Why People Don’t Talk about Religion

I know when I was growing up, I often heard that there are two subjects that people should not talk about in public – politics and religion. Now, perhaps this was said somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time it reflected a kind of general consensus in society. The reason for this was, of course, that these are the two most divisive topics around. If you wanted to keep from starting arguments, and wanted to keep your friends, you just stayed away from those two topics. So, in most cases, that was done as a means of not offending anyone in polite society.

Funny thing is, that was back during a time when the differences between people who held different beliefs about religion and politics was much closer than what we see in modern society. Today, the differences are much wider. And now, instead of not talking about religion and politics so as to avoid offending others, it is about avoiding the topics only under certain conditions; that is, you only have to keep your mouth shut if you want to talk about the Christian faith and political positions based on that faith. Promoting some form of naturalistic religion (Atheism, for instance) and political positions based on moral relativism is perfectly okay.

Obviously, there is a lot of talk these days about both religion and politics – probably more politics than religion. It is my view that people talk more about politics because they feel passionately about particular political policy positions, and they feel more comfortable talking about what they believe in this arena. The big topics these days include such things such as abortion, homosexual marriage, climate change, illegal immigration, religion in the public square, gun control, and a few others. But even with this, the conversations (if you can call them that) tend to be rather shallow. The reason for the shallowness is because while people are emotionally tied to their favorite personal point of view, most really don’t know “why” they believe what they believe. The result is, you have everyone shouting what they want to happen, but no one being able to intelligently articulate any reason why their point of view is right.

So that brings us to the topic of religion. The truth is, this is where the real conversations ought to be taking place. You see, even though most people don’t realize it, political positions are ultimately an expression of their faith. It is at the level of religious faith that the “why” questions can be answered. But with so many people not being conversant at this level, the best they can do is to blast each other on a shallow surface level by advocating for their favorite political policies and debasing those on the other side.

So why don’t people go for the real knockout blows by giving intelligent reasons why their point of view is true? Ready for it? It is because most people don’t feel educated enough at this level to make their case.

Recently, George Barna did some polling to find out why people are so unwilling to broach the subject of faith out in public. And you know what they found? People don’t do it because they feel incompetent talking about matters of religion. This not only had to do with talking about faith matters at work or other public places, it even applied to talking with family. Shockingly, parents (especially fathers) don’t talk about faith matters with their kids for this very reason – they feel intimidated. They don’t know what to say.

So what is the implication of that? The implication is that the next generation does not get well educated on matters of faith – just as happened with the previous generation and the generation before that. What we see is that with each passing generation, religious knowledge becomes less and less, until you end up with what we have now – people not knowing how to give reasons why their faith is true.

There is, you know, a solution to this problem. The solution is to get educated. It’s just not that hard. That said, in order to do it, it is necessary to set aside one’s pride and wrong priorities, then make the effort to do it. If you are up for it, I would like to help, and can offer several opportunities for you.

First, let me point you to the MarketFaith Ministries website (www.marketfaith.org). There are tons of resources there (for free) that you can learn from. Read the articles.

Second, I have written a number of books that give you an even more in-depth and systematic training opportunity (www.http://marketfaith-org.3dcartstores.com). Read the books.

But I can offer you an even more personal opportunity. I would be more than delighted to come to your church or Christian organization and share an in-person training opportunity (call me at 850-383-9756 and let’s talk about possibilities).

The stakes are too high to allow yourself to be afraid of engaging our world with the claims of Christ. Don’t let yourself be caught in the ranks of the fearful and uneducated. Make yourself a plan and get working on it now!!!