Emberley suggests there are larger forces at play beyond recognition of one’s own mortality that are spurring 50-plus Canadians to take a walk on the spiritual side. He contends our feelings of powerlessness in the face of massive global economic, political and technological influences may have been the breeding ground for a religious rebirth among the mature generation. Ironically, the very forces that pulled us away from pursuing spirituality are now responsible for drawing us back.
“The scale of technological power that has been unleashed since the ’60s has given people a sense of their meaningless and vulnerability to extraordinary, powerful forces that we didn’t fully understand,” he says.
Carol Colombo, 52, who works for the Ministry of Natural Resources in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., agrees. “When I was young my parents took care of me, and the world seemed a lot smaller then. Now it’s just me and this global village we live in. To me, it’s important to see the simple message: God’s love.”
Turbulent times
This wholesale technological and economic unrest, coupled with the ever-present threat of terrorism, is unnerving. Experts say this fear gives people the sense they are adrift in the world and spirituality acts as a life raft, something to help them survive the stormy conditions the world seems to be undergoing at the moment.
Some commence their search for spirituality after going into a tailspin of depression, grief or confusion brought on by an unhappy experience. The death of a loved one, loss of a job, chronic sickness or a divorce might get us searching for ways in which we might cope with an unfortunate or tragic experience.
Elizabeth Savoie, a retired elementary school teacher from Fredericton, credits her faith in helping her deal with painful circumstances that crop up in life, such as the death of her mother and the inevitable frustrations of chronic illness. “My faith is very important to me. I can’t imagine a world without God,” she says. “I developed Crohn’s disease in my early 20s, and my faith has helped me deal with the illness.”
And Doug Richards, 69, of Woodstock, Ont., finds that when things around him are falling apart, his faith is always there. “There have been times when I reached a level of sadness and loss, where my faith has enabled me to climb back out of the pit.”
Improving the world
And finally, religion often provides a home for those who want to better the world and help those who live in it. There are so many who suffer from loneliness, poverty or live in areas where natural disasters or political unrest are prevalent. Church groups and lay missions offer us the chance to build schools in South America, raise money for victims of natural disasters to improve social conditions or provide immediate food and shelter to the poor in our own midst.
Besides being surprised by the unexpected rebirth of spirituality among mature Canadians, Emberley and others contend that it’s healthy for both the individual and society, providing a moral ballast, which has long been lost. “People want to organize their lives, to give them more structure and meaning,” he suggests. “They want to tap into the recognition that we’re called to something higher than the social, economic and political environment that we live in.”
