West's New Creed: Belief Without Belonging

ROME, MARCH 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).-

Despite the growth of sects and new religions in Western countries, the most widespread religious phenomenon is of believers who do not belong to or practice a specific faith. So says sociologist Massimo Introvigne, director of Turin's Center of Studies on New Religions (CESNUR). Introvigne referred to this phenomenon when addressing a congress in Rome on "The Nature of Religion in Theological Context," which took place March 9-10 in the School of Theology of the University of the Holy Cross. "One often hears talk of an 'invasion of sects' or an 'explosion' of new religions," said Introvigne. "Certainly, religious movements that in some way are alternatives, are very many. J. Gordon Melton -- who, however, rejects drawing a line of clear demarcation between 'old' and 'new' religions -- records over 1,500 groups of a certain consistency in the United States." "In a country in which religious pluralism is more recent, such as Italy, CESNUR knows of more than 300 denominations," he revealed. "In Africa," Introvigne continued, "specialists list several thousand new religions, and the number grows every day. But in no country of the West do new movements seem to exceed 2% of the population. … In Italy it is more likely that they are about 1%." Something higher "The largest 'new' religion, therefore, especially in the West, is that of those who 'believe without belonging,' according to the formula of English sociologist Grace Davie," explained the Italian sociologist. In Italy, for example, according to the data of the European Survey on Values of 2000, Catholics who practice, at least occasionally, are almost one-third of the population. "What remains is a population made up of more than half of all Italians who say that they 'believe' in something higher or transcendent, but that in fact they do not 'belong' to a religious community in the full sense of the term," Introvigne indicated. He continued: "It ranges from those who believe in a higher power but do not know how to identify it, to that of 'believers in their own way,' 'to Christians in their own way' and 'Catholics in their own way' -- 'I am Catholic, but I don't practice'; 'I am Catholic, but I don't agree with the Church'; and even -- a position that is not infrequent in Italy -- 'I am Catholic but I am against priests.'"

To "believe without belonging" is really in the end a cop-out. It is the same concept of being "spiritual, but not religious." "Spiritual, but not religious" and "believing without belonging" are ways in which someone can be associated with a group, without having the responsibility of actually following what they believe or demand. It is really easy in these days to be nominally this or that, but to actually follow and believe in something is completely different. Due to thirty years of poor catechesis and a culture that is very anti-religious, particularly Catholic, we have a large number of young people who are ill-equipped to investigate or even defend the faith. It is way too easy for them, and I know this from personal experience, to just accept the "truths" of religious pluralism/relativism and to just consider him/herself "spiritual." Ultimately, to be "spiritual" is just a way of saying that I recognize that a God exists, but I am not willing to accept the responsibilies of being a disciple. Discipleship is needed!

Praise be to Jesus Christ!