Following a religion can feel like a chore — at least that’s how some people treat it. Is practicing and maintaining faith truly difficult, or are people simply losing interest?  

It’s increasingly common for individuals to pick and choose which aspects of their religion to follow, often creating personal loopholes that justify certain actions. 

This can happen when people declare their religious identities and faiths without following each practice to the fullest extent. Some take part in rituals, but simply to check it off their mental list as a means to prove to themselves or others that they are a good person. 

“I would say it was more of a burden; growing up I always felt like religion was a series of expectations that I was always failing to live up to,” anthropology professor Christopher Milan said. “At times it was motivation to be a better person. But it just as often felt like failing.”

People practice their beliefs in many ways, on a wide spectrum of intensity. Yet the contrast between those considered “very religious” and those who loosely identify with a faith has grown sharper.

Understanding this divide requires looking back at how religious practices and social norms have evolved over time. 

For millennia, religion has been deeply embedded in society through every aspect of daily life–influencing education, family dynamics, dieting, and even one’s profession.

Now, faith is perceived differently. It is easy for a person to practice their beliefs only as they please or when they need it. 

“I feel like I have been considering what religion means to me over the past few years,” said Chicago music therapist Mary Hanna. “I find it best to practice on my own time, by doing things like keeping a prayer/gratitude journal.” 

Among this newfound flexibility and choice, many still choose to claim a religious identity. Atheism has not taken over entirely; rather, it is agnosticism and religious half-effort practices that have become the new norm. 

More and more, people who consider themselves religious tend to look past ‘sinful’ behaviors because they allow self-forgiving principles to emerge instead.

For instance, some Mormons practice “soaking,” which they consider acceptable because in their eyes they are not truly going against their religious practices. 

There are Hindus who eat beef, Muslims who drink alcohol and those under certain Christian denominations who partake in premarital sex. 

Many followers believe these acts go against their religion, but others consider it something to brush off. In modern religion, if an individual can find forgiveness or can follow other practices, they are still seen as part of their specific community. 

So why is it so hard? Is it actually difficult to commit fully to a faith, or are people afraid of living without a religious community? What are we searching for when we hold on to these identities? Is there a way religion can intersect with a modern lifestyle? 

“I pulled farther and farther away from the church, but at the same time my sense of spirituality grew through my work as an anthropologist,” Milan, the professor, said. “I suppose that means that I feel like talking about faith is a lot freer since I don’t feel as bound by religious dogma.”

It is possible to practice a religion and to keep faith in ways that aren’t all-consuming. This new wave of balancing religious ideologies within our modern world is already being practiced in places such as East Asia. 

According to the Pew Research Center, religion in these societies is measured by what people believe and do, rather than whether they say they have a religion. In these cases, the region is more religiously vibrant than it might initially seem.

Other methods and types of practices are gaining traction through social media and within communities as means to avoid shame and disconnect. Alternative methods allow for more flexibility and autonomy in following a faith. 

“It doesn’t personally bother me, but I can fully understand the guilt that comes along with going against the beliefs you were taught growing up or currently practice,” Hanna, the music therapist, said. 

Instead of arguing over who is doing their religion “correctly,” perhaps the more meaningful conversations revolve around why people choose to align with a religion and what they’re seeking through that association.

Shifting focus from shame to curiosity can open a space for more compassion surrounding religion. It could move us away from guilt and toward a deeper understanding of how people are attempting to seek connection and community through modern expressions of faith.

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