Much has been said of late about a decline in regular church attendance or in spiritual belief more broadly. However, the data indicates that perceptions of such trends may be overblown. Gallup, for instance, finds that 72% of Americans consider religion to be important in their lives.
Encouragingly, people of faith are firm believers in the potential for religion and spirituality to address personal, social and even global challenges.
“Among those who say they attend church every week, 81% say religion can answer most problems,” Gallup says.
That’s not news to people like David Miscavige, leader of the Scientology religion. As the ecclesiastical leader of the only major religion to emerge in the 20th century and one of the fastest-growing faiths of any age, Mr. Miscavige understands the practical power of modern spiritual practice. He lives it every day.
Let’s take a closer look at how religions like Scientology, and the charismatic leaders who guide them, are working to make the world a better place.
A Modern Religious Awakening
The religion Mr. Miscavige leads has sparked the closest thing to a true spiritual revival that the world has seen in modern times.
Followers credit Mr. Miscavige with recovering the works of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and placing them at the heart of a global faith that encourages people from all walks of life to master their minds. Under his leadership, the faith has expanded to more than 11,000 churches, missions and affiliated organizations in nearly 170 countries.
Scientology now has major religious centers, known as Ideal Scientology Churches, from Japan to South Africa to Spain and Florida, where the organization’s spiritual headquarters is located. It’s influential in modern media, as well, with a dedicated media facility in California that supports the Scientology TV Network and two major public awareness campaigns (Truth About Drugs and United for Human Rights). These campaigns are among the largest and most successful of their kind not led by national governments.
Perhaps most relevant for those who have not yet heard the call to the principles of Scientology, the organization is a humanitarian force Now, more than 200,000 Volunteer Ministers have supported relief efforts in at least 300 disaster zones around the world, helping those affected by earthquakes, tsunamis, famine and armed conflict.
Why Do Religion and Spiritual Awareness Remain So Important Today?
The fundamental teachings, advocacy and humanitarian efforts of Scientology and its followers would seem to answer this question. But they — and Scientology itself — are not the only manifestation of impactful religious leadership in the 21st century.
Here’s why we should all aspire to this sort of impact, and how religion and religious leaders can support us in that objective.
- Religious Leaders Often Support Efforts to Mediate and End Conflicts Around the World. Throughout modern history, many religious leaders have called for an end to conflict around the world. Some have gone further by playing active roles as mediators or conveners in negotiations to end such conflicts. This work is more important than ever.
- Religion and Spirituality Can Help Address Personal Challenges. As Scientology’s campaigns show, religious organizations can bring resources and scale to the fight against personal and social problems that otherwise seem intractable, such as substance abuse.
- Faith Leaders May Advocate for Solutions to Complicated, Planet-Wide Challenges. Religious leaders can also be powerful allies in efforts to address the defining challenges of our day, such as global hunger and climate change. Rather than shy away or propose half-measures, as political leaders are wont to do, they advocate clearly and forcefully for total solutions.
- Religious Communities Can Restore Social Cohesion. Social bonds appear to be fraying around the world. Organized religion, by definition, helps restore them. Charismatic faith leaders build community, rather than divide.
- Spiritual Practice Offers Social Inspiration and Hope for Millions. Religion doesn’t have to be organized to make an impact, of course. Spirituality offers hope, constancy and clarity for people from all walks of life — however they choose to practice.
Clarity in a Confusing World
The world is a confusing, confounding place. It’s clear, now more than ever, that religion has an important, perhaps decisive role to play in promoting peace and human flourishing.
We need not review all the reasons why. What we can say, in conclusion, is that religion (and spirituality more broadly) provides the sort of grounding that nothing else can. Certainly not politics, however important for the social order; not athletics, however important for human health and community; nor even productive work, however vital for shared prosperity.
Religion and spirituality stand apart. While we may express it differently, all people who share a sense of higher purpose understand the power and possibility of faith.
