More Americans Are Leaving Institutionalized Churches, Dropping Out
Posted: Monday, February 25, 2008
by Laura Trahan
The Associated Press is reporting some surprising findings about the religion and spirituality of the United States. It seems for the first time in history, America is close to losing its mostly protestant status.
In fact, almost half of all Americans are leaving the church they grew up in breaking the tradition of generation after generation growing up in one family church.
Time Magazine reports that Pew Forum director Luis Lugo, Americans "not only change jobs, change where they live, and change spouses, but they change religions too. We totally knew it was happening, but this survey enabled us to document it clearly."
What is the most interesting to me about this report is that no denomination is winning. People are jumping in and out of denominations faster than the food at a potluck at a Baptist Church.
Time continues to report "For some groups, their relatively steady number of adherents over the years hides a remarkable amount of coming and going. Simply counting Catholics since 1972, for example, you would get the impression that its population had remained fairly static - at about 25% of adult Americans (the current number is 23.9%). But the Pew report shows that of all those raised Catholic, a third have left the church. (That means that roughly one out of every 10 people in America is a former Catholic, and that ex-Catholics are almost as numerous as the America's second biggest religious group, Southern Baptists.) But Catholicism has made up for the losses by adding converts (2.6% of the population) and, more significantly, enjoying an influx of new immigrants, mostly Hispanic."
This is amazing to me. A tenth of all Americans are former Catholics. Can you imagine? But even more amazing is the turnover in other religions such as Jehovah Witness and other Protestant Denominations.
Even more amazing is the amount of people who associated their faith with no denomination. About 16 percent polled defined their association with the unaffiliated.
The report does not look at the causes why people are moving in and out of denominations. Nor does it report on membership numbers for the different denominations.
I think this is just evident of a change or shift in our society. The status quo isn't important anymore. Just because that is the way it has always been doesn't mean that it always has to be. No longer do we value tradition. We no longer feel that we have to do what our parents did.
Add to that a society in which we are fairly mobile, most of us do not even live near the church we grew up in. Once moved, it is easy to experiment or try new denominations until we find the one we feel the most comfortable among.
I think a lot of it also has to do with the organized part of it all. Churches, themselves, seem to compete with one another and I think as a consumer society we go to the one that best meets our needs at the time of life we are in. So if church x offers great kid programming and we have kids-we go there. If we are musically talented and church y offers an active worship ministry, we go there. The loyalty of our parents is lost in this day and age. Rather that is right or wrong, I don't know. I find it interesting though to see the different views on religion and religious groups emerging.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Good subject Laura, I too have wondered why the shift . Especially in the young. Today it seems most will say, " I'm spiritual not religious." interesting phrase. I suppose it's like everything else people do, sort of a designer belief. Find one that suits you. Your article has spurred me closer to writing one of my own with regards to religion and the young. The real reasons so many people won't, don't, or can't believe.Thanks for the comment! I look forward to reading your article!
Hi Laura, this is a testament to the truth of the Gospel message - I believe we are living in the days of the church of Laodicia- as Jesus talked about in the book of revelation. We are a generation that has made a name for itself instead of simply adhering to the name of Christ and following Jesus. It is a time where people are not staying true to the gospel message because some of it is hard to swallow. Following Christ will get harder and harder as the world and false spirituality tugs at the hearts of man. Your article is evident of this prophetic word from Jesus. As Christians, we need to pray for strength and stick to the word of God if we do not want to be among the decieved. 2 Timothy 4:2-10. Blessings to you, thanks for sharing this infomation.Thanks for the comment and information! I agree it is hard to follow God and our society put forths a take the easy way out mentality.
Laura, I do believe as I always have when you have so much contention over beliefs there is no glue. We are a world of varied opinion and views. We have become in my opinion the "works for me crowd" or Ethical Relativity. We look for the church that best suits our changing opinion and beliefs and situation verses union with God and obediance. No simple answer. I have good friends that have been in 10 different churches since I first met them. Inconsistent in beliefs and they follow a man, simple and pure. It is called what you profess to be and are by your works. Much like politics today, they like the package. Good job RTMThanks Robert for the comment! Great points brought out! I have many friends that have done the same!
I think too many people these days are just looking for something that makes them feel good, but that's not what true religion is supposed to do. Therefore, when one church starts boring them or stops providing what they want, they move on to another one. Too bad. Christians are supposed to go to church to worship God and give Him His due respect and honor. We must always put Him first. When we put our needs first, we will always be disappointed.Terry-Thanks for the comment! I couldn't agree more!
Other social factors can help explain what is developing. First the emergence of PostModernism which defies doctrine, structure, accountability, and conformity. While most have no clue what PM is, they are infected by it in song, movies, TV, i.e., Pop Culture in general. It is the Matrix unseen, yet it shapes and controls how we view things and what we do. I call it the Spirit of this Age in The Matrix: The Spirit of this Age on Youtube . Another factor is the cybernitizing of society. Person-to-person relationships have been exchanged for chat rooms and social networking. People are making marriage decisions this way! This false sense of relationship appears to be counterfeiting for koinonia. It is like fast food, not very nourishing but convenient.Dan-this is so true! I have really been convicted lately that as Christians we need deep relationships. That is how we are designed. However, we are living in a society in which we may have a lot of friends, but are missing that in-depth relationships. We no longer pick up the phone anymore, we are too busy even to type out whole sentences. I am also beginning to think that churches that are catering to this type of society by offering online services, etc. are misleading the congregations. I am all for reaching out to the unchurched, but if we can't have face to face deep relationships with one another, how will we with Christ? Probably more of a response then what you asked for-your comment got me on a soapbox. Thanks so much for commenting and bringing such great points to the table!
Laura, My feeling is that people have a greater desire to participate. With the tried-and-true there's just a lot of sitting and listening, not enough to do. For example, I grew up Catholic, but left the church at 18. I, like most, really found the church wanting. It just felt like a lot of ceremony without substance or much to do. After 16 years I joined another Christian church, but there is much greater hands on for all members--young and old, male and female, layperson and professional. And most of the growing churches are of this variety. I just think people just got tired of all the sit, stand, kneel (what I call church gymnastics) with little input of their own.
Hi Laura, The comments so far and your article show me that the shift has nothing to do with the churches. They haven't changed. People have! I believe the shift we see is to a greater awareness that ritual serves little to no purpose. People feel the need to do "something". But do what? Just doing stuff like leading meetings, setting out chairs, cleaning the toilet, changing light bulbs, saying a prayer in a prayer meeting, delivering a christmas Basket to the elderly, etc. just isn't fulfilling a life seeking more of God and more meaning to life. The shift is an indication of the lack of the churches to bring us closer to this reality we all seek. So many are seeking elsewhere, some go to other churches others leave altogether. Some of those who leave and continue to seek will eventually find God as the giver of life to all and the source of all that we need.
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