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Patrick Fagan's Why Religion Matters

Decent Essays

Now that there are no gods to turn to people now rely on what they know is fact. Instead of Brad praying to some god he used to believe in he instead turns to the internet where in the end found little to no comfort with what he had found. By the year 2050, one in every four Americans will associate with no religion.
Some people may argue that religion will continue to be a part of everyday life, and the idea of religion is going to stay around indefinitely. Patrick Fagan, author of the article “Why Religion Matters” goes on to say “Religious practice appears to have enormous potential for addressing today's social problems.” Actively participating in religion has high potential to benefit mental health, lead to higher self esteem, and greater family and marital happiness. Consequently, religion also has been shown to help repair broken relationships. Therefore, people often seek religion when in times of need. Even though religion may be a part of everyday life for many Americans, the belief in a higher power is diminishing. According to The Washington Post, “The percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christians dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years to about 71 …show more content…

Psychology Today’s Jean Twenge claims, “Twice as many 12th graders and college students in the 2010s (vs. the 1970s) said they never attend religious services. 75% more 12th graders said that religion was “not important at all” in their lives” (Twenge 1). Shockingly, this trend displays that as time has gone on, people are finding less importance in religion. As the article progresses, she proclaims, “Millennials are not less religious just because they are young: They are less religious than Boomers and Gen X’ers were at the same age. Millennials are the least religious generation in the last 6 decades” (Twenge 1). This is because of the parenting of the Boomers and Gen

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