Losing my religion

In 1844 Soren Kierkegaard wrote that "anxiety is the dizziness of freedom" referring to humans looking into the void and reflecting on the meaning of their existence and their choices.

As secularism has grown in the West, some people have been feeling more rudderless. In the past, societal structures and religion provided some semblance of security and those who counted on more black and white certainty had less anxiety about where things were going. At the very least they had rules to follow.

Societies have dropped many mandated obstacles regarding race, gender, orientation and other issues which has introduced a level of discomfort that many do not feel safe living with. Small wonder then that false right wing  populism has begun to take on the fervor that religion once did. In the US the evangelical movement has even tied its dogma to political ideology and found meaning in fighting back against changes they find disfavor in.

It will take a prolonged period to remake society especially since the changes were punctuated by a pandemic which brought us to a reflective global pause from which we have yet to fully recover.