Psychology of Belief: Reasons for the decline of organized religion in Europe and its replacement by spirituality

This article discusses the decline of organized religion in Europe and its replacement by spirituality. It explores the concept of belief and how it has transformed in recent times due to developments in psychology and philosophy.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY OF BELIEF
Psychology of Belief
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Question 2: Reasons for the decline of organized religion in Europe and its replacement
by spirituality
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
The above quoted line from the famous book “Peter Pan” of J.M. Barrie clearly
outlines the importance of the concept of belief in the lives of the individuals. The concept of
belief has a topic of much discussion in the present times and it has also undergone much
transformation in the present times due to the recent developments in the field of psychology
as well as philosophy (Young & Killick, 2017). Belief can be defined as a particular concept
or an idea in which an individual believes in. therefore, it can be said that belief is an idea or
a concept about which a particular individual is very much passionate about and is ready to
make necessary sacrifices about the same idea (Jung, 2014). It is significant to note that most
of the religions of the world demand an unprecedented belief in the various precepts as well
as the principles for which the religion stands for (Jung, 2014). In the recent times, it is seen
that the various organized religions have undergone a decline in their followership and the
various people are now turning increasing towards the various forms of spirituality as “an
alternative means of religion” (Young & Killick, 2017).
Religion forms an important part of the lives of the individuals and it is commonly
seen that the various individuals turn to religion not only to gain the valuable support which
they in their lives but also to gain the much needed “inner peace” (Argyle & Beit-Hallahmi,
2013). In the opinion of Charles Bukowski, “For those who believe in God, most of the big
questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big
answers don't remain stone-written….We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so
well that Death will tremble to take us”. However, in the opinion of many scholars the
primary purpose behind the origin of the concept of religion was to civilize the nomadic

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people in the ancient times and also to provide a binding force in their lives (Argyle & Beit-
Hallahmi, 2013). Therefore, in the opinion of these people the machinery of religion should
have ceased to exist once the human beings became civilized (Pargament et al., 2014). It is
significant to note that for these authors the very concept of religion is a façade and therefore
they do not believe in the various precepts of the diverse religions in which they are being
taught to believe since their early childhood (Pargament et al., 2014). The opinion of George
Carlin becomes very significant when he says “Religion has actually convinced people that
there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of
every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to
do….where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry
forever and ever 'til the end of time!”. It is a reflection of these arguments that the machinery
of religion is in the process of decline in the present times. Furthermore, the recent
developments in the various fields of science as well as technology have made a significant
contribution towards this process of decline in the recent times (Wulff, 2014). The opinion of
the scientist Albert Einstein is significant to note in this particular context “Science without
religion is lame, religion without science is blind”. Furthermore, the loss of faith in the
present times has been adequately represented in the famous poetry of Matthew Arnold,
“Dover Beach” when he says that,
“The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
……………………………………..
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

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And naked shingles of the world”
The above stated remarks become very pertinent when the present state of the various
organized religions in the European continent is taken into consideration. It is significant to
note that the various forms of organized religion in the continent of Europe once acted as the
binding force which united the various diverging entities in the continent (Wulff, 2014).
Furthermore, it is seen that the various empires in the traditional times use the machinery of
religion to unite their empires and also to rule their empires in the most effective manner.
However, in the present times with the emergence of democracy, rationalism and other
important concepts the belief system of the various individuals in the diverse precepts of the
concept has been seen to decline (Hill, 2017). Moreover, the various calamites as well as the
disasters which mankind has been subjected to in the recent times have given rise to the
concept of an evil God, which just likes to toy with their creation (Hill, 2017). The opinion of
the British poet and dramatist William Shakespeare becomes very significant in this
particular context when he says
“As flies to wanton boys are we to th' gods.
They kill us for their sport”
It is a reflection of these ideas that the belief of the various individuals in the various
precepts of religion has undergone a decline in the recent times.
Belief or faith forms an important part of the lives of the individuals and it is
generally seen that the individuals take the help of various kinds of beliefs or faiths to provide
meaning as well as direction to their lives (Berghuijs, Pieper & Bakker, 2013). Therefore, the
human beings constantly require one form of belief or faith system or the other. Thus, it
becomes apparent that if the machinery of organized religion is to decline then another belief

