Above the Law: Religion and Morals

America is changing.

Growing up, I remember going with my family to church on Sundays and looking forward to going to church camp in the summer. Taking my hat off during a prayer was something that I did without even thinking about it.

Nearly all of my friends were just as much into their religion as I was, but something happened along the way that changed things for many of the people I knew.

Maybe it was unanswered prayers, the loss of loved ones, or any of the things life tends to throw at us, but they began to stray from their rigorous belief systems.

When I meet people and get to know them now, I have noticed an interesting trend: there are a lot of atheist and agnostic people out there.

Many people out there say that they believe in God, but do not go to church of any kind or adhere to any belief system.

There are even people out there who say they do not believe in God, but strangely thank Him when something good happens or beg Him when something bad happens.

Sometimes I think the only reason that people thank God for anything is because they think it is the "right" thing to do.

Are people getting more open or closed minded and backing away from organized religion, or is it more of a question of their upbringing and simply not being exposed to it in the same way?

Whatever the case, something is happening in our society that is causing people's belief systems to change.

Teen pregnancy rates are higher than ever before, drug and alcohol abuse is rampant among our youth, and we see more children are being beaten and abused every year. The youth of yesterday are the parents and leaders of today and things are falling apart.

I am not saying that religion is the only answer to this problem, but if you look at what religion does for a society, you have to recognize that it shapes the moral fiber of those within.

Whatever the causes for the seeming lack of morality within our country, I cannot help but believe that the absence of some form of belief in a higher power contributes to it. It is nice to think that we are the masters of our own destiny, but can we really say for sure that we are?

Watch the news and look at your neighbor and think very hard about what is changing all around us. Ultimately, you must decide where you want to stand in all of it and how you want to believe.

America is changing, and the decisions we make today are going to affect tomorrow.

Are you going to be a part of the problem, or the solution?