65. Why Don't People Go to Church Anymore?

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Why don't people go to church anymore?  There was a time when you could start a church and it would just grow.  Especially if it was a new community that people were moving into.  Not anymore.  People generally just don't go to church anymore.

Why not?  What changed?  And what--if anything--can we do about it?

In this episode, I discuss the reality of our situation and offer a thought about the kind of posture we need in order to be the church that the world needs us to be. 


THIS EPISODE’S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Cody Vermillion founded a “churchish” non-profit called Uncommon Good for people who might never attend a typical church, addressing why people don't go to church anymore.
• According to Gallup:
  • In 1948, 76% of U.S. adults said they were members of a church, synagogue, or mosque.
  • In 1998, that was down to 70%.
  • In 2018, that was down to 50%.
• In 2015, Pew research asked people if religion was “very important in their lives.”  Here’s how they responded by age group:
  • Silent Generation (born 1928-1945) 67%
  • Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) 59%
  • Generation X (born 1965-1980) 53%
  • Older Millennials (born 1981-1989) 44%
  • Younger Millennials (born 1990-1996) 38%
• Churches are declining not only because people don't go to church in great numbers, but also because people attend church less frequently.
• Church attendance is not a social convention the way it was in the past.  That's part of the reason why people don't go to church these days.
• Pew research, in 2019, found that:
  • 69% believe religious leaders behave unethically some or all of the time
  • Surpassed only by leaders of technology companies (77%) and members of Congress (81%)
• People don’t think leaders of institutions face serious consequences for their unethical behavior
  • 71% believe members of Congress face consequences little of the time or not at all
  • 58% believe leaders of tech companies face consequences little of the time or not at all
  • 53% believe religious leader face consequences little of the time or not at all
• The church needs to become “indifferent” to all the things that are irrelevant to the mission of God (including the fact that people don't got church much anymore).

RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:

• Uncommon Good:
  • Website: https://uncommongoodsd.com/
• Book mentioned:
  • Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation, by Ruth Haley Barton
• Statistics:
  • https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.aspx
  • https://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/
  • https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/19/americans-perceptions-about-unethical-behavior-shape-how-they-think-about-people-in-powerful-roles/

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