What Do We Want From a God?The musings of a non-believer by Cristina Buruiană

I kissed an icon of Mary once. I remember thinking it was dusty. I remember being confused as to how putting my lips on a painted slab of wood was supposed to bring me closer to God. I was maybe five or so, and questions don’t really get definitive answers at that age, so I’d just done what my grandmother said. Several years later, I would be equally confused about why admitting to a priest that I stole 5 lei (almost 1€) from a classmate would stop a plane from crashing with me in it. To the man’s credit, and God’s, I suppose, I flew to my destination and back just fine.

Why? Do people really believe in God less nowadays? Is it just because their parents didn't teach it as strongly, or is it something in the individuals themselves that makes them less inclined to be religious?

My childhood was sprinkled with various religious bits, yet somehow, the belief in God never stuck. I would attribute this to a lack of exposure: my parents were agnostic, while only one grandparent held down the Orthodox fort. Beyond that, I suppose child-me never understood the point. You would go through all these motions, praying every night, going to church, fasting, having a priest bless the house for the holidays, and nothing seemed to come of it. I didn't do any of it at home with my parents, and our life wasn't any less joyful or meaningful for it. As I grew older, I went through a "I don't know what I'm doing with my life" phase, but even then, I didn't look towards God for guidance or a solution to my uncertainty.

At one point, I looked around and realized that I wasn't the only one, and wherever I looked, faith seemed like the exception, the thing you had to seek out specifically. Why? Do people really believe in God less nowadays? Is it just because their parents didn't teach it as strongly, or is it something in the individuals themselves that makes them less inclined to be religious? I recognize that having God was very helpful in the past: it was a way to enforce moral principles, to bring comfort to people and make them believe that even when they've hit rock bottom, there's still someone who has their back, someone who has a plan. Is there less of a need for that now? Not at all! A small disclaimer before I begin: these are simply my thoughts and impressions related to European conceptions of God(s), and not a systematic approach.

A conclusion I’ve reached is that we now place far more value on individual agency than divine intervention. Take the USA and its beginnings. You hear a lot about how they value the "self-made man" idea and all that; it exists in Europe too, in some form or another. You might think it's a cheesy or unrealistic ideal at first. After all, it's rare to get something entirely through your own efforts; there can always be some bias working for your benefit or some lucky circumstance that puts you above the cut-off line. Yet, I think many of us would feel better about being considered simply (un)lucky than being told that “it’s all God's will”. I find it very interesting that people, myself included, recoil from the idea of a higher being meddling in their life, but almost in the same breath, they will turn around and gush over God characters in media or literature.

Part of that admiration probably stems from equating godhood to superpowers, with philosophy fading away. I recently reread Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, a duology I love, and the "gods" there are only distinguished from humans because of their blue skin and unique abilities that regular people couldn't understand or counter. They definitely abused their powers and were hated for it, but they were still compelling because of how present they were.

Why? Do people really believe in God less nowadays? Is it just because their parents didn't teach i

t as strongly, or is it something in the individuals themselves that makes them less inclined to be religious?

Let's try a different record, Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail, gacha games at the base, but story-driven games at heart. Their god figures are inextricably tied to the main plot, either making appearances in their nations or pulling the strings behind the scenes. They are always within reach, yet not fully knowable due to their nature, which often gives rise to beautiful, heart-wrenching explorations of themes such as the burden of immortality, the struggle between duty to their people and personal crises, and the resilience of mankind. This was made possible because the gods were there, walking among people, reaching out or making their presence known.

I can surely be accused of not "getting" the Christian God; it can be said I'm hoping for a Greek-mythology type of deity, one who acts upon the world (not always positively, but hey, we can't have it all) and who has human-like traits. And, while I don't wish to be turned into a spider on a god's whim, I do think feeling a lack of godly presence is a big reason why religiosity is on the decline. How do you believe in something that's never around, never intervenes to stop tragedies, never makes "the plan" known? At the end of the day, if God isn't around, we fill the faith gap with something else, be it science, self-determination or the like.