Religion and Crisis

From a blog post by Sharon Astyk regarding the role of religious organizations in the economic crisis:

And this is one of the things that sometimes drives me crazy about the hostility people have to religion. I’ve no objection to people thinking my faith is a fairy tale - that’s fine. But when people begin ranting about the evils of religion, but wonder why so many adhere, I ask them - ok, fair enough. But are you burying the dead? Where are the organizations to provide secular burial and rituals for the grieving? Where is your rationale for loving even the really annoying people in our society who still need people who will talk to them and care for them? Are you out there at the secular food pantry? The secular shelter? The justice work, the fundraising for the poor? Where do you provide free counseling for those dealing with personal trauma, help people wed and welcome babies into the world? I’ve no objection to strong secular institutions these things arising - I would welcome them. But I don’t see them, and I don’t think they will come rapidly into place before the hard times hit - since that would be now.

Like it or not, the existing structures many of us have for all these things, and also basic community building are religious. That doesn’t mean that people willing to work at it can’t locate or build secular communities - they can. But the easy access that is already in place is often in religious communities, particularly in rural and suburban areas.