The last national census gave us a snapshot of Australian life. It is interesting to note that organised institutional religion is going through something of a decline while there is every indication of an increased appetite for what could be broadly called "spirituality!"

There is some suggestion that there is a growing lack of confidence in organised and institutional religion, and this goes across the whole spectrum of religious organisations.

And why it wouldn't it? Over the last 50 years, at least, we have seen a growing lack of confidence in government.

There seems to be a growing perception on a global level that governments and political leaders do not always tell the truth! There is a further perception that such leaders will go to any length to save their own skin.

The same applies to big corporate business. There is a growing perception that captains of big industry and business who claim multi-million-dollar salaries for themselves are often acting in their own interest, rather than that of the business or industry itself.

The wellbeing of the people the business serves and employs can be seen to be secondary to that of the chief executives.

The same can be true of organised institutional religion. When such religions are seen to act in their own interest as a prime law of self-preservation, and by so doing often lose sight of the very reason for their existence, then it seems that vast numbers of people simply stop listening!

It is not so much that they disagree; it is simply that it is totally irrelevant to the concerns, worries and lives of ordinary folk.

And yet it seems the role of spirituality in all of its breadth has never been more important to ordinary folk. And again, why wouldn't it be?

People today are being confronted by some of the greatest challenges and changes of human living that have been faced for centuries.

Values of human behaviour that were once taken for granted and seen to be absolutely necessary are now being questioned and revisited.

Young parents of today know that they cannot raise their children in the way that they were raised. Children today live more in a global environment than my generation, who grew up totally in a local environment. This is neither good nor bad, it just is.

Whatever the future of organised institutional religion, people today need to grapple with some serious religious issues. Religious fundamentalism that can be so damaging is not confined to Islam, as some of our political leaders would have us believe, but is in fact an element in every organised religion in the world today. Legislating the means rarely serves the end goal.

The challenges that Jesus faced, that profound issues are not dealt with by simple answers, are very much the situation today.

Each one of us has a spirituality, our approach to life and its meaning, that is one of the most important elements of life we develop and address.

The question for all of us is: How do we do this effectively and honestly?