Religion was supposed to fall by the wayside as mankind became more enlightened, according to sociologists during the 1700s, when science and reason were touted as the key to human evolution.

When church attendance began to fall in the mid-20th century after several decades of significant scientific discovery and invention, it looked like their prediction might come true.

Waves of immigrants flowed into the United States, and a pluralistic society emerged in which Americans began to question their belief in "absolute truth," especially when it came to their traditional religious experiences.

But no matter how secular the world appears to be, religion is alive and well, according to Sally Gallagher, professor of sociology at Oregon State University.

"We were supposed to 'grow out of it' but that's not what actually happened. Americans are very religious. In fact, they're all over the map when it comes to religion," she said.

Gallagher will talk about current social science theories about the "reasonableness of religion" on Thursday as part of the weekly "Ideas Matter" lecture series sponsored by OSU's philosophy department.

"Religion provides a moral framework for people to understand and address the biggest questions of life," Gallagher said.

It also provides communities where people can "echo" their values and beliefs among people with similar convictions, an important exercise within a diverse society, she said.

Tolerance and sensitivity to other people's religious beliefs have grown in recent years, and people tend to "scale back their commitment to religious truths with a capital T" as the nation's religious landscape expands, Gallagher continued.

Since Watergate, there's also been a whole generation that is suspicious of organized institutions, including the church.

"But the pendulum is now swinging back the other direction," Gallagher said, adding people in their 20s and 30s represent the segment of church membership that's growing the fastest.

While there will always be a strand of individualism evident in people who claim to be "spiritual" instead of "religious" or who invent their own religion by merging the most appealing characteristics of others, traditional denominations and expressions of religion will never go away, according to Gallagher.

People are starting to go to church again instead of taking their dog for a walk on a beautiful day and calling that a spiritual experience, she noted. They're finding that once you move outside a religious institution you lose some of what makes it valuable - things such as the instant community, support and affirmation it provides.

That kind of support looks pretty good in today's unstable society when people are going through a divorce, losing their jobs or facing some other major change in life.

In a completely post-modern society where absolute truth does not exist, the ground becomes unsettling and there's no place to stand and decide right from wrong or who's "good" or not, she explained. Humans are wired, however, to do just that.

People are fundamentally religious in the same sense they are fundamentally social or moral, Gallagher said.

Religion plays a key role in achieving self-identity because it offers that transcendent, outside-ourselves perspective of what's true about life and mankind, and it helps people figure out "what's better and what's best" within the context of community, she said.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: "Why Won't Religion Just Go Away?" by Sally Gallagher, professor of sociology, OSU

WHEN: 4 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: Gilfillan Auditorium, OSU, 2601 S.W. Orchard Ave.

INFORMATION: 737-2955