Morals, Religion, And Widespread Loneliness – OpEd

In 1998, a Gallup poll asked American respondents if they thought the state of moral values would be better or worse in 2025. It found that 62 percent predicted it would be worse. The data show they were right.

In 2022, a Gallup poll found that "a record-high 50 percent of Americans rated the overall state of moral values as 'poor,' and another 37 percent said it was 'only fair.' The public was pessimistic about the future: 78 percent say morals are getting worse." 

And the results of a 2024 survey by Pew Research Center found that 80 percent of Americans say that religion's role in American life is shrinking, and most concluded that it was not a good thing. 

This is significant given that this was the highest percentage ever recorded in a Pew survey on this issue. It was also found that 57 percent of Americans expressed a positive view of religion's influence in American life. 

The public predicted more than a quarter century ago that the moral state of affairs would trend down, and they were right.

Among Americans who have left their childhood religion, the most commonly cited reasons were that they stopped believing in the religion's teachings (46%). About a third said their religion's teachings about social and political issues (34%) or scandals involving clergy or religious leaders (32%) were significant reasons for leaving their religion.

Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses moral and health risks as deadly as smoking up to 15 cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said in declaring the latest public health epidemic. About half of U.S. adults say they've experienced loneliness, Dr. Vivek Murthy said in an 81-page report from his office. 

The loneliness epidemic is hitting young people, ages 15 to 24, especially hard. The age group reported a 70% drop in time spent with friends during the same period.

Loneliness increases the risk of premature death by nearly 30%, with the report revealing that those with poor social relationships also had a greater risk of stroke and heart disease. Isolation also elevates a person's likelihood for experiencing depression, anxiety and dementia, according to the research. 

Research shows that Americans, who have become less engaged with religious worship, community organizations, and even their own family members in recent decades, have steadily reported an increase in feelings of loneliness. The number of single households has also doubled over the last 60 years.

A minyan is a quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain communal prayers. Traditionally, it consists of at least ten men, but most Jewish communities now include women. The minyan is essential for reciting specific prayers, such as the Kaddish memorial for the dead. The Jewish minyan requirement for community prayer is very rare in other religions. 

Minyan fosters a sense of community among the participants. Minyanim (plural) can take place in synagogues, homes, or other suitable locations. The concept emphasizes the importance of communal rather than individual prayer in Judaism. 

The learning of Bible and Hebrew for Bar and Bat Mitsvot gives Jewish children similar connections. 

A major drive for personal autonomy, plus wanting not to have any limits on what we can do, and what we can believe, have made many people allergic to institutions. Memberships in many organizations — including veterans, scouting, fraternal, religious, parental and civic — have continued their long decline into the 21st century. 

A new study finds that as church attendance dropped among middle-aged, less educated white Americans, deaths from drug overdoses, suicide, and alcohol-related disease began to rise. 

The trend started years before OxyContin appeared, suggesting the opioid epidemic intensified a problem already underway and "deaths of despair." deaths include fatalities linked to drug overdoses, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease. Researchers found a clear pattern at the state level. States that experienced the sharpest drops in church attendance between 1985 and 2000 also saw the largest increases in deaths from "deaths of despair." causes during the same period.

1. About 16% of adults, including around one-quarter of adults under 30, report feeling lonely or isolated all or most of the time, according to a 2024 survey by the Pew Research Center.


2. Just under half of Americans belonged to a religious congregation in 2023, a low point for Gallup, which has tracked this trend since 1937.


3. About 10% of workers are in a union, down from 20% four decades ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.


4. About one-quarter of Americans say most people can be trusted — down from about half in 1972, according to the General Social Survey


5. About two in 10 U.S. adults have no close friends outside of family, according to the "Disconnected" report. In 1990, only 3% said that, according to Gallup. About one-quarter of adults have at least six close friends, down from nearly half in 1990.



Technology has rapidly exacerbated the loneliness problem, with one study cited in the report finding that people who used social media for two hours or more daily were more than twice as likely to report feeling socially isolated than those who were on such apps for less than 30 minutes a day.

Religious studies and worship is one of the best ways to join with others. American adults who were raised as Hindus (82%), or Muslims (77%), or Jews (76%) were the most likely to remain in their childhood religion, the survey found;  and 70% of people raised as Protestants still identify that way today, according to a Pew Research survey published on December 15, 2025. 

Nationwide, only 56% of all Americans still identify with their childhood religion, while 35% have abandoned it, according to the survey of 9,000 US adults conducted in May. Another 9% weren't raised with a religion, and still don't have one today.

Retention rates were much lower among Catholics (57%), Latter-day Saints (54%) and Buddhists (45%), the study found. Americans who switch religions tend to do so early in life: 85% who have switched say they did so by the age of 30. This includes 46% who switched as children or teenagers.

Asked why they still identify as Jews, 60% of those who did said they like the traditions, and 57% cited liking the sense of community. About half of Jews said they stuck with the religion because it's their family religion and/or because it's something they're familiar with.

That was different from how Catholics or Protestants answered the question. The most common reasons they cited for remaining in their religion included belief in the religions' teachings, fulfilling spiritual needs, and giving meaning to their lives. 

Jews gave these answers, plus 45% also said they believe in the religion's teachings and 42% said it fulfills spiritual needs and brings meaning to their lives.