When Your God Dies

No matter who you are, you’re going to worship something. You may reject every notion of a supreme being or life after death or even universal moral principles. Nevertheless, you’re going to worship something. You’re going to tap into something that makes your life worth living.

The twentieth century theologian Paul Tillich called the object of our worship our Ultimate Concern and the Ground of our Being. Twelve steppers call it their Higher Power. Whatever name you give it, there is something that you stake your life on and guide your decisions by.

You may stake your life on a spiritual being, a social cause, a set of principles, attaining celebrity status, or the pursuit of pleasure. Whatever it is, that’s your god (or God).

Part of what makes humans, well, human is our freedom to choose what we will worship. But our freedom is not limitless. We cannot make…