There are very few instances in which people will base concrete decisions on abstract ideas. The stock market, the lottery, and following arbitrary cultural trends all exemplify individuals choosing to engage in a system without true proof of its physical existence. Religion trumps them all.
A 2020 study by The Crimson showed that approximately one-third of Harvard students over the past four years identified as Atheist or other, while the remaining two-thirds self-identified as Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Mormon, or Agnostic. Of these students, one-third identified as “somewhat religious” or more.
These numbers, despite representing a substantial subset of individuals remaining pious, have decreased considerably over time. In 1965, theologian and HDS Professor Harvey Cox published the widely popular and influential book The Secular City, where he supported the decline of hierarchical and institutional religion in the face of an increase in urbanization.
“The political is replacing the metaphysical as the characteristic mode of grasping reality,” Cox wrote in The Secular City. “Man must now assume the responsibility for his world. He can no longer shove it off on religious power.”
Cox’s view of humanity’s waning dependence on traditional creed does not come without substantial evidence. The percentage of Americans who do not associate with any established religion has more than quadrupled in the past forty years, and a recent Pew survey found that the percent of Americans who believed in God dropped to 81% in 2022 from around 98% in 1944. Last week, Pew published another survey that projected Christians, who now account for 64% of Americans, to shrink to about 35% of Americans by 2070.
25 years after publishing The Secular City, Cox responded to his previous work, and to the global “unanticipated resurgence of traditional religion” of the late 20th century, with an essay.. In the essay, Cox concludes that humanity actually does “need a spirituality that can discern the presence of God.” In other words, he is arguing that we should try to cultivate an environment that welcomes the presence of religion in a different form: a spirituality that does not necessarily involve a God or any form of higher power.
This past summer, the Harvard Gazette released a study advocating for a similar spirituality, specifically linking spiritual invovement to “healthier lives, greater longetvity, less depression and suicide, and less substance abuse.” The study pushed for the integration of spirituality into health care, claiming its potential for assisting individuals in reaching “their highest attainable standard of health.” However, this notion of spirituality has no relation to God, and is rather concerned with the “the way individuals seek ultimate meaning, purpose, connection, value, or transcendence.”
Though inconsistent in time period and general context, both Cox and the Gazette story champion a version of religion that many of us are subconsciously adopting. I grew up Catholic, and I enjoy attending the occasional Sunday mass when in need of some peace and quiet. But if asked why I still stay in touch with my religious roots, I would not rush to come to the defense of traditional Catholic creed. Rather, the community, solace, and connection to personal identity inspire my continual engagement.
In his book Seven Types of Atheism, English philosopher John Gray writes,“The human mind is programmed for survival, not truth.” At a school where over 70 percent of students trust in some sort of higher power or religious tradition, perhaps what is keeping us tied to our religious identities is not a search for Truth. Perhaps we are actually staying spiritual as a form of survival.
There are over 4,000 recognized religious identities in the world, many of which are actively practiced at Harvard—yet realistically, only one scientifically correct explanation to life on Earth. But does it really matter which one of these doctrines is the truth? Spirituality, the individual manifestations of a particular religion, can provide us with hope, community, and consolation in times of hardship. Spirituality is a moral compass that provides closure to events that humanity cannot explain.
The converse: the more dogmatic and centralized aspects of religion are the aspects which generally deter and exclude members. A world with virtually unlimited access to information and alternative ways of life no longer requires an unwavering subscription to just one. Religious dogma, which inherently calls for unquestionable belief in a set of principles, can often contradict modern values that seek to empower individuals, rather than confining them to a traditional set of standards.
I asked Divinity School Professor Francis Clooney what the purpose was for students to maintain their religiosity once surrounded by innumerable challenging opinions. His rebuttal: Do students really come to Harvard expecting a nurturing religious environment?
The answer is no. Harvard is just a fragment of the population, but its diversity in both religiously welcoming and challenging environments are relatively representative of the real world. At a time when we are given countless explanations and theories about our existence, it is easy to lose sight of the different religious cultures and identities that make us unique. However, as both Professor Cox and the Harvard Gazette emphasize, a relationship to religion at any level may improve our quality of life, and it does not necessarily need to resemble what we (or society) thinks it does.
Marbella Marlo ’24 (mmarlo@college.harvard.edu) edits Sports for the Independent.