Words & Works

P:Death has become a dirty word, writes British Anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer in the October issue of Encounter, and is taking the place of sex as an off-color theme. "Whereas copulation has become more and more 'mentionable,' particularly in the Anglo-Saxon societies, death has become more and more 'unmentionable' as a natural process . . . Our great-grandparents were told that babies were found under gooseberry bushes or cabbages; our children are likely to be told that those who have passed on (fie! on the gross Anglo-Saxon monosyllable) are changed into flowers, or lie at rest in lovely gardens." The reason, says Gorer, is a shift away from religious belief in a life after death. "Belief in the future life, as taught in Christian doctrine, is very uncommon today, even in the minority who make churchgoing or prayer a consistent part of their lives; and without some such belief, natural death and physical decomposition have become too horrible to contemplate."

P:The Second National Conference on Spiritual Foundations met in Washington, D.C., with some 250 religious leaders and laymen--Christian, Jewish, Moslem, Hindu and Buddhist--and heard such potent speakers as Vice President Nixon, Admirals Radford and Strauss. "Civilization," said the conference message, "rests ultimately upon an act of belief. A renaissance of civilization in the 'postmodern' era already taking shape depends upon a revival of faith in God and a fresh synthesis of faith and reason."

P:"God seems to be leading a popularity contest in government circles today," says the Roman Catholic monthly Catholic Men in an editorial entitled "Good Old God." Many a politico who goes in for godly utterances is "inwardly feeling that such pious expressions and, in fact, God Himself and religion in general, are perfectly harmless . . . We are in favor of expressions of trust in God and don't want to appear cynical, but could it be that an appreciable number . . . are motivated by a naive sentiment that by shouting 'Lord, Lord' often enough, and long enough, we will have fulfilled our obligations--and all will be well with the world? We wouldn't have these uneasy thoughts if we could see more evidence that our public leaders . . . really do trust in God and love Him."

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