Contrary to common belief, faith is as relevant to the
United States today as it ever has been.

Recently the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life asked
35,000 American adults about their faith and found that those who are losing
members most rapidly in the American faith war are the Protestant Church, which
constitutes roughly 44 percent of the American population, and the Catholic
Church, at roughly 27 percent. The survey also suggests that not only is
Christianity on the decline, but also those who claim no particular religion
are on the rise. America is losing faith.

The failing of belief systems in the United States may be
best explained by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), who made
the case that as societies grow and become increasingly complex, the idea of
God must become more abstract in order to be sustained.

For example, if one were to examine the pantheon of Greek
gods, one would find that they all had multiple responsibilities in explaining
phenomena on earth, i.e., Poseidon and the sea, Zeus and lightning, etc.
However, because we have sound scientific explanations for most natural
occurrences, our view of God has become increasingly intangible.

The important question to then ask is: Can an advanced,
postmodern society sustain its image of a highly abstract God while increasing
in complexity, size and scientific knowledge? As long as there are things that
remain unknown, the answer is yes.

Applying Durkheim?s logic here, the more we find and know,
the less space there will be for faith and for a God in peoples? lives. But
until we know everything, that ever-shrinking domain will have to be
maintained. Mankind has always had a need to believe that there is something
greater than itself, something humbling.

An example of this need is presented in the Pew Forum
survey, where even though Protestant and Catholic Church membership is in
decline, other faiths and nondenominational church membership both seems to be
increasing. For instance, half of American Buddhists surveyed were white, most
of whom had converted.

Faith inside of America is ever-present and will never
disappear, no matter how advanced a society it becomes. Faith and,
consequently, religion are about adaptability and change. It is highly unlikely
that Buddhists 500 years ago could have foreseen their religion as having an
impact on any sort of Western cultural and religious landscape. Although
America, being the revolutionary ?melting pot? that it is, more easily allows
this sort of dynamic environment for faith and religion to change, adapt and
expand.

This idea of faith and religion as adaptable is fundamental
when looking at faith and its perceived decline in the face of increasing knowledge.
The Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists and agnostics of
today are not those of yesterday. Religion will always resist change in order
to avoid potential incongruence among the core belief concepts. However, such
resistance to change may also help in explaining why so many Americans have
left the Protestant and Catholic Churches for other, more ?fluid? faiths such
as Buddhism, or for no faith at all.

Development and advancement in society must be met by
development and advancement by whatever faith one subscribes to. Faith and
religion are not things that are meant to hold still until history renders them
stagnant. They are meant to be expanded, explored, tested and developed. I
believe this is where we are as Americans right now. We are testing different
religions; we are testing our faith and trying new things.

Statistics like those found in the recent Pew study should
not be viewed as evidence of America falling into a black, nihilistic void
because faith is not chained to evidence. It is supple; it can be molded and
altered both by the individual and by the institution. It is always in a state
of change. This is the elegance of faith.? ?

?

Wasim Salman ([email protected]) is a senior
majoring in international relations.