Saying Kaddish For Religion?


I came across a news piece that immediately caught my attention- the headline read “Religion to die out in 9 Countries.” When I saw that title I just had to look at the story and see how religion was about to “die out.” The story was based on some research done in England that showed that, based on mathematical models, if the current trend continues there will no members of the population who label themselves as members of a religion. The countries surveyed were Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The research shows that in these countries fewer and fewer people consider themselves as members of any religion. The survey claimed that, from a functional point of view, religion will die out in these countries because belonging to a religion does not have the appeal of alternative ways to identify one’s self. That seems like a statistical way of saying that people won’t affiliate with a religion if it doesn’t serve any social purpose.

While I understand the logic of this gloomy declaration, I think the researchers failed to consider at least one important factor: people affiliate and identify themselves as “religious” or as “members of a religion” because they believe in it. While it may be hip and cool to go to the “right” church or synagogue, that is not the only reason to affiliate. Religion is about the core beliefs that an individual has- it is not about what being a member of this place or that place can do for you. (Yes, I know, for some folks it is!)

I believe that people who have faith do not ask if they are popular. They do not ask if they are doing the “in” thing. They ask if they are doing the right thing. The implications of this study do raise some interesting questions for the Jewish community. We know that fewer and fewer Jews belong to a synagogue. Fewer Jews participate in Jewish communal life. Despite this, however, many aspects of Jewish identity are stronger than ever. It is hard to explain that but I think it is a clear indication that our identity is bound up with the fate of Judaism as a religion. While Jews may prefer to call themselves by other labels such as “secular” or “Zionist” or “cultural” or the many other variations of modern Jewish identity, it remains clear that the “ground zero” of our people is still a religious identity.

I am not yet ready to say Kaddish for religion. I can’t speak for other religions but I can speak for the Jewish people- our religion makes us who we are. We can protest it, we can reject it, we can even deny it but, at the heart of our people is a core belief and faith system that defines and shapes us.