Partly to mostly cloudy. High 34F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..
Evening clouds will give way to clearing. Low 18F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Updated: December 21, 2025 @ 12:23 am
It may be part and parcel with it being Christmas or the fact that we’re nearing the end of another year.
But there’s something about this time that seems to prompt greater introspection – a look deeper inside at what we really believe.
Gallup, Inc. regularly measures the attitudes of Americans toward religion. After publishing its 2025 findings in late November, it said this:
“The long-term religious trends in the U.S. are clear: Americans are less likely to identify with a religion, less likely to belong to a church or formal religious organization, less likely to attend religious services, and less likely to say religion is important in their lives than they were around the beginning of the 21st century…”
“…The 17-point drop in the percentage of U.S. adults who say [this] — from 66% in 2015 to 49% today — ranks among the largest Gallup has recorded in any country over any 10-year period since 2007.”
This isn’t surprising.
On a personal level, this writer’s experience with religion is not unlike that of many others — raised in a devout Roman Catholic home, having been an altar boy and lector, educated in Catholic schools from kindergarten through a post-graduate degree, but finding oneself in adulthood no longer attached to the Church.
SHAPING PERSONAL VALUES
Nonetheless, this experience clearly was instrumental in developing a set of values and convictions.
It generated questions. And while the Church desires obedience, it also teaches that one’s conscience, earnestly formed, is the ultimate and final arbiter of one’s moral character.
Where answers it provided were found wanting, those questions in turn prompted further inquiry and study. Maybe that’s why one’s spiritual life is so often described as a journey.
The personal one we go through uncannily resembles the one that has played out historically.
The steady expansion of competing religious sects formed in dissent all seek to explain who we are and why we’re here.
Contradictions have emerged between so-called “revealed” truth – i.e.: traditional religious teaching based on ancient Scripture – and “learned” truth arrived at through inquiry, study and experimentation.
This conflict continually plays out in religious quarters and in society, especially — as we observe today — in U.S. politics.
Since this is in essence a personal, individual journey, it seems inappropriate to be critical of those honestly on a different part or path of that journey.
Holding such freedom of thought for oneself requires acknowledgement of the same for others.
However, to the extent religion diverts badly needed attention on the here-and-now to some speculative future, it is not helpful.
After all, beyond an unquestioning faith or belief based on unverifiable claims, we don’t really have any concrete assurance that we have a life beyond this tangible one.
FAITH VS. ASSURANCES
Remember the childhood game of “telephone” where the passing of a message numerous times through numerous people produces a message that ends up far different from the original one?
Relying mostly or entirely on Scriptural oral history seems incomplete and unfinished in that light.
As stories meant to teach principles to people in a less formally educated era, they were — and remain for many — attempts to provide a complete explanation for the complexities that are beyond current comprehension.
Drawing on the Gallup findings, many seem to have concluded that this multi-millennial-long game of telephone isn’t enough.
Churches are human created and run institutions that bear more than passing resemblance to any business that relies on consumers.
What is being “sold,” however, is something abstract, ethereal and quite open to interpretation, despite any fervent arguments to the contrary.
These institutions, like all human endeavors, also have the capacity to drift and exist apart from the philosophical tenets on which they wish or claim to be based.
Though the values and beliefs may be “divine”, the institution may not always be.
For example, in the case of the Roman Catholic Church, how else to explain the Crusades, the Inquisition, the silence of the Church as the Holocaust proceeded, or its more recent decisions to protect sexual abusers over comforting their victims?
In the end, one’s religion is not what one says he or she is, but how one acts. It’s how we show who we really are.
Calling oneself “Christian,” joining a church and attending services mean nothing if one is not living an authentically Christian life.
The alteration in Americans’ attitudes toward religion described by the Gallup report likely reflects all this, and not – as some who perceive some sort of cultural war want to say – a loss of values and morality.
It’s quite the opposite.
•••
John Figliozzi is a regular contributor to the Sunday Opinion section.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Top stories and breaking news, delivered daily at 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Major news, right when it happens—sent straight to your inbox.
A weekly roundup of our top stories from across all our publications—delivered every Saturday.
Get the day’s full paper—The Daily Gazette, Amsterdam Recorder & Leader Herald—delivered to your inbox daily by 5 a.m.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Account processing issue – the email address may already exist
Have the latest food and drink articles delivered to your inbox every Thursday.
Local and state politics made simple. Hits your inbox every Tuesday.
A weekly roundup of local crime news—delivered every Wednesday
Top stories and breaking news, delivered daily at 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Honoring lives in our community—new obits shared daily.
Get the day’s full paper—The Daily Gazette, Amsterdam Recorder & Leader Herald—delivered to your inbox daily by 5 a.m.
Expert race picks delivered daily during the Saratoga track season.
HV360 headlines to your inbox!
Remembering those we’ve lost. Delivered Tuesday through Saturday.
Top local stories delivered to your inbox Monday through Saturday.
Leader Herald & Amsterdam Recorder Obituaries. Remembering those we’ve lost. Delivered Monday through Saturday.
Major news, right when it happens—sent straight to your inbox.
Major news, right when it happens—sent straight to your inbox.
Get the Register Star and Daily Mail E-edition delivered directly to your inbox!
New! Spotlight News now has an e-edition.
Have the latest local news delivered every morning so you don’t miss out on updates.
Get The Spot518 e-edition in your email weekly.
The latest Spot518 headlines twice a week.
A weekly roundup of our top stories from The Spot518 —delivered every Saturday.
A weekly roundup of our top stories from across all our publications—delivered every Saturday.
Get Your Niskayuna e-edition in your email weekly.
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.
