Spirituality Is Growing

The spiritual teacher Adyashanti  said, 

“The main requirement for spiritual growth: A yearning to know who you really are.”

Welcome to The Soul Podcast. I’m Stacey Wheeler. 

We’re all yearning to know who we are. Many of us spend the first half of our lives trying to define ourselves outside of ourselves. We make our “mark” in the world… as they say. We accumulate. Or maybe we strive to be a “success” -whatever that means to us. We show the world who we are. We show the world we are worthy. 

When we’re on a spiritual journey, our focus shifts. We’re led to look inside instead. And there we find ourselves -hiding in plain sight. We were there all along. It’s our Soul witnessing us. And us witnessing our Soul. And in this great shift, we can suddenly see ourselves -as a loving mother might. We witness the human we are… the child inside. And we feel empathy for the human pains we’ve endured. The ways we suffered. When we find our spiritual-selves, we learn to love our human-selves… like we haven’t since we were newborn babies. 

All this can happen in spiritual growth. It seems more people are making the shift each year.  

A few years back I noticed a trend. It started to grow in my awareness when I went back to my hometown, after more than ten years away. One of the longer streets in town is Hiller Road. Growing up, there were four churches along this drive. One had closed before I moved away. It was converted into a home. When I returned, I was surprised to see only one of the remaining three churches was still open. When I was a kid, the largest of them had a big congregation for a town of that size. Probably nearly a few hundred people on any given Sunday. But now it’s empty buildings, sit overgrown, and uncared for. 

After my trip home I started noticing more closed churches. Many had been converted to homes or businesses. So, I started to wonder…  what was going on? 

It turns out that Christianity in America is changing. 

I’m a Gen X-er.  I grew up in the 70s and 80s. My town was a small, working-class community. But it wasn’t what I’d consider overly religious. Less than half the kids I knew attended church. Just the same, as a kid, I was surprised the first time I heard someone claim to be an atheist. It seemed like a dirty word. But now, four decades on, though most people might not choose the word ‘atheist’, it seems people feel comfortable saying they aren’t religious. 

So, it turns out…

The US Christian majority has been shrinking for more than 40 years. This year a Gallup poll revealed that religious membership in the U.S. has fallen to just 47%. For the past 80 years -since Gallup has been measuring this- those who say they are religious have been the majority in America. Today those who claim religious affiliation are the minority. There’s never been a lower number of Americans who are religious. Only a fraction of those who say they are religious attend church regularly. 

Okay, let’s put that in perspective - fifty years ago, 90% identified as religious. Consider how much of a change that is. It represents a nearly 2% decline each year over my lifetime. 

Imagine you’re attending a football game in a stadium, and the place is at 90% capacity. That’s practically every seat. An empty seat is the exception to the norm. Now, imagine that over the course of the game people start to leave. Long before the game is over, about half the seats are empty.  

That’s where we are today with Christianity in the US, Canada and most other western countries.  

People of religious faith might find this trend disturbing – even ominous. After all, what is to become of a country where people turn away from God? But as it turns out, this trend doesn’t represent a turning away from God. It turns out, moving away from a religious affiliation doesn’t lead us towards a life of crime and hedonism. In fact, it can lead an individual to a strong connection to their higher power.

 Stephanie Kramer, who is a senior researcher specializing in religion, led a study for the Pew Research Center. It looked at trends in religion in the US.

Kramer says the research showed that people weren’t changing religions. Instead, they were becoming what she calls “unaffiliated.” 

Kramer said, 

They’re “…not all nonbelievers. Most of them do identify as nothing in particular. And most do believe in some kind of high power or spiritual force. That's where the majority (trend) of the movement is going.”

Kramer also said the research doesn’t show a lot of people leaving Christianity for a non-Christian religion. Essentially, they are shifting from religion to a more spiritually minded attitude. 

And you don’t need polls and research to see what’s happening. The abandoned churches tell the story.

If this trend continues, the study predicts that Christians in North America will become a minority in just a few decades.

Not to ignore the rest of the world… :

•             Christianity has been declining in France steadily since the 1980's.

•             Less than half of German citizens belong to a church for the first time in history - as of 2021,

•             In Hungary, only about 1/8th of the people who say they’re religious, regularly attend church.

