New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The interesting thing about New Hampshire is that it is at the lowest levels among U.S. states in religious commitment.
For example, in Portsmouth, Corpus Christi Parish, which is comprised of St. James Church, St. Catherine of Siena Church and the Immaculate Conception Church, is being consolidated into one church, and St. James Church is being put up for sale.
Father Gary Belliveau, who leads the parish, said there is no longer a need for three churches led by three different priests. Belliveau said his parish draws families from communities including Strafford, Greenland, Newington, Newfields and towns in Maine. “What I think we're facing today with secularism is basically, there's been the shift from a reliance upon God and a deeper appreciation for the things beyond what we can see and figure out, to the reliance on self," Belliveau said. He pointed out that turnover from religion to secularism happened in the late 1990s and it led to the three churches joining under one parish in 2006.
Dover's St. Charles Church was torn down last month and the site is expected to be used for workforce housing. The building's poor condition together with changes in demographics was a factor in the diminishing need for St. Charles Church. Pastor Ken Lawrence of the Hampton Falls First Baptist Church noticed that the times have changed: "Where it used to be assumed there was a god, now we have to do a pretty good job of establishing the basis of authority in the Bible."
Some are skeptical of the data presented by studies such as the recent Gallup poll. Rabbi David Senter of Temple Israel in Portsmouth who believes people in their 20s or 30s could possibly become more religious later in life, as people today tend to start families later than in past decades. On the other side, Belliveau is optimistic and he said: "To swim against the current, you need to be strong. I think in a way we're experience a deepening of fervor, zeal."
New Hampshire State Rep. Libertarian Brandon Phinney doesn’t think there is some problem with cultural shift and he said in an interview for Patheos “In an age of information, scientific progress and exploration and the understanding of the workings of our world, it is difficult and to be frank, rather foolish, to hold onto archaic beliefs that deny reality.”
“Religion has no place in governance and should be kept separate as we are not a theocracy. Our federal and state Constitutions protect religious freedom but we should respect the freedom from religion as well… There is plenty of proof in history, such as the Treaty of Tripoli, that highlights the fact the United States of America was not founded on the Christian religion," he added.
Article 11 from the Treaty reads: “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Mohammedan) nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries”
Photo Credits: Patheos
