Saying Goodbye to Old Myths, Hello to New

There are several disciplines in universities that have roughly the same mission. It is to destroy myths. Maybe it is more accurate to say their mission is to study what people believe to be true and raise doubt when it shows up. The disciplines I'm thinking of are those I'm most familiar with, humanities (history, literature, etc), social sciences (sociology, psychology, economics, etc.) and others. The sciences also attack myths with new discoveries.  

Challenging myths also happens outside academia. In fact, it is everywhere--we all do it all the time. There was a popular TV show, "Myth Busters." I think the general public has been forced into "myth busting" by an increase in advertising and messaging. We have to have our game face on all the time to keep our money and health. 

This is why I think many studies about "belief in God" or "why people are dropping out of Christianity" miss the boat. One of many every week discusses again women leaving organized religion. The theme of the link is that when the faith does not give women equality or when conservative politics dominated by male-centric views is experienced by women they leave the denomination or the faith. Men, of course, are leaving too but there are antidotal reports of an increase in single men attending church. What is left out of these reports about dropping numbers in younger people is the "myth busting" we all do all the time. What we don't know, and what seems not to be studied much, is how what the role of rejecting myths plays in declining Christian numbers.

Where I see the role of myth busting is on the site, "Mormon Stories." There, long interviews and story- telling plot how former Mormons left the denomination. Most, though not all, leave Christianity. The pattern I see goes like this. The women, and some men, follow faithfully the teaching of the Mormon denomination for long periods while they are young. They don't like certain parts of it, the lessor role of women, the clothing and anti-coffee requirements, but they reason that if their ancestors put up with those things the overall faith is a force for good. Then somewhere along the way they come across the history of their denomination. Reading this they see much of the history claimed by the faith cannot be true. It is myth. They are appalled at the polygamy and ridiculous tales about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. It is the myth busting that carries them out, not the politics nor the prejudices against women, black people, gay people, Democrats and other branches of Christianity. 

 It's my view the busting of Biblical myths like heaven, hell, the dead coming back to life, talking snakes and walking in what are the largest forces causing the decline in Christianity. There will be new myths because people like them. But the old myths become boring, new ones are needed.