The Experience
What is ‘religion’ and why has it played such an important role in the rise of humanity?
This was a question I asked myself at the outset of this personal quest many years ago.
To answer this, it is necessary that we see the situation as it stands now in order to appreciate how we got here – and perhaps to see where we are going.
In an increasingly secular world religion is no longer seen as the answer to all problems and fears.
Rather, in 2019, it has become a Pandora’s Box from which have poured many of the world's ills.
Beset by serious internal scandal and encompassed by a moral vacuum, organised religion is increasingly seen as the abode of extremists and extremism. Consequently, people in the West are looking elsewhere for an answer to their spiritual questions.
In the 1950’s in Great Britain over 15 million people attended regular Sunday church services. However, a recent poll demonstrated a vertiginous decline: less than 400,000 people now in attendance; most of these are over 75 years of age.
The Church of England is facing its demise – and this is not just happening in Great Britain. In the US the rise of secularism has also seen a steep decline in church-going activity.
Yet, despite this, alternative modes of spirituality have never been so popular: into the breach other paths to spiritual fulfilment have stepped. This demonstrates a clear need: but one detached from the idea of a collective dogma.
The flavour of these alternative paths is most often decidedly pre-Christian – with an emphasis on the connection to Mother Earth.