RELIGIOUS VALUES ARE IMPORTANT TO A COMMUNITY

It should come as no surprise that businesses catering to a Christian clientele are flourishing in the Cape Girardeau area. This and the fact that churches are booming can be taken as an indication of the values and religious ethic of this area.

It wasn't all that many years ago that there was little need for retail outlets aimed specifically at religious-minded customers. After all, most folks -- shoppers and shopkeepers alike -- were usually affiliated with a church and regularly attended services and participated in the life of a religious community. In those days, it would have been considered offensive to stock merchandise wouldn't have a place in a home with high moral values.

But things changed, particularly in the 1960s, when a postwar culture seemed to abandon bedrock beliefs and turned to secular guideposts for family life and career decisions.

Areas like Cape Girardeau, grounded in conservative and religious attitudes, were not unaffected. But the core of a strong belief system was probably less altered here than in many other parts of the country. What appears to be a nationwide resurgence in religious values will likely have less of an impact in this area, because traditional values really never changed that much during a period of moral upheaval.

The scope of the return to strong values is displayed everywhere. In the political arena, a religious fervor has been credited for much of the Republican revolution that swept Congress in last year's elections. Curiously, national news organizations claim they were blindsided by the impact of religion in the campaign, which shows how out of touch much of the mainstream media had become. Organizations like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Promise Keepers -- an organization for men who dedicate themselves to Christian principles, and one of the fastest growing groups in America -- are flourishing.

Closer to home, the annual mayor's prayer breakfasts draw huge crowds of people who unite for a meal and seek religious direction in a world that not so long ago appeared to have all but abandoned religion as a standard for daily living.

After three decades of religious floundering and a liberal streak in many mainstream churches that resulted in conflicts over liturgical language and such issues as sexuality, many churchgoers are seeking clear-cut direction instead of freewheeling moral debates from their pulpits.

In short, there is a marked interest in the things that are important in life rather than in raw material gains. In these days, when every individual's problem seems to develop into a national crisis, it is good that guidance from an omnipotent creator is valued so highly.