Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why?

From Atlantic-

The idea of American exceptionalism has become so dubious that much of its modern usage is merely sarcastic. But when it comes to religion, Americans really are exceptional. No rich country prays nearly as much as the U.S, and no country that prays as much as the U.S. is nearly as rich.

America’s unique synthesis of wealth and worship has puzzled international observers and foiled their grandest theories of a global secular takeover. In the late 19th century, an array of celebrity philosophers—the likes of Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud—proclaimed the death of God, and predicted that atheism would follow scientific discovery and modernity in the West, sure as smoke follows fire.

Stubbornly pious Americans threw a wrench in the secularization thesis. Deep into the 20th century, more than nine in 10 Americans said they believed in God and belonged to an organized religion, with the great majority of them calling themselves Christian. That number held steady—through the sexual-revolution ’60s, through the rootless and anxious ’70s, and through the “greed is good” ’80s.

More here-

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/atheism-fastest-growing-religion-us/598843/?fbclid=IwAR2u7SAiQzB0saLVQ7hueM-ot7wBpERWOB-Auerfae7F8GN23Z0mCrjb5Z8

Episcopal Church Attendance 2008-2018

From The Episcopal Church-

Average Sunday Attendance over the past 10 years by diocese.

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/files/documents/2008_-_2018_average_sunday_attendance_by_province_and_diocese.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0oeng35RIwruFhXyJyzQ373w9c2JuSur9hSFXWO2PSCfmOpokDcvLy2z0

Gallup asked Americans why they go to church. It’s not for the music.

From Intellectual Takeout-

On Good Friday, Gallup published results of a survey that asked respondents why they go to church (or some other place of worship).

Some fifteen hundred adults across the nation were asked to which degree these seven things were important to them:

1. Sermons or talks that teach you more about scripture;
2. Sermons or lectures that help you connect religion to your own life;
3. Spiritual programs geared toward children and teens;
4. Community outreach and volunteer opportunities;
5. Religious leaders who are interesting and inspiring;
6. Social activities that allow you to get to know people;
7.  A good choir, praise band, cantors or other spiritual music.

As one can see from the results below, respondents identified sermons as the primary factor they go to church.

More here-

http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/gallup-asked-americans-why-they-go-church-its-not-music

10 Predictions About The Future Church And Shifting Attendance Patterns

From Carey Nieuwhof-

Every generation experiences change.

But sometimes you sense you’re in the midst of truly radical change, the kind that happens only every few centuries. Increasingly, I think we’re in such a moment now.

Those of us in in Western culture who are over age 30 were born into a culture that could conceivably still be called Christian. Now, as David Kinnaman at the Barna Group has shown, even in America, people who are churchless (having no church affiliation) will soon eclipse the churched.

In addition, 48% of Millennials (born between 1984-2002) can be called post-Christian in their beliefs, thinking and worldview.

More here-

https://careynieuwhof.com/10-predictions-about-the-future-church-and-shifting-attendance-patterns/

Going to church is inconvenient

From Christian Century-

A  parishioner told me recently that her daughter’s family had found the perfect church in Dallas. “They don’t go often,” she said, “because the church live streams its ser­vices. They can watch it anytime. If the kids are playing in the family room or Mom or Dad are busy pulling brunch together, they can have worship on in the background. It’s really neat. Have you ever heard of this?”

“Yes,” I told her, “I know all about live streaming.” My eyes must have reflected a lack of interest because the conversation moved on to other topics.

Emily Dickinson opens one of her poems: “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church— / I keep it, staying at Home.” If you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of staying at home on Sundays in America these years. For the past couple of generations, researchers have noted that 40 to 45 percent of Americans claim regular weekly church attendance. These days, I’d judge the figure to be more realistically in the 10 percent range. Of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, only one found it worth his time to turn back and express thanks. That one may be the church.

More here-

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/publisher/going-church-inconvenient

Study Finds Churchgoers Are Less Stressed, Happier In Life

From Western New York-

Does faith have any impacts on one’s longevity and stress relief? A recent study suggests it does.

A study recently published by the Public Library of Science, “Church Attendance, Allostatic Load and Mortality in Middle-Aged Adults,” found that churchgoers have a significantly lower risk of dying at the time of follow-up. The subjects of the study were tracked for 14 years, and were surveyed on church attendance, as well as their allostatic load, which is the exposure to elevated or repeated stress and its consequences.

The study found that non-churchgoers had higher Allostatic Load rates, as well as higher rates of blood pressure, “good” cholesterol called HDL cholesterol and a higher rate of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio. In the study, 36 percent said they never attended church, while 64 percent said they attended church at least once a year. The frequency of attendance didn’t seem to matter, however. People who attended church regularly and those who attended once a year didn’t have a big difference in Allostatic Load.

