Religion is an interesting thing. Some people live for it, some people die for it and most are affiliated to some branch of it. Like most things, Religion has had to adapt and evolve to keep in touch with change. As society becomes more modern, liberal and multi-cultural, we have seen attempts from many faiths to reach out to a wider, younger audience. In some cases it has transcended the boundaries of communicating a message to desperate self marketing. Some might say this is a necessary sacrifice. As we change so must the traditional institutions that celebrate our faith, otherwise the relationship between teacher and follower becomes distant and impractical. But is this right? Should establishments which have been in existence for hundreds, even thousands of years have to accommodate their teachings to our changing lifestyles?

It is strange to observe the process of faith itself becoming a product. Advertising on buses is becoming less uncommon in the hopes of revamping their image and hitting a new target market. My Religious neutrality served me well when carefully picking the brains of three Catholics. Each claimed to be a strong believer, committed to their faith and followed their interpretation of what was a ‘practicing Catholic’. The only apparent difference was that each subject was of a different generation, one being a 74 year old widow, another being a middle aged married woman with children and finally a 20 year old student. The aim of each discussion was to assess whether the changing face of Catholicism mirrored a change in the substance of Catholicism. Whether modern society has dictated that the ‘product’ re-brand itself, or whether it still retained its core values without compromise.

“Sunday is no longer thought of as the Sabbath, and is instead the day for getting chores done..”

In each case the first question I posed was, ‘how would you define a practicing Catholic?’ Whilst each subject produced the standard ‘following the morals and teachings of the Church’ etc. answer, the most interesting responses were produced on the issue of Church attendance. Whilst the old lady viewed it without hesitation as an essential element of what it means to ‘practice’, the others were more compromising. The second interviewee viewed it as an ideal, that people should go to Church regularly and ‘make the effort’ but ultimately it was preferred rather than absolutely necessary. The student on the other hand, although a regular attendee and reader herself, did not see it as essential and emphasised the personal relationship with faith as taking priority.

There can be no doubt that across all faiths there has been a decline in numbers of those who actually visit these institutions regularly. (Note ‘regularly’ was defined as once a week or more, as opposed to my reluctant but obligatory bi-annual Easter and Christmas attendance.) It is a reflection of modern attitudes towards everything, not just faith, that crowds have dropped. Sunday is no longer thought of as the Sabbath, and is instead the day for getting chores done, catching up on the Eastenders omnibus or indulging in some leisurely afternoon shopping. Unlike previous generations, we now fit our faith around our lifestyle, rather than the other way round. Of those that do regularly attend Church, it would be interesting to find out how many are actually there out of choice. This can then be compared to how many are there to ‘demonstrate their commitment’, in other words greasing the wheels for their children gaining entry into a high performing faith school.

The oldest interviewee was however quick to point out that Catholicism was not as badly affected as other faiths, and that as we get older everyone sees sense and comes back to the Church anyway. I though it better to smile and nod rather than make it a moot point, as her faith had clearly existed long enough to create figurative rose tinted glasses. Interestingly I found this endearing rather than something to challenge or pity, though it was more an indication of blind faith than strong faith.

“The two interviewees representing a modern Catholicism were significantly more liberal and accepting on nearly every issue…”

Also up for discussion were the issues that often hit the headlines, often viewed with even more controversy when taken in a faith vs ethics context. These were the bread and butter subjects of divorce, sex, abortion, homosexuality, forgiveness and so on. As expected the oldest interviewee held the most conservative views. Divorce for example, was apparently indicative of modern society’s throw away consumerist attitude, anytime something gets difficult we give up and trade it in like a car for a newer model. Marriage was for life, no exceptions. It took some self restraint to resist arguing the view that there is no point staying in an unhappy marriage. Drawing on personal experience I see forced and loveless marriages as more damaging than divorce itself, and it was therefore comforting to find that the younger interviewees shared a similar view.

Abortion was apparently an abhorrent form of contraception, debilitating disabilities or not. Homosexuality, such a dividing point in all faiths, was something to be pitied and actively discouraged, though curiously she had significantly more sympathy for gay men than women. Again unsurprisingly, the two interviewees representing a modern Catholicism were significantly more liberal and accepting on nearly every issue. The particular highlight of the discussion with the older lady was most definitely the death penalty – “murderers and child abusers should be hung, drawn and quartered! An eye for an eye!” she cried. So much Christ’s love and forgiveness I thought… Again I resisted the temptation to point out that ‘an eye for an eye’ was in fact Jewish teaching and instead smiled, took my notes and thanked her for a compelling half an hour.

“It would seem that faith has certainly adapted…”

On the whole my findings were not surprising. Catholics still hold the same core values as previous generations, and aim to live their life by the teachings of the Church. At the same time however, they recognise that we should live by the spirit of those teachings, not the absolute letter. To do so would be unrealistic and too demanding on our modern lifestyles.

If we take these three subjects as representative of most Catholics, and for the arguments sake Catholicism representative of most Religions, (forgive the generalisations) it would seem that faith has certainly adapted, but not fundamentally changed. We still take comfort in Religion and will do our upmost to uphold its values. Yet simultaneously we will not treat faith as a product to be tampered with and rebranded for our own convenience. For now, we will thankfully be spared the prospect of the local Diocese advertising confession evenings in between The Simpsons and Hollyoaks. Not just yet anyway.

Olivia Amos