Much has been written lately about the growing role religion plays in our society, especially in the context of the last presidential election.
We are told that the nation is divided into two camps, one deeply religious and politically conservative, and the other largely secular and liberal. We know, for example, that 46 percent of Americans now identify themselves as evangelical, or "born again" Christians, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Yet how much do we really know about how spiritual ideas inform people's lives? What role do they play beyond the hot-button debates over abortion and same-sex marriage, and the blue-state/red-state divide? What do people really believe?
I began thinking about these issues last year while conducting my own sort of spiritual inventory. I turned 40 and felt the first stirrings of a midlife crisis. Suddenly, the big questions began stalking me: Where is my life going? What do I want to accomplish? Why am I here?
I'd spent more than 10 years working for a string of media companies large and small, doing everything from writing short reviews of Web sites for an Internet startup to managing more than 100 people as the vice president of a cable-television network. I had climbed up the corporate ladder higher than I ever imagined, made a good living and learned a lot despite the long hours, stress and office politics. Suddenly, though, it all seemed so empty. I wanted to do something else, something that had more meaning. But what, exactly?
I recognize this sense of urgency as a form of spiritual longing, a deep desire to connect with a higher purpose beyond the mundane concerns that often crowd out everything else. Most of us feel such a pull at some point in our lives.
These thoughts came back to me during a lunch meeting I had with an SF Gate editor to discuss stories I might write for the Web site. She expressed interest in the topic of spirituality with a focus on people's personal stories.
Then I suggested an idea. Why not interview people one-on-one about their spiritual lives? I could pose the same questions to them that I had been asking myself over the last year -- questions about what they believed, and why. And so, this column, Finding My Religion, was born.
There's no shortage of interesting stories on this topic. Each week I'll pick different people from a cross-section of religious and cultural backgrounds to discuss their views on God, prayer, the afterlife and other topics. The conversations will be published in a question-and-answer format.
I realize this is a subject not frequently addressed in the mainstream media. Perhaps the old saying about religion not being fit for polite conversation still holds true in the popular consciousness, even as sex and politics have long ago shaken off their taboo status.
Yet, increasingly, it seems clear that spiritual matters form the subtext for much of what's happening in America today, from your house to the White House.
With that in mind, I will make these conversations as personal and revealing as possible while getting to the heart of what people are thinking and feeling.