With the replacement of the religious elderly by less- or non- religious youth, the overall society's religious attachment declines. A second demographic aspect is generation succession; the share of adults raised by a family without any religious preference grew from two to six percent. Late matrimony and parenthood is another factor. But, demography cannot possibly be the sole contributor. The religious shift witnessed has been more abrupt as compared to the slow, long-running demographic trends. Hence, cohort succession and familial factors cannot completely explain the unexpected growth (Hout and Claude 167).
Additionally, the growth might echo an abruptly augmented historical tendency towards secularization. The sociological argument regarding whether secularization has been brought forth by modernization is several decades old. Secularization has apparently come considerably late to America, as compared to other English-speaking, largely-Protestant societies. The "no-religion" surge of the nineties possibly and finally heralded American secularization. The word "secularization," by itself, has sparked considerable debate, with some asking for distinctions to be made, particularly between private and public religious expressions (Hout and Claude 167). This is perhaps a reversible shift. The U.S., Brazil, Spain, and Poland displayed substantial proof of a private-public religious move, with clear proofs of religion's retreat to the realm of the private. But religious skepticism was an unlikely justification: A majority of individuals indicating no religious preference held traditional religious views in spite of separating from their organized religious groups. Such unchurched believers accounted for a major part of the growth in the no religious preference trend.
The paper would be incomplete without a look at celebrity effects, especially Oprah Winfrey's influence, on spirituality and religion. Latest Oprah Winfrey Show episodes publicize means of awakening one's spirit. This subject has also made the headlines of "0, The Oprah Magazine" which has advocated prayer and meditation techniques, as well as her "Oprah Book Club" books, where she is seen regularly urging her readers to seek truths for personal revolution (Lofton 599). All Oprah products merge practical inspiration and support with spiritual advice, and capitalist rationality with spiritual awakening. The famous talk-show host's website recommends the maintenance of 6 different journals: besides a journal that one can create and name on one's own, she defines: a Daily journal wherein one ought to record one's general everyday thoughts; a Spa Girl journal to record one's exercise regime; a Gratitude journal to record 5 things one loved about the day; a Discovery journal that aims at getting to know oneself through retrospection, and a Health journal. Clearly, to her, the maintenance of a journal ought to be a key spiritual practice. In the end, how these records will benefit a person have been proved in the form of bullet points on the very same webpage: decreased stress levels, self-discovery, more peace, general "awareness," the audacity to follow one's dreams and an understanding of one's past (Lofton 611).
Writing occupies center stage in Oprah's self- and spirit- related commentaries. She believes writing marks the foremost step in an overall self-actualization, renewal, and change process. It forms the fundamental way by which her audience practices faith (Lofton 611). Therefore, her religious principles and renunciation of religion may be considered a sleight of hand: Oprah accepts and supports only a few theological existence modes and dislikes a large number of them. In her opinion, religion fails to justify oppression and domination, as well as the inability of cataloging shop. To her, religion only works when made carefully in line with capitalist liking; hence, her shift towards spirituality: a non-dogmatic code fostering vague theism and exuberant consumerism combined. According to Oprah, every religion has spiritual elements which will become evident if one looks closely. Therefore, to her, Buddhism deals with aromatic incense and beaded bracelets rather than abandonment of the world and meditation. Likewise, Christianity is about the friendly Jesus's democratic message rather than his memorization of doctrines or apocalyptic visions. So long as one spends on oneself, looks and feels good, she will accept one's religious beliefs. This religious principle of Oprah's is actually what's been adopted by the late capitalist USA (Lofton 618).
A significant role is played by the political domain. The growing "no religion" preference was earlier limited to the political liberals and moderates, whilst conservatives retained their religious choice. The political contribution to the growing "nones" may be perceived as a telling negative attitude towards the right-wing conservative Christians (Hout and Claude 165). Controversies…
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