An article in The Guardian revealed new research showing that “England and Wales are now minority Christian countries for the first time since census data collection began, with less than half the population describing themselves as Christian, and a big increase in the proportion of people saying they have no religion.” This rise of “the nones” (those who identify as having no religion) is something occuring across the west, as research in the U.S. has also shown. Such cultural shifts raise an important question for those standing at the intersection of faith and mental health. Namely, should we let go of the belief that faith is a resource for those with mental illness if rising numbers report to have no faith? Well, as the Journey song goes, Don’t Stop Believing. There are least three reasons why faith and mental health can be important friends even amid rising secularism. First, the rising number of nones (who are still less than those identifying as religious) are not mainly coming from those who are religiously observant but from “nominal” believers. A Pew Research Study in 2015 revealed that there is a “modest drop in overall rates of belief and practice, but religiously affiliated Americans are as observant as before”. Thus, there are many people for whom faith remains a deep source of mental wellness. Second, even if some declare themselves non-religious, this doesn’t mean they are non-spiritual. As John Swinton states in his book Spirituality and Mental Health Care, “whilst people may be becoming less religious, it would be a mistake to assume from that that they are necessarily becoming less spiritual, or that they are no longer searching for a sense of transcendance and spiritual fulfillment.” To be human is to be spiritual in that all humans must navigate matters of meaning, purpose and hope. If mental health practitioners ignore such issues, they will do so to the detriment of those they serve, all of whom have spiritual needs. Finally, while faith communities are by no means the only form of community, they remain a signficant resource for those with mental illness. Just as there are rising numbers of nones, so there are rising numbers of those identifying as lonely. A 2021 report out of Harvard showed that “36% of all Americans—including 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children—feel ‘serious loneliness”’. Isolation has long been seen as a barrier to mental wellness. Therefore, building bridges between faith communities and service providers can be an important way to alleviate this escalating loneliness. With all this in mind, if the rise of nones leads to a greater thoughtfulness in how practicioners assess spiritual needs, we will have benefited as a field from this research. If however, it leads practitioners to ignore assessing spiritual needs, then perhaps we aren’t spending enough time listening to Journey. |
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