[BB_Eye]

I think it would be an understatement to say organised religion doesn't play much of a part in our lives today. Do you think this is the reason we are so unsure of ourselves and our place in the world?

Ever since the church's sphere of influence has shrunk, it seems people have tried to look elsewhere for the happiness religion offered them once upon a time. They needed new idols. In the 19th Century with the advent of romanticism and the creation of the nation state, many people strongly identified themselves with their country of origin. There is a particularly strong undercurrent of nationalism in the music of this time (Wagner in Germany, Chopin in Poland, Tchaikovsky in Russia) when so much of the music that came before it was religious in theme. Elsewhere, the anarchists and Marxists insisted that although there was no afterlife, a future utopia on Earth was possible. The unfortunate end-result of these idealistic worldviews were the horrific excesses of fascism and communism.

In more recent times, such national affinities have been replaced by celebrity and brand worship. People identify themselves by what kind of consumer they are. Our self-image is fragile and poorly defined as a result. We live among a generation of consumer drones. Our 'quality of life' (or wealth per head) for the past few decades has been better than ever, yet society at large is less happy with themselves. Why?

The last century proved fertile ground for existential philosophy. We hadn't the luxury of having our values laid out infront of us to follow like medieval Christians did. Sartre thought we were a blank slate and had to build our own values and discover our own essence. It was a means of combatting the sense of emptiness we are left with once we take God out of our lives and become aware of how truly alone we are.

Another existentialist Kierkegaard sought to bring people back to the Christian religion in a secular world by teaching his readers to take a 'leap of faith', rather than arrive at Christian beliefs through reason. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Nietzsche attempted to smash the Christian world's entire moral edifice and insist the world undergoes an fundamental 'revaluation of values'. One wherein, perhaps, weakness is frowned upon rather than cherished. In my opinion, his famous 'parable of the madman' still resonates today with the confusion and self-doubt of modern society.

TL;DR If there is no room for God in our lives, what do we have to put in his place? What makes you tick and what is it that you can honestly say you are living for?