More here-

http://www.post-journal.com/news/page-one/2017/11/study-finds-churchgoers-are-less-stressed-happier-in-life/

Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore

From Radically Christian-


According to the book, the four reasons people don’t want to go to church are:

They don’t want to be lectured.
They see the church as judgmental
They see the church as hypocritical.
They see the church as irrelevant.

Certainly, not everyone in this study is a Christian in the New Testament sense, but doesn’t this show you the real reason so many have stopped attending? The real reason is that over the last 2,000 years, the concept of “church” has become so diluted and twisted that people don’t even know what it is anymore. The church is supposed to be the family or body of all Christians.

For a Christian to say, “The church is judgmental, hypocritical, and irrelevant,” is for that Christian to call himself judgmental, hypocritical, and irrelevant because he is the church. When Christians don’t understand they are the church, and when they see the church as an institution which they can either choose to support or not, they lose the entire concept of Christianity. Jesus did not come to redeem individuals, but a people. One simply cannot be a Christian outside of the body of Christ (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12). To be a Christian is to be in the church.

More here-

http://www.radicallychristian.com/why-nobody-wants-to-go-to-church-anymore

A Most Uncomfortable Feast

From Patheos-

There are a lot of reasons not to go to church. It is inconvenient at the very least, and often uncomfortable, being on one of only two days that you have off for yourself. Your work week, like mine, is probably relentless–from Monday to Friday just hanging on and trying to keep incompetence and exhaustion from marrying themselves together and ruining your wellbeing. To finally be able to take a breath for two days, to sleep as long as you need to and then be able to run a load of laundry and drink a whole cup of coffee without it going cold–that’s what you hang on for in the rush of Monday morning. By Friday you’ve filled both days with tasks you just can’t get to in the evenings, with the backlog of life that never gets to be lived. You might manage to sleep in on Saturday, but Sunday finds you looking at another list.

The last thing you feel like doing is getting up and going to be with a lot of people you don’t know very well and who, when you do get to know them, are guaranteed to irritate you. There are better and more interesting things to do.


Read more at

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/2017/10/22/a-most-uncomfortable-feast/#lFbPVFDGyGwLSXpT.99

Why Attending Church No Longer Makes Sense

From Carey Nieuwhof-

There are many reasons why that’s happening (I outline 10 here), but I think it’s increasingly evident that it no longer makes sense to attend church.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of the church. But I get why more and more people have simply stopped attending. Let me explain.

In the fall of 2015, I transitioned out of the lead pastor role at our church and into a Founding and Teaching Pastor role (Here’s a piece on why and how I did it). I still carry about 30 Sundays a year of teaching and work on some senior level projects, but that leaves me much freer than I’ve ever been on a Sunday morning. Sure, sometimes I host the service or have other roles, but more often than I’ve ever experienced before, I’m free on a Sunday. Which means I’m often an attender. So I feel what the culture is feeling more than ever before.

More here-

https://careynieuwhof.com/why-attending-church-no-longer-makes-sense/

6 REASONS TO SIT IN A DIFFERENT SEAT AT CHURCH THIS WEEKEND

From Chuck Lawless-

I know some readers won’t like this post. Most of us have a habit of sitting in the same place in church on Sunday, and I realize that nobody else is calling for changing this pattern. Nevertheless, I press on with my reasons that you and I should sit in a different place at church this weekend.

Most of us get too comfortable at church in general. We develop all kinds of habits, like parking in the same area, going in the same door, following the same route to our small group room, sitting in the same place, and often going to the same restaurants after the service. Nothing changes – including, frankly, the depth of our walk with God. We also don’t expect God to do anything different when we gather, and we then get what we expected.  

You’ll get to know different people. You might already know everybody in your church, but sitting among different people will give you opportunity to get to know somebody more deeply. If you don’t know everybody, moving your seat will allow you to know somebody new. You’ll appreciate better the Body of Christ.   

More here-

http://chucklawless.com/2017/08/6-reasons-to-sit-in-a-different-seat-at-church-this-weekend/?utm_source=ThomRainer.com&utm_campaign=ee5470d746-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_TEDS&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10c78481d1-ee5470d746-81391833

CHOOSING CHURCH

From Comment-

Some of us remember Enid Strict, the infamous and wildly popular "church lady" played by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. Enid was a caricature of the busybody finger-shaking moralist no one would want to share a pew with. Her routines included condemnations of all things sexual, judgments on the rich and famous, and a little "superior dance" she performed to music played by an organist named Pearl. Perhaps I shouldn't admit to having watched SNL, let alone laughed at the antics of the church lady. But I did. I have also shared Jane Austen's wry amusement at the Reverend Mr. Collins's obsequious panderings and laughed out loud at Stella Gibbons's portrayal of Amos Starkadder, pastor of the Church of the Quivering Brethren in Cold Comfort Farm, who delivers stock hellfire sermons in Scottish brogue. Figures like these continue to amuse readers and viewers by exposing the false pieties and self-serving practices of Christians at their worst.

