Religious faith a pillar in tough times
Almost half of Kiwis say they aren’t religious, but Caroline Williams meets members of the other half who say their beliefs make them stronger.
Carmina and Jon Salud saw New Zealand as God answering their prayers. The couple yearned for a fresh start after losing their jobs in the Philippines in 2008. They had worked full-time at their church when it was hit by financial difficulties. Relationships with colleagues became tense, and the Saluds were forced to resign.
The couple had given up wellpaid jobs in law and IT and felt betrayed.
‘‘It was so scary. We were hurt,’’ Carmina Salud said.
After tensions cooled, the Saluds continued worshiping at the church. It was two years before Jon found another job, and another three until the couple decided on a fresh start in New Zealand. ‘‘We took it as ‘What is God trying to tell us?’’’
The Saluds are among the more than 2.62 million New Zealanders who identified as religious in the 2018 Census. While that total seems to be declining, those spoken to by the Sunday Star-Times say their faith has helped build their resilience through life’s challenges.
Within six months of starting the application process, the family gained permission to move. Jon’s IT skills were on a skills’ shortage list. Carmina’s background in law landed her a job at the Ministry of Justice, where she has worked for 11 years.
The family worships at Central Auckland Church of Christ which, like their church in the Philippines, is part of the International Churches of Christ organisation.
Central to Carmina’s ability to overcome challenges is the connections she makes through churchgoers.
‘‘When we moved here, the church here became our family. It’s not just about being obligated to attend, it’s about the relationships. ‘‘Looking back, all those experiences, even bad, you just need to hold on to it. Have the faith.’’
According to the 2018 Census, almost half the population, 2.26 million, indicated they had no religion. Christianity is New Zealand’s largest religious group, despite affiliation decreasing steadily since 2001. Its five denominations, including Anglican, Roman Catholic and Presbyterian, totalled 1.31m.
Affiliation with Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism is growing. Hinduism and Islam recorded increases between the 2013 and 2018 censuses, while Sikhism has doubled.
Emeritus professor of religious history Peter Lineham said the number of religious New Zealanders began to decline ‘‘very severely’’ from 1960.
‘‘You wouldn’t dare be rude about religion 100 years ago, [but today] nobody would turn a hair if someone says they aren’t religious.’’
He said churches are typically made up of elder generations who value local connections, whereas young people are more likely to seek their friends for help.He believed about 20 per cent of the population had some sort of contact with a religious group each month. South Auckland is the most religious part of New Zealand due to an ‘‘incredibly strong active community’’ within Pasifika churches.
Agnostics might pray during a crisis, but people of religion sustained themselves with ‘‘an internal mechanism to enable them to be more resilient’’.
Lineham believed churches had a significant role in keeping members’ spirits high during Covid-19 – comparable to the role local neighbourhoods had during the lockdown.
‘‘We don’t seem to take as much notice of local neighbourhoods as we used to. It had to rediscover itself during the pandemic when we were all at home.’’
Owen Pomana doesn’t remember much about religion from his time at a Catholic boarding school except for his ‘‘terrible’’ attitude, including breaking into the school’s presbytery to get drunk on wine and eat the communion wafers with icecream.
Now of the Christian faith, Pomana works fulltime delivering food to between 80 and 120 homeless Aucklanders a day, an effort organised via his Facebook group Humanity NZ.
In the early 2000s, Pomana’s life was very different. After his relationship broke down he booked a one-way flight to Australia, taking with him only a bag of clothes, $500 cash and a broken heart. A week later, Pomana was homeless.
For 10 years he was in and out of prison. Too ashamed to ask for help, he became a sex worker, which came with the promise of a hot shower, someone to talk to and a bed for the night.
Pomana recalled the pit of his downward spiral following a ‘‘bashing’’ by Hells Angels, and attempting to shoot himself while ‘‘smashed on ice [methamphetamine]’’ after cursing to a God he didn’t believe in. ‘‘The gun didn’t fire.’’
After an introduction to a pastor, Pomana started to understand the Bible and now credits his faith for getting his life back together. ‘‘The Bible is an instruction of how to live life.’’
As a newly married couple in 2017, Emily and Aaron Speller should have been enjoying the prospect of a long and healthy life together. But six months in, Emily, now 25, was diagnosed with a neurological disease, with the effects of her condition expected to hit her at middle age.
Despite such a ‘‘gutting moment’’, Emily feels confident about her marriage because she’s seen how her father-in-law, who has cerebral palsy, has dealt with his medical condition. The Reformed Baptist believes God placed her in her marriage to Aaron, an Open Brethren, to help her build strength.
‘‘Even when a bad thing happens, there is a purpose behind it that is bigger than what I see. When it’s too big for you, God’s got it.’’
Despite following different denominations of Christianity, the Spellers enjoy debating the scriptures to find mutual understanding. ‘‘It’s a bit like politics,’’ Emily said.
Resilience played a part in the aftermath of New Zealand’s worst shooting in modern history, when 51 died and countless were injured in the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019.
Lead co-ordinator for the Women’s Organisation of the Waikato Muslim Association Aliya Danzeisen said Islam teachings dating back 14 centuries – including the importance of brotherhood and sisterhood – helped.
‘‘We have responded in ways of supporting each other as a family would, but it’s a bigger family. Where people have been successful in overcoming challenges in particular are very helpful. It gives you ideas .’’
The teaching had similarities to that of tangata whenua and New Zealand’s core value of ‘‘we’re going to get this right’’. ‘‘Resilience is built into New Zealand as a nation.’’
University of Auckland senior lecturer in theological and religious studies Dr Caroline Blyth believes a decrease of those practising religion is balanced by an increase in the popularity of spirituality as people find deeper meaning and emotional pleasure from the likes of music, art, crystals, aromatherapy, surfing, or anything that provided a boost to the person’s mental and emotional well-being.
‘‘It can be anything that gives someone a sense of connection to the world. People will always need something to help them get through life, to give them hope or to give them strength to make positive change. If it’s not an organised religious institution, there will be other means.’’
This story is part of The Resilience Project, a Stuff and Sunday StarTimes investigation into how people have survived life shocks.