I have held off because I don't think I have much of significance to say about it. Oh wait, I've already said a lot about it since 2007 or so.
Anyway, I just read an article on NPR interviewing the Rev. of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC for his response to the new study. I liked his response about how religious people can try to reverse this trend:
On those who say religion is unnecessary, given humanity's growing scientific knowledgeThat last part rings true to me. Honestly I think that fear and emotion cloud these discussions so much on the part of religious people that they can't really talk about God in a grown-up way. They are too afraid they'll go to hell for doubting. That's the pathetic part of religion: mind control.
I think science and religion are at some point both about big questions of origin and wonder. And I think, for me, I've always felt that it's important for religious people to have the same kind of philosophical stance they use in their religious life as they do in the rest of their life. And a lot of times I think religion — religions — ask people to sort of turn off the scientific part of their lives and just go and kind of think about God kind of pre-scientifically.
I don't think we can do that. We've got to have a faith that is, in some sense, consonant with the way we think about the world scientifically. And again, I think one of the things the Pew study suggests to us is that if the church can get over its anxiety about talking about God in a grown-up way, we would actually reach out to and speak to more people than we do right now. [emphasis added]
