Trust
Trust me: I hate Halloween. Really.
Nevertheless, the day today (with accompanying night o' tricks with treats) was an excellent way to finish up an outstanding four-day weekend.
Over the weekend, I was able to spend a few days with my family and friends in beautiful southern Utah. The above photo was taken in Kolob Canyon, a spectacular, oft-missed section of Zion National Park.
While relaxing in St. George (southern Utah), I was able to peruse the pages of the USA Today - an activity I don't frequently enjoy. In reading Monday's copy of "our nation's newspaper" I came across an interesting article about religion. From the article:
Independent congregations are slowly chipping away at the ‘trusted brands’ as the Christian faith becomes more like Wikipedia and less like Encyclopedia Britannica.Is it just me or do you also find the "Wikipedia version" of religion to be a scary thought? I know I don't feel confident in trusting a mass-collaborative effort of finitely-capable men (and/or women) to provide me with the knowledge required to truly understand God. Do I trust Wikipedia to provide me with an overview of the world's religious sects? Sure. But an overview of religion will hardly lead me to an understanding of God.
Regardless, engaging in a discussion about religion does not fall within the scope of this blog. To discuss trust, however, does.
Interestingly, one of the main focuses of the USA Today article was trust:
A poll called the General Social Survey has asked people whether they have "a great deal of confidence" in social institutions, and their answers reveal a clear decline. According to this survey by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, confidence has dropped since the 1970s in:Yep. Education made the list. Does that surprise you? Trust me: I'm not surprised, either. Saddened, but not surprised.
- Banks and financial institutions (From 35% to 28%).
- Major companies (26% to 17%).
- The press (24% to 9%).
- Education (36% to 27%).
- Organized religion (35% to 24%).
So what are we going to do about it?
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