At the church I visited, many of the parents had returned to regular church-going for the sake of their children, because they wanted their children to have a spiritual foundation. However, the manifestation of their spirituality was social, not simply individual. Many of the children were part of a youth group, and knew one another as friends. They went on retreats together, bonded at prayer meetings, as well as talked and joked about non-church related things. All of the regular members had made a substantial investment of time and effort in the community, and even those who mostly came on holidays clearly felt that church-going was something they 'should' do, to show their respect for the community, their faith, and perhaps most importantly of all for the sake of a familial tradition. Religion is not something that can be performed alone: even solitary prayer connects someone to beliefs, actions, and...
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