•             And Catholicism is declining in Ireland, one of the strongest historically Catholic countries. And the priesthood is shrinking there, as fewer and fewer men feel the call to serve. 

•             Religion is also shrinking in The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, The UK, and Australia... It’s happening everywhere.  

There’s even a wiki page dedicated to the topic of religion (and the decline of its influence) in Europe.  For statistic nerds like me- I’ll share a few links in the show notes. 

I won’t linger much more on the stats. The trend is obvious. Churches are closing and attendance is dropping. The stats confirm what my eyes have seen. 

For me… growing up, the word ‘spiritual’ was something many in my conservative little town laughed at. Back then, spirituality was still associated with the 60s and hippies. But things are changing. Fewer people see the need for an outside authority to lead them in their spiritual activities. Many enjoy religion for the rituals and for community. But many who turn towards spirituality find new rituals and new community. As an example -yoga and meditation groups are growing around the world. As religion is shrinking, activities around personal spiritual growth are increasing.  

And going back to my story about the churches that closed in my hometown, the one that caught my attention most was one that had reopened as a yoga studio. This was especially interesting since I’d seen this before in another town. A church had closed and re-opened as a yoga studio. 

So, we’re starting to see a change in the priorities of Americans. Or -should we say a change in self-care habits…? Whatever we call it. It’s certainly a trend. 

Yoga has become one of the most popular fitness and mental health practices around the world, and its rapid growth is showing no signs of slowing. I did some research. Check out these numbers….

·         About 29 million Americans practice yoga now. Though that number represents less than 10% of all Americans it’s noteworthy because that trend is continuing to grow, rather than shrink (as the number of church goers are).

·         The annual growth rate for the yoga industry is projected to be about 10% between now and 2027. That means that in six years the number of Americans practicing yoga (in a studio) could grow to about 50 million. (Note, this doesn’t account for those who practice in a non-paid studio, or at home… the report I read, only looked at those who pay for Yoga Instruction).

Of course, I also have to say that despite the spiritual roots of the yoga practice, yoga in the western world is not exclusively a spiritual endeavor. For many, it is a healthy lifestyle practice. So, we can’t say it’s replacing religion, as such. But it’s a noteworthy trend.

Other trends are also emerging. Looking at our culture, there are signs of a spiritual shift that goes beyond church closings and the growth of yoga as a practice. 

Have you seen the animated Disney/Pixar film, Soul? If you haven’t you really should. It’s a sweet film about what happens to a man at the time of his death… and his journey back to his body. 

The tagline for the film is “
 Everybody has a soul. Joe Gardner is about to find his.”

This is from DISNEY, the studio that for more than 60 years has had not much more to offer than formulaic films about why it’s hard to be a princess. Now, they’re talking about the Soul. The film borrows many facets of what people say they experienced during a near death experience. 

Disney has the pulse of the world and they’ve become really good at giving us what the trends tell them to. So, Disney seems to see the shifting of attitudes towards spirituality… and a deepening belief in spiritual matters.

Another trend we see, which points to a growth in spirituality is the greater acceptance of near-death experiences and reincarnation. In the past 25 years (or so) there has been great growth in the number of respected organizations looking into these phenomena. There is a serious and scientific effort to better understand how and why so many people are reporting these experiences -and have been reporting them for thousands of years. I did a five-part series on this topic earlier this season. 

Something else worth a mention…

A 2018 study that there has been an increase in meditation of nearly 250% over the previous five years. That makes it the fastest growing health and wellness trend in America. I, myself took up meditation during the time of that study and know many others who have started the practice since then. What was once considered a bit woo-woo by many, is now gaining mass acceptance. 

Also…

Tiny home ownership has been growing over the past decade and is projected to grow by 4.5% each year through 2026. I know… seems random. What’s this have to do with spirituality? One of the key aspects to a spiritual awakening is a shrinking interest in material things. The early 2000s was a decade that saw the largest increase in homes size, per family size in north American history. Never before had more families bought houses with more square feet per family member. Excess was so important to people that they were frequently buying homes they really couldn’t afford. 

Now, nearly 20 years later there’s a massive shift taking place. People are casting off the excesses. They are simplifying. They seem to be losing the need to show others what they have... What they can afford. They are simplifying and many are opting for tiny homes. 