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or faith system is to replace it (Berghuijs, Pieper & Bakker, 2013). The rise of spiritualism
has commonly been considered by the various individuals as the belief or the faith system
which has replaced the machinery of religion (Mercadante, 2014). Spiritualism is an ancient
concept which has risen in a new form in the present times. It is significant to note that many
people confuse the two concepts and think one particular concept to be coterminous with the
other one (Mercadante, 2014). The opinion of “Pierre Teilhard de Chardin” becomes
significant to note in this particular concept when he says “We are not human beings having a
spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience”. The primary
advantage of the concept of spirituality is that it allows the various individuals to follow the
various precepts of the concept of spiritualism without following the rules or the attributes
which they need to follow for the various forms of religion (Mercadante, 2014). Furthermore,
another significant reason for the rise of spiritualism in the present times is the fact that the
concept of spiritualism provides the various individuals a much wider spectrum to explore
their live and preferences without limiting the field of their exploration (Barrow, 2016). It is
significant to note that the human beings by nature are very inquisitive creatures and the
various precepts of spiritualism offer them just the kind of platform wherein they can explore
the human psyche, the various spiritual planes and others (Berghuijs, Pieper & Bakker,
2013). Furthermore, one of the most basic of the human desires is an exploration of their
inner selves and it is significant to note that most of the religions of the world put their
emphasis just on the exploration of the concept of the “Divine God” and also the pursuit of
the various precepts given by that particular religion (Barrow, 2016). It is particularly here
that the concept of spiritualism gains special meaning as the various precepts of the
machinery of spiritualism allows the individuals to follow the guidelines of their own nature
and also to explore their inner nature (Barrow, 2016). It is a reflection of these precepts that
the machinery of spiritualism in the recent times has gained special significance particular in

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the continent of Europe and also the precipitated the decline of the machinery of religion
(Berghuijs, Pieper & Bakker, 2013).
To conclude, it becomes apparent that faith as well as belief forms an important part
of the lives of the individuals. It is significant to note that the concept of religion has been
used by the various individuals as well as the societies as the binding forces which unite the
different individuals of the society. However, in the recent times it is seen that the machinery
of religion has undergone a decline and the various people are losing their belief or faith in
this particular concept. Therefore, it can be said that the decline of the machinery has
necessitated the rise of the concept of spiritualism which most of the present day individuals
often resort to in the present times in a bid to avoid the restrains of the machinery of religion.
In other words, it can be said that the various precepts of the machinery of spiritualism are
more agreeable to the people in the present times than the precepts of the machinery of
religion.

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References
Argyle, M., & Beit-Hallahmi, B. (2013). The Social Psychology of Religion (Psychology
Revivals). Routledge.
Barrow, L. (2016). Independent spirits: Spiritualism and English plebeians, 1850-1910.
Routledge.
Berghuijs, J., Pieper, J., & Bakker, C. (2013). Being ‘spiritual’and being ‘religious’ in
Europe: Diverging life orientations. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 28(1), 15-32.
Greeley, A. M. (2017). Religion in Europe at the end of the second millenium: A sociological
profile. Routledge.
Hill, E. (2017). Religion and belief. In Understanding Inclusion(pp. 71-86). Routledge.
Jung, C.G., 2014. Psychology and Religion Volume 11: West and East. Routledge.
Mercadante, L. A. (2014). Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not
Religious. Oxford University Press.
Nelson, G. K. (2013). Spiritualism and Society (Routledge Revivals). Routledge.
Pargament, K. I., Mahoney, A., Exline, J. J., Jones, J. W., & Shafranske, E. P.
(2013). Envisioning an integrative paradigm for the psychology of religion and
spirituality. American Psychological Association.
Wulff, D. (2014). Psychology of religion. In Encyclopedia of psychology and religion (pp.
1424-1429). Springer, Boston, MA.
Young, S., & Killick, H. (2017). Religion and the Decline of Magic. Macat Library.

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