We Have Forgotten

People seemed to believe in God a lot more in years past than they do now, especially in America. Why is this? Some may argue that humans have gotten smarter. Some may say we no longer need God because we have natural explanations for the things that we once attributed to God.
But, as a believer in God I see different reasons why the belief in God is less prominent and important in humans’s lives than it once was.
No longer are we exposed to the beauty of God’s creation daily. Growing up one is lucky to see the beautiful night sky as God created it without the obscuration of night pollution. How many people take time to watch the sunset?
We are growing more and more isolated from nature. Nature is where one can find the beauty of God’s creation. In ancient times people interacted much more with the natural world. This may mean going to the sea to fish everyday and being exposed to the sounds of the waves. This may mean picking grain in the field all day while feeling the wind on one’s face. It may mean a lot of things. But today, in America and elsewhere our time spent with the natural enviornment is growing smaller and smaller.
We have our comfortable homes. Sidewalks. Roads. Concrete. Shopping malls. These things can make for a dull existence. Instead of spending each day outside surrounded by nature and God’s beautiful creation we are spending our moments driving down the road surrounded by billboards. We spend our time walking through department stores or sitting in offices.
Some may claim that society is degrading morally because there is not enough religion. But the lack of religion in our lives is not the problem itself, it is the result of a deeper problem. What the problem is is debatable, but regardless I believe that (save the moral degradation argument for later) the lack of religion in the lives of Americans is not a problem in itself but is a result of our way of life. The cause of moral degredation is not a result of the loss of religion, they are both results of the same problem. We have forgotten how to live well.
In order to be happy as a nation and a people we must return to a simpler life. We must return to a life in which we are exposed to the natural world everyday. Humans are a part of nature and to be separated from nature has only caused us suffering.
We must abandon our hectic way of life spurned by desire and return to peaceful living. Instead of going to work only for ourselves everyday we must form communities where each person is dependent upon the other.