Promoting Spiritual Renewal
- May 17
- 2 min read
by John McLaughlin
"The vitality of men's belief in God is dying out in every land," observed Baha'u'llah in the latter part of the 19th century - an early symptom of a decline in faith that has since then continued, particularly in the West, and has spread far beyond belief in God. In a recent article in the New York Times, journalist David Brooks reflected on the decline of faith in the United States, “not only religious faith but many other kinds”, and diagnosed American culture’s sickness as loss of faith in the good and the resulting nihilism, with its “assumption that morality is for suckers, that life is about power, force, bullying and cruelty”. He further stated that, “Nihilism is the mind-set that says that whatever is lower is more real. Selfishness, egoism and the lust for power drive human affairs. Altruism, generosity, honour, integrity and hospitality are mirages. Ideals are shams that the selfish use to mask their greed. Disillusioned by life, the cynic gives himself permission to embrace brutality…”
Brooks goes on to state that, “The most grievous cultural wound has been the loss of a shared moral order. … Without shared standards of right and wrong, it’s impossible to settle disputes; it’s impossible to maintain social cohesion and trust.”
The spiritual disease described by Brooks as invading American culture can also be observed in our own Canadian culture, although we hope (and tell ourselves) that it is not so deeply entrenched here. If this is the case, people of faith and we in the interfaith movement can waste no time in promoting and applying the remedy. If belief in the good, and true spirituality, are dying out, then spiritual renewal is urgently required!
The short (9 min) video accompanying my comments, “explores the idea of spiritual renewal as a force for personal transformation and social change” and “reflects on how reconnecting with our spiritual nature can inspire new patterns of thought, relationships, and action.” Like the article by David Brooks, the focus of the video is spiritual renewal in the United States but is directly relevant to Canada as well. Spiritual renewal begins when individuals choose to believe in goodness and its practical relevance in society and strive to apply it in their relationships with others. It doesn’t have to be complicated or aligned with any particular religion or ideology. As one of the people interviewed in the video says, “When I ask myself, ‘what is spirituality?’ I think of it as the intentional cultivation of the noble qualities of a human being. And we all know what they are; you have an inner sense of what it is to be good.”
