McGee
Posted 6/25/22

Dare we consider the state of the United States of America?

Mass shootings are becoming an everyday occurrence. Murder rates in general are increasing in many cities. People are being beaten, …

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My Take

Belief in God

Posted

Dare we consider the state of the United States of America?

Mass shootings are becoming an everyday occurrence. Murder rates in general are increasing in many cities. People are being beaten, stabbed and shot at random.

Rampant inflation is overwhelming us with the specter of recession looming. Costs for basics like food, gas, electricity, rent and mortgage payments are rising. Even if you have the money to buy something you might not be able to find it because of supply issues.

Homelessness is becoming an issue for cities of all sizes. Drug abuse, sometimes resulting in death, is increasing.

World War III or a nuclear confrontation with some of our enemies is a possibility.

In the middle all this chaos comes a Gallup poll revealing only 81 percent of adults in the U.S. believe in God. That is a decrease of six points from a 2017 poll. It is the lowest percentage reported by Gallup which has periodically asked the question since 1944.

Jeffrey Jones, writing for the Gallup news website, analyzed the numbers used in this column. Of those who responded to Gallup 17 percent don’t believe in God with a small percentage checking the “unsure” box. Young adults are even less likely to believe in God with only 68 percent responding they believe in a greater power.

Jones points out” church attendance, church membership and confidence in organized religion” have shown even steeper drops than those who don’t believe in God.

Moral relativism has become more prevalent especially among young people and those classified as liberals. I sometimes teach an ethics course on the college level and the website, “Ethics Unwrapped” provides concisely an understanding of what moral relativism is the idea that there is no universal or absolute set of moral principles. It’s a version of morality that advocates “to each her own,” and those who follow it say, “Who am I to judge?”

That approach isn’t working. It would appear if you were going to believe in God this is the time to do it.

The United States is a mess. divine presence. A divine presence and guidance is needed to make an impact for positive change. Responses to another question was even more disturbing to me.

In Jones’ article he states “only 42 percent of Americans who believe in God say God hears prayers and can intervene in a person’s behalf. But roughly 75 percent of “the most religious Americans, defined according to the Gallup article as “those who attend religious services every week, believe God hears prayers and can intervene.”

Another 28 percent of all Americans think God hears prayers but cannot intervene. Eleven percent think God does neither.

While not all prayers are answered, and we don’t really understand why, I believe prayer has made a difference many times in my life with so many including me in their prayers in my times of need.

I am confident we need to believe in something above ourselves. I will say a prayer that more people in this country will one day believe that as well.