Does religion need a "glow up?"

Conversation: does religion have an innovation (in its "products, services and/or marketing") problem?

Excerpt: " The death of Pope Francis last Monday has prompted believers, agnostics and atheists alike to reflect on the role of religion in daily life.

Religiosity in the Western world has been waning for years, particularly among young people. About half of Americans born since the 1980s say they seldom or never attend religious services. Yet, 83 percent report believing in God or a universal spirit.

What explains this disconnect between personal belief and organized religion? On the latest episode of “Impromptu,” columnists Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Shadi Hamid discuss their different religious upbringings and what, if anything, faith can do for us in the 21st century.

Shadi: Well, we have to understand that our religions were originally revealed in very different contexts. Prophets, whether it’s the seventh century or before Christ, were speaking to people with patriarchal values.

Naturally, religions have to speak to people where they are. I think this is where it’s important to distinguish between what can be changed within a religion and what is eternal. And I think patriarchal practices are something that can be updated and changed.

Molly Roberts: I think it’s difficult to answer what’s eternal or intrinsic to a religion and what’s not. I remember even at my Reform temple, when I was going to get bat mitzvahed, my mom wasn’t allowed up on the bimah. So we had to do it at the synagogue downtown, which would let my mom on the bimah.

That you can’t allow a Christian woman up on the bimah is a pretty core tenet of Judaism — again, core enough for my really Reform temple. I don’t know whether that’s something that is core to Judaism or whether that’s something that needs to change. I think that’s why some people get turned off: They look at a religion and decide that it’s just not for them in this day and age.

Shadi: That’s right. Ultimately, these are personal questions. We all decide what we think in our own faiths is unchanging versus changeable; I think this is the push and pull of being an American religious person. We have a strong tradition of individualism, that the individual should always be searching and seeking and finding their true self. But at some point, you should try to be found — otherwise it’s never going to end.

That’s where the structures of religion can be really important. We are living in a time where Americans, especially young Americans, are increasingly lonely: high levels of depression and mental illness, deaths of despair. We all know that something is fundamentally wrong in our society. I’m a believer that religion can help people find their way — give them the kind of meaning, purpose and belonging that they’ve been lacking."