During World War II, men went to war and women went to work. But where did the children go?
Who assumed the mothering responsibility of the unavailable mothers? Who taught these children about right and wrong, good and evil, about the Almighty God, Creator, Defender, Redeemer, and Savior? Who taught them about the sacred, the Ten Commandments, and the Holy Spirit?
Before World War II, approximately 10% to 15% of mothers with children worked outside the home.
About 74% of U.S. mothers with children under 18 work, including 71% of those with kids under 5 as of September 2023. Employment rates are 67.3% for married mothers and 73.2% for unmarried mothers.
For prime-age women (25–54), this participation rate is even higher, recently hitting a record high of 77%.
World War II started in December 1941. I was 10 years old. My brother, 10 years my senior, enlisted in the US Navy and served in combat in the Pacific. My dad worked in the Colonna Shipyard, and the children of my three older sisters were cared for by my mother, who was then in her mid-forties.
My nephews and nieces were loved through their most formative years by their grandmother, who was self-confident, unambivalent about the importance of a keen sense of the sacred, and intolerant of selfishness, lying, or misconduct.
More than ever, we need loving grandparent types to rear the massive number of children today whose mothers are unavailable.
A major cause of the loss of the sense of the sacred today is the obligation of the majority of mothers to work, thus relinquishing their motherliness to non-mothers whose education, training, and experience are insufficient for the task.
A second leading cause of the devastating loss of the sense of the sacred is the failure of the sacred leaders among us. Let me provide justification for this observation:
Scandalous Misconduct by Christian church leaders.
The Bible names the human body “the temple of the Holy Spirit” and calls upon us to take care of our “temples,” yet obesity and unhealthy lifestyles are common among Christian leaders and congregations.
Jesus teaches us how to live a life of spiritual fulfillment. For example, He said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19,20 NKJV. In spite of this central theme, many church leaders live in luxuryand have net worths that are staggering. One of the most popular TV evangelists flips this teaching of Jesus and preaches “prosperity gospel” or the use of the Holy Spirit to get rich quickly.
Americans’ spiritual lives are changing, with more people accessing religious content through media than by attending church. A Barna Group survey found that while 56% of adults attend church monthly, many more engage with faith via radio, TV, online sites, and publications. For some, these media now serve as their main source of spiritual guidance rather than church attendance. Sadly, the ever-increasing emphasis of TV is on giving.
TV evangelism encourages the diminution of the sense of the sacred: a. indiscriminate use of fund-raising commercials in the middle of a sermon. b. cutting sermons short with multiple commercials. c. excessive promotion of book sales from which they receive funds. d. religious services more akin to a secular production and far less importance on the sacred.
The term sacred comes from the Latin sacrare, which means “to set apart.” Something considered sacred is separated from ordinary, everyday use—distinct from what is profane, a word that literally means “outside the temple” in Latin. The sacred stands above daily routines, creating a connection between regular human life and the transcendent.
A sense of the sacred arises when we acknowledge values or entities—such as justice, virtue, dignity, loyalty, or deities—that are greater than ourselves and deserve our respect.
While different cultures value various ideals and customs as sacred, it’s rare—and perhaps concerning—for any culture to have no sacred traditions at all. Yet, it seems this might be happening more often in America today. What, if anything, do all Americans now treat as truly untouchable or sacred?
Modern society’s move toward rationalism and materialism has lessened the sense of the sacred. Thinkers like Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud shifted humanity from the center of creation, viewing spiritual experiences as biological or psychological phenomena.
Rituals and spaces once seen as sacred, like churches, are now approached casually, with silence and reverence giving way to everyday behavior.
Losing the sacred is tied to a wider crisis of meaning, hope, and identity today.
Attacks on houses of worship are often motivated by ideological, political, or pathological factors. Such religious sites are targeted because they represent values, identities, and histories that attackers seek to challenge or eliminate.
Destructive actions may be perpetrated by governments seeking political control, or by individuals and groups, such as through hate crimes or acts of terrorism. Recently, disruptions of religious services have frequently taken place as forms of protest, particularly when religious leaders are seen as aligned with contentious political interests.
Sanctuary and vulnerable houses of worship are soft targets because they are often open and welcoming, making them vulnerable to disruption and violence.
While freedom of speech and protest are protected rights, they clash with the right to worship in peace. Disruptions can traumatize congregations and challenge the sanctity of religious practice.
Mainstream religions distinguish between sacred and profane, with rituals, places, and objects set apart for divine purposes. As society becomes more secular, the boundaries between the sacred and the ordinary blur, leading to a loss of reverence and meaning.
Community and identity sacredness is not just about objects or places but about the relationships and shared beliefs that give them meaning.
As of 2021, “none” is the fastest-growing religious affiliation in the United States.
It seems unusual for a culture to lack sacred customs, yet this is increasingly common in America. What do Americans now regard as truly sacred or inviolable?
The first sense of “self” is the sense of one’s body. Mothering persons are sculptors of the body image by physically loving through holding and touching the child. Appropriately holding the child releases growth hormone. It is the essential function of the mothering person. It cannot be substituted or relinquished to untrained childcare providers.
Mothers called to the workplace in WWII never went back home.Nonmothers rear our children, inestimably precious gifts of God. Unavailable mothers must work to meet bare provisions. Untrained childcare workers are delivering addicts, narcissists, and transgenders, all robbed of what God intended for them. Too many children today are unaware of the sense of the sacred or the need to submit their lives to a loving God who will never leave or forsake them.
Robert S. Brown, MD, PHD a retired Psychiatrist, Col (Ret) U.S. Army Medical Corps devoted the last decade of his career to treating soldiers at Fort Lee redeploying from combat. He was a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Education at UVA. His renowned Mental Health course taught the value of exercise for a sound mind.
