Decline of religious confidence alarming

Without faith, how do people deal with the recent tragedies that have occurred in our area? That’s a question I often ask myself when life challenges occur.
    It’s a question shared among many of my Christian friends as well. Without the confidence of knowing I have a loving God who forgives and saves, I don’t know how I would have handled the challenges life has brought to my doorstep.
    I attribute my Christian upbringing for instilling that confidence of faith. I can’t imagine where I would be without it.
    We live in an ever-changing world overshadowed by social media and its ills. Our current political atmosphere doesn’t help matters either.
    At a time when we as individuals and America as a whole need faith more than ever, just the opposite is occurring.
    According to a Gallup poll taken in June, America’s confidence in organized religion has fallen to its lowest level ever dating back to 1975. In 1975, that confidence level stood at 68%. Today, it stands at 36%.
    It’s likely some of this can be attributed to issues in churches over the last several decades, ranging from sexual abuse and scandal to denomination-splitting divides on LGBTQ inclusion in the church.
    Churches are not alone in the trend when it comes to a loss of confidence in other American institutions. Out of the 15 institutions measured by Gallup this year, for example, only three have confidence ratings above 50%—the military, small business and the police.
    Not surprisingly, Americans’ faith in their own government stands near an all-time low with just 11% of people having a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of trust in government.

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