An intriguing aspect of the current religious scene is the interest many people express in spirituality—apart from the conventional religious expression found in organized churches. One Gallup survey, reported at a December conference in Boston—"Spirituality & Healing in Medicine"—indicated that while 96 percent of Americans said they believed in God, only 43 percent had attended worship services within the past week.
There seems to be a perception that traditional religion and denominationalism are not providing the mental and spiritual sustenance—and healing—that people need. Why might this be? And what, if anything, might churches do to regain favor?
Discussing the loss of spiritual healing from the Christian Church, the founder of this newspaper, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote, "In proportion as the personal and material element stole into religion, it lost Christianity and the power to heal; and the qualities of God as a person, instead of the divine Principle that begets the quality, engrossed the attention of the ages." Christian Healing, p. 3.
