AJANKOHTAISTA
Is Religion
Declining or Remixing?
Americans are less and less formally identifying with and engaging in the practices
of organized religion. Millennials especially, aren’t moving away from religion so
much as they are “remixing” it.
“The keys passed into the other
dimension.” I laughed, thinking
my Airbnb host was making
a joke about losing the previous
set of keys. “Really,” she said.
While she could only offer vague
and admittedly speculative descriptions
of this other dimension, her
belief in another realm seemed sincere
enough. It was unclear what led
her to believe in such a realm. But
as the subject changed and I continued
to learn more about my Airbnb
host, I soon learned that she definitely
did not think of herself as religious.
In fact, she seemed rather put
off by religion, perceiving it to be
judgmental and moralistic. She was
more concerned with being a good
person, being environmentally conscious,
and being healthy (she had a
strong belief in the healing power of
herbs and plants).
Yet this clear belief in other dimensions
of reality outside of our
sense perception raises the question:
Is such a belief “religious” or spiritual?
Is it “secular”? Should this person
be understood as nonreligious, spiritual,
or what?
■ JOEL GILLIN
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