Where Are Young People Drifting After Christianity

Anyone interested in contemporary religious trends should buy Strange Rites; New Religions for a Godless World. It tries to capture what comprises the huge and growing population of "nones", those who claim no religious affiliation. This group is now a huge portion of the adult population in the U.S., approaching one in four.

One person I have heard about frequently but never read much about is Dr. Jordon Peterson. He was a Psychology Professor in Canada for several years but became so successful as a celebrity he now is full time writing, pod casting and lecturing. His books have sold millions. His podcasts are approaching a billion views. He is a constant celebrity on interview TV.

He is one of those who garner a following after rejection of traditional Christianity. He, himself, does not reject Christianity nor consider himself a religious figure. In one podcast I watched he said he had not attended church his entire life but thought it fine if people do. His books and articles dissect the Bible and use its stories to bolster his advocacy of societal views.

His interviews, writing and podcasts are not flamboyant or emotional. He has, however, a philosophical view that is something like religion. His millions of followers consider him some sort of towering leader to be considered, I suppose, on a level with Jesus.

His view, and I don't claim to be deeply informed, is that we in society must adopt ideas the lead toward a better society and away from those of a worse society. A good society is organized in a way the leads to stability and a bad one lead to chaos. One's life can be given purpose by living properly and advocating others do the same. This is similar is some ways to a religion.

The proper way to order life can be learned from ancient myths like those in the Bible. They have wealthy men owning slaves and having several wives. If you look at nature, he notes, you see the same thing passed down in experience for millions of years. The dominant male octopus, for example, has the best nest site and several females. Lesser males get worse sites and no females. The dominant male entertains himself by belittling other males.

These animals, and ancient people, experienced great freedom, he asserts because they are not going about trying to alter the natural state of things. Only by accepting superior male status and alpha males can a society live the way it was intended.

The millions of followers of Peterson's philosophy are part of the "nones." He has many more men than women but there are plenty of women. One can understand why listening to a sermon on Sunday is less exciting than Dr. Peterson.