Are People in the West Abandoning Faith or Just the Church?

In this excerpt, author David Zahl challenges the common belief that religion is “in decline.” He argues that while Westerners, particularly younger generations, may be distancing themselves from the church, they are still actively seeking spirituality—just in different forms:

Bombarded with poll results about declining levels of church attendance and belief in God, we assume that more and more people are abandoning faith and making their own meaning. But what these polls actually tell us is more…