Helton, 28, and Dohm, 54, aren't atheists, either. They simply shrug off God, religion, heaven or the ever-trendy search-for-meaning and/or purpose. Their attitude could be summed up as "So what?"
"The real dirty little secret of religiosity in America is that there are so many people for whom spiritual interest, thinking about ultimate questions, is minimal," says Mark Silk, professor of religion and public life at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.
Researchers have begun asking the kind of nuanced questions that reveal just how big the “So What?” set might be:
•44% told the 2011 Baylor University Religion Survey they spend no time seeking "eternal wisdom," and 19% said "it's useless to search for meaning."
•46% told a 2011 survey by Nashville-based evangelical research agency, LifeWay Research, they never wonder whether they will go to heaven.
•28% told LifeWay "it's not a major priority in my life to find my deeper purpose." And 18% scoffed at the idea that God has a purpose or plan for everyone.
•6.3% of Americans turned up on Pew Forum's 2007 Religious Landscape Survey as totally secular — unconnected to God or a higher power or any religious identity and willing to say religion is not important in their lives.
Hemant Mehta, who blogs as The Friendly Atheist, calls them the "apatheists" Mariann Edgar Budde, Episcopal Bishop of Washington D.C., calls them honest. "We live in a society today where it is acceptable now to say that they have no spiritual curiosity. At almost any other time in history, that would have been unacceptable," Budde says.
She finds this "very sad, because the whole purpose of faith is to be a source of guidance, strength and perspective in difficult times. To be human is to have a sense of purpose, an awareness that our life is an utterly unique expression of creation and we want to live it with meaning, grace and beauty." -excerpted from, “For many, 'Losing My Religion' isn't just a song: It's life,” by Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY (1/3/2012)
Apathy is not so much a physical issue, nor is it merely a symptom of boredom, as it is a problem within our spirit. It is a collapse of the will to vigorously press forward under the burdens of contrary forces and constant repetition of tasks until we either no longer care about activities or their outcomes, or we mechanically go through the motions in a state of sleepwalking where we perform the tasks necessary but are not really consciously involved as we ought to be. What can easily be a danger in the workplace has become a subtle poison in the work of the Lord and the life of the local Church.
There are those for whom attending church is only a duty to be performed. It matters less what songs are sung. It matters somewhat what the Pastor preaches, so long as he doesn't preach too long or probe too deeply. They have reached a comfort level where attending Sunday morning is enough to ease the conscience but not so much as to disturb the heart.
Their fellowship with others tends more towards their social calendar than with any strangers who appear in the services. Their social network is growing more around interests shared outside of the church than those within. Apathy even touches those who have faithfully served in our churches over the years.
Symptoms like these may well be but a mere reflection of the apathy found within our homes and families. Husbands and wives pass each other like ships in the night and likewise parents and children in homes where few family members even eat meals together. The notes that we used to leave on the refrigerator have been replaced by the technology of text messages, instant messages and email; but we still share less time in the same space, with less meaningful conversation, than ever before.
Even the occasional sharing of space has been reduced to mutually staring at the TV in rapt silence or each one tuned into his own computer screen (or personal electronic device) in various places throughout the house. It’s not that we’re angry or dislike each other, we just don’t care about one another or pay as much attention as we should.
Some who recognize the symptoms suggest that a solution to apathy and caring less is for us to make changes, particularly in how we do church. The drive towards contemporizing our music, worship and preaching is built upon the notion that apathy is really a synonym for boredom and the answer to boredom is excitement. Such an answer, however, is simplistic at best.
When Willow Creek Community Church released its self study of the effectiveness of their programs under their philosophy of a changed ministry (their report was published in Reveal: Where Are You? By Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson), they were shocked to learn that while they had a large following of people, few of them had matured into real disciples despite all the millions of dollars spent by them to introduce change. In other words, though many professed Christ as Savior under their many ministries, their methods were no better an antidote to spiritual apathy than traditional methods and ministries.
Much has been written about overcoming the problems of apathy, and there are several Scripture passages that relate to the problem and its symptoms. For example, we should recognize that attitudes, like a critical spirit, indulging in gossip or slander, becoming a divider of God’s people, are all soundly condemned in God’s Word; but do we realize that these are also some of the ways apathy can rear its ugly head in a local church? The focus of apathetic people is centered upon themselves. Their observations about what other people do, fail to do or might/might not be doing are all about how the words and actions of others affect them.
Apathy has no time for the tender heart of a selfless servant. Instead you will find a stony heart that is waiting to be served by others. They will gladly sit in impatient judgment of everyone but themselves. Such people can undermine the work of the Lord in any church because they have moved from being the problem-solvers and solution-finders to becoming part of the problem and expecting everyone else to find the solution. There is this myopic sense of having done so much for so long, presumably without receiving anything back in return, that it is now someone else’s problem.
The uncommitted are no longer just the strangers and visitors. They are a growing number of core people who have decided they've done enough. Sadly, people like this fail to realize how far they have slipped spiritually. They have lost sight of their Savior and the fact that their own purpose in life must center about Him and not themselves.
Apathy, spiritual malaise, is a problem that runs deeper than the packaging of Christianity. The self-indulgence of apathy cannot honestly coexist with being identified with Christ and living for the glory of God. A “care-less” spirit misrepresents our relationship with Christ and undermines the power of the Gospel message we are to take to the world.
Scripture: Revelation 3:16; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Proverbs 15:19; Proverbs 15:19; John 5:39-40; Mark 14:38-41; Hebrews 11:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Hebrews 6:4-6
Prayer: Lord, I come close to You seeking to renew a relationship that seems to have grown cold. Show me those ways that I have become proud. Help me to turn to You with a humble heart. I want to spend time with You today. Amen
-special thanks to Dr. Charles L. Dear
God bless you!
Nikki
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