Spirituality used to look like a fad.  Now it appears to be an instinctive desire to find an acceptable set of values to live by. And we see many signs of a spiritual shift in the world. Some obvious -and other not so obvious. Things are changing. And many people on a spiritual journey may not even realize the added benefits. Spirituality can provide individuals with tools and practices to cultivate greater well-being and inner peace. It can also have ripple effects in our relationships and communities. Practices like meditation and mindfulness have been shown to have a range of physical and mental health benefits, including reduced stress, improved focus and concentration, and increased compassion and empathy.

My spiritual growth has led me to be more aware of how my ego drives my actions, which has led me to make less decisions from ego. I’m more empathetic than ever. In fact, ten years back my definition of empathy wouldn’t have even been correct. I’ve seen the true meaning of the word -and it effects my way of being. I care for my body better and have a focus on being a better person each day. These are common results people often find when living a spiritual life. 

And it’s been going on for a while. There have been some well-known advocates leading the charge by example. 

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple corporation said this about religion and spirituality, 

"Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice." 

For many, religion is living the thinking and expectations of others. It’s following the book of rules of your particular religion. For some, religious dogma is useful as a framework for life. But religion -for some- can feel like it’s a one size fits all approach to spiritual life. So, it seems more people each year are moving toward a spiritual path, without the structure found in religions. Spirituality doesn’t have the same sort of structures as religions. Maybe that’s part of the draw. There’s no one telling you what your spiritual life should look like. The path is yours to figure out. So, spirituality can mean a lot of different things to many different people. In a sense, people are figuring it out as they go. And figuring it out as you go is not a new idea. 

In the 1800s, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 

“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.”

Many of us who consider ourselves spiritual are rejecting the book of a particular faith and instead following ideas and standards we’ve assembled on our own… from the words and sentences we’ve read and heard (many in holy books). We are essentially making our own “bible” of sorts. 

So, what does all this mean?

Something subtle is happening. People are putting a greater focus on finding personal balance. On empathy, compassion, and community. These are values shared by most religions as well. But it seems more people are choosing to not have anyone between them and their spiritual life. 

As Adyashanti  said, 

“The main requirement for spiritual growth: A yearning to know who you really are.”

And millions of people each year seem to be embracing that yearning. 

In doing our spiritual work we’re connecting with our Soul. And it’s happening all over the world. We’ve been sold on the notion that success means accumulation of stuff. Some try to find happiness in making lots of money and buying nice things. Some look for it in substance use. It doesn’t take long before we discover happiness can’t consistently be found in those places. 

But by simplifying, questioning the truth of consciousness, doing meditation, or yoga… finding our center …we might find something better than happiness. A thing many of us have forgotten. 

Joy. 

Joy through connection with our deeper self -or our higher power. 

Sitting silently with ourselves has that effect. It leads to a sense of peace. And this sense of peace is something many of us don’t realize we thirst for – until we’ve experience it. When we get a taste… we want more. 

And have you noticed all forms of religions seem to have some aspect of slowing down as a core practice? Prayer… meditation… breathing practices… they’ve historically helped us connect with something. Is it God… the Soul… both? Whatever it is, it seems to be a grounding force. Enlightenment doesn’t seem to happen in full motion.  We must  s l o w  down.

Slowing down leads to…

Joy! We’ve forgotten this sensation is our birth right. And it’s right here. It’s here for the taking. And it costs nothing but the time it takes to be present with ourselves… in the moment. 

The Soul Reunion is ours. All we must do is be open to it. Be silent… and let it come. 

Soon… spiritual people will be the majority. What will the world be like when politicians on both sides must cater to the pressures of a voting population who are broadly accepting of other, and who value empathy, peace, and kindness above all else? What will they do when the voting base sees every human as a relative, rather than a potential enemy?

What happens when the political parties and news organizations can no longer weaponize anger and self-righteousness for ratings and votes? What happens when the majority of the voters can’t be swayed with angry rhetoric… and the far left and far right news go bankrupt from lack of viewers? 

Maybe it’s less likely than I imagine, but trends are moving us in the direction of that possible world. I see it as a hopeful sign. What does that world look like? If the spiritual trend continues, we’ll see the results in less than a generation. And within a few generations… when they look back at the world as it is today, they’ll see it as we see the dark ages; just a time we had to go through in order to get to a better reality.