More here-

https://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/5114/choosing-church/

Sermon Content Is What Appeals Most to Churchgoers

From Gallup-

As Easter and Passover help fill churches and synagogues this week, a new Gallup poll suggests the content of the sermons could be the most important factor in how soon worshippers return. Gallup measured a total of seven different reasons why those who attend a place of worship at least monthly say they go. Three in four worshippers noted sermons or talks that either teach about scripture or help people connect religion to their own lives as major factors spurring their attendance.

More here-

http://www.gallup.com/poll/208529/sermon-content-appeals-churchgoers.aspx

After 12 Years Of Quarterly Church Attendance, Parents Shocked By Daughter’s Lack Of Faith

From Babylon Bee- ;)

Local father Trevor Michelson, 48, and his wife Kerri, 45, are reeling after discovering that after 12 years of steadily taking their daughter Janie to church every Sunday they didn’t have a more pressing sporting commitment—which was at least once every three months—she no longer demonstrates the strong quarterly commitment to the faith they raised her with, now that she is college-aged.

Trevor Michelson was simply stunned at the revelation. “I just don’t understand it. Almost every single time there was a rained-out game, or a break between school and club team seasons, we had Janie in church. It was at least once per quarter. And aside from the one tournament in 2011, we never missed an Easter. It was obviously a priority in our family—I just don’t get where her spiritual apathy is coming from.”

“I can’t tell you how often we prayed the prayer of Jabez on the way to a game,” added Janie’s mother.

“You know, the more I think about it, the more this illustrates how the church just keeps failing this generation,” lamented Trevor, citing a recently-googled study by Barna or someone.

More here-

http://babylonbee.com/news/after-12-years-of-quarterly-church-attendance-parents-shocked-by-daughters-lack-of-faith/

Just Give Me Jesus: A Closer Look at Christians Who Don’t Go to Church

From Christianity Today-

When you ask someone about their faith, expect to hear a qualifier.

Of course, there’s “spiritual but not religious,” a category that 11 percent of Americans now fall into, according to Barna Group research. (The figure could be at least double that if applied to all without a particular religious affiliation, often referred to as the “nones.”)

But even Christianity comes with caveats. Some try to change up the term by saying, “I’m not a Christian, but a Christ-follower.”

#ImChristianBut trended on Twitter a couple years ago, in the wake of a BuzzFeed video of young Christians butting against what they saw as negative stereotypes of Christians. They said lines like “I’m Christian, but I’m not homophobic” and “I’m Christian, but I’m not closed-minded.”

Before that, the spoken word poem “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus” took off with a message that confronted frustrations with religious legalism. It now has 32 million YouTube views.

More here-

http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2017/april/love-jesus-not-church-barna-spiritual-but-not-religious.html

Will Liberal Church Attendance Spike Because of Trump?

From Christian Post-

While the debate continues over the exact fallout that will come from the election of Donald Trump, one group may reap an unexpected benefit: progressive Christians.

At a mid-August campaign stop in Florida, Trump told a group of conservative pastors that they would see higher church attendance if he is elected president. It may be liberal churches, however, that see a boost in attendance.

United Methodist Church attendance was about twice the average the Sunday after the election, Emma Green reported Dec. 11 for The Atlantic.

"Anecdotal evidence suggests other liberal churches from a variety of denominations have been experiencing a similar spike over the past month, with their higher-than-usual levels of attendance staying relatively constant for several weeks," Green wrote.

Read more at

http://www.christianpost.com/news/liberal-church-attendance-spike-because-trump-172458/#v0a4tvJKqCBEafUr.99

Could religion help you live longer?

From CBS-

Women who frequently attend religious services have a lower risk of death from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, than those who do not, new research suggests.

The study, published online by JAMA Internal Medicine, does not prove a cause and effect relationship, but the researchers say the association appears to be strong.

"The results suggest that there is perhaps something about the communal religious experience that is very powerful," study author Tyler J. VanderWeele, Ph.D., of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public, told CBS News.

For the analysis, VanderWeele and colleagues pulled data from a long-running national health study of female nurses to examine attendance at religious services and subsequent death in women.

More here-

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/attending-religious-services-may-help-you-live-longer-study-says/