Are more people choosing nature over church for spiritual needs?

The beauty of a natural environment helps many achieve their spiritual needs, according to a recent research. This practice of taking in nature has lead to a lesser need to join a traditional organized religion, with nature emanating the sense of divinity that people are trying to find. The study was not intended to determine whether the practice observed was to create a church of nature.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - According to the study conducted by the Baylor University, the quality of nature in a community's surroundings affects the involvement of people in traditional organized religions. Data used in the evaluation are from the Religious Congregations and Membership Study, the United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Census Bureau, according to The Blaze.

It stated that places with "beautiful landscapes and good weather" were observed to have lower rates of participation and affiliation in churches, as more people are becoming engaged with the beauty of their surroundings. For these people, the "nones," a sense of divinity can be found in and around the environment itself - the lakes, mountains, forests and the like, fulfilling their spiritual needs.

"Beautiful weather, mountains and waterfronts can serve as conduits to the sacred, just like traditional religious congregations. When a person hikes in a forest to connect with the sacred, that individual may not feel a need to affiliate with a religious group because spiritual demands are being met," said lead author Todd Ferguson.

"Scholars also need to explore whether the relationship between natural amenities and religion adherence rates is just an American phenomenon, or whether it also exists in areas such as Western Europe, which have lower rates of religious adherence," explained Ferguson.

The study was not to determine whether the rise in engagement to nature is giving birth to its own church and tempting people away from being a part of traditional churches, he noted.

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