They are community centers. Apartment buildings and restaurants. Abandoned, decaying shells. Former worshippers used to call them church. The authors of Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society tell us that up to 10,000 churches close each year in the United States.[1] As a bishop I’ve participated in the sad process of closing some of them.
Kasselstrand, Zuckerman, and Cragun offer this example as an illustration of the secularization hypothesis. In short, the thesis is that religion will decline as modern society progresses. People will increasingly rely upon science, the social sciences, and logic to guide their personal and political lives.
To put this another way, rational processes will steadily take the place of adherence to religious dogma for our decision-making. Correlatively, worship and church membership will become increasingly irrelevant to most people.
Whether or not you agree that secularism is destined to make institutional religion an artifact of a bygone age, you might agree with me that we are living in an era of dechurching. Pews are getting emptier and membership rolls thinner.
Compare for instance the religious landscape of the 1950’s to today’s. Seventy years ago, the percentage of people reporting no religious affiliation at all (the Nones) hovered between nobody and 2%. Today the Nones account for anywhere from 20% to 30% of the American population.[2]
To be clear, there’s plenty of spiritual longing and curiosity among the Nones. Only a small percentage of them are atheists. And even a percentage of those atheists believe in a higher power of some kind, just not the Biblical God.[3] But they are not finding the sense of connection, the guidance, and the sustenance they seek within institutional religion.
There are lots of articles and books written about how to turn all of this around and to revitalize our denominations. To get more people to join us on Sunday.
Some champion focusing on good works and relaxing our insistence on doctrines and dogmas. Conversely, others are convinced that only an unwavering commitment to theological clarity and moral rigor will renew the place of the church in society. Then there are those who look for cultural relevance in worship style or music or programming.
Well, maybe. Then again, maybe the denominations that so many of us know and love will fade away. I just don’t know. But what I’m confident about is that the church will persist and prevail. That’s because the church is not an institution. It’s a web of relationships centered on, woven together by, and sustained by the risen Jesus. The church is about connection to Christ and to one another in Christ. And to be a disciple in that church is to have a personal relationship him.
Jesus once said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Let’s unpack that.
First, Jesus invites us into relationship. He initiates a connection. Jesus is not waiting for us to believe in specific things or to behave in certain ways before reaching out. Oh sure, who we are, what we believe, and how we act will change as a result of our relationship with Jesus. But church is a relationship that Jesus initiates and that he never gives up on. Being a disciple in this church is to respond to that invitation.
Second, Jesus really gets us. Life is hard and complex and frequently baffling. We were never meant to go it on our own. We need help and we need guidance. In other words, we need wisdom that is greater than whatever wit and insight we might be able to gather during our own short lives. The big picture is always beyond us. Discipleship involves drawing on the help that we’ve been offered. Self-reliance is a dead-end street.
Finally, Jesus gives us what we cannot give to ourselves. Jesus not only gives us wisdom. He is, as Paul said, the wisdom of God incarnate. (1 Corinthian 1:30) So he gives us himself. In Christ we find union with the divine and the liberating, life-giving guidance that comes with this connection.
He told us, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)
That turn of phrase echoes a passage in Sirach: “Put your neck under her yoke,/ and let your souls receive instruction;/ it is to be found close by. See with your own eyes that I have labored but little/ and found for myself much serenity.” (Sirach 51:26-27)
Wisdom, personified as a woman, knows God intimately, so she can share with us the depths of God’s wisdom. “For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God,/ and an associate in his works.” (Wisdom 8:4)
Wisdom was with God at the beginning of the creation. She understands how things really work. Thus, she can guide us through even our most overwhelming moments and complex circumstances:
“With you is wisdom, she who knows your works/ and was present when you made the world;
she understands what is pleasing in your sight/ and what is right according to your/ commandments.” (Wisdom 9:9)
Jesus gives us rest for our souls. To put it another way, he relieves our restlessness. That sense that we’re looking for something that we can’t quite identify.
You see, we’re looking for the very thing that assures us that our life matters. That something is a someone. The risen Jesus.
Connecting with Jesus is what the church has always been about. And Jesus will always be about connecting with us, no matter what form our institutions may take.
This essay is a reflection on the Gospel of Proper 9A: Matthew 11:16-19, 225-30) for the first Sunday in July. If you’re looking for some thoughts about this week’s lessons (Proper 8A, July 2, 2023) click here. My practice is to post about the lessons from the Revised Common Lectionary one week in advance.
[1] Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun, Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society, p. 21.
[2] See Frank Newport, “Slowdown in the Number of Religious Nones”, https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/406544/slowdown-rise-religious-nones.aspx; and also Gregory A. Smith, “About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated”, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/
[3] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/06/10-facts-about-atheists/
Bishop: I used to have a friend I thought must have had fun just sitting around thinking because he was so darned intelligent…sort of like you. Stephen Waller
Well said, Jake. I consider the phoenix of legend rising out of the ashes and how that can represent what “church” can do and I believe will do in the future.
Apparently I can fool some of the people some of the time 🙂
So I am a married person without children. My spouse is Jewish. When I participated in church, I ended up feeling more lonely in it. Everyone had children, and those children had gone to school together and so there were very tight bonds there. It was hard to become part of those groups. Those who didn’t have children or whose children had grown up usually had a partner who went to church with them or their families attended with them. I was asked to move more than once because families wanted to sit together and I was in their pew. I went to that church for 5 years, and when I stopped attending, none of these folks called me to see what was going on with me. That’s pretty much when I came to believe that the church is more of an institution for families. When I mentioned this to my pastor, he said “yes, it is a problem that has been mentioned” (about single attendees feeling they did not fit). I mean, if I can’t find community in the church, even after having been on the planning committee for Adult Education, something is not right. And something needs to be said or done to address this problem. I mean, our church has a group for LGBTQ folks and friends, but attendees without children or partners ought to be able to sit in the church’s pews and not be asked to move. After all, aren’t we supposed to be part of the family, too?
Thank you for sharing your story, Denise. It breaks my heart but doesn’t surprise me. One of my relatives has had a similar experience at church, as have many others. It’s especially ironic and maddening given that Jesus said that his siblings are those who share his love for God and neighbor. So, yes, we are all part of the family and everybody should act like it.
I am with Denise. I have been active in church since I was twenty years old (Eucharistic Minister, Lector, Sunday School Teacher, etc.) but without a spouse or children, and I have almost always felt like an outsider. I moved to Michigan ten years ago and became involved in my local parish, but after ten years of feeling invisible, I stopped going. I will still go to Mass somewhere, but I don’t see myself trying to get involved again. Organized religion can blame secularization, but I am reminded of the pointing blame saying that when one finger is pointing outwardly, three are pointing back. In my church (Catholic), patriarchy and the sexual abuse scandal did more damage than secularization (in my opinion).
“patriarchy and the sexual abuse scandal did more damage”, thanks for saying so Madeline. I’ve reached the same conclusion.. and it’s happened across many if not all denominations. Abuse itself is appalling but the aftermath, i.e. the church’s response, in many cases re-victimises survivors all over again. Russell Moore (ex SBC) in response to the SBC report, concluded in the final line of his article, “And anyone who cares about heaven ought to be mad as hell.” I feel this so much!
No question that patriarchy, sexual abuse, and racism (just to add another factor) distort the church. And still, as I mentioned to Madeline, we may be thinking of secularization differently. As I mentioned to her, Nietzsche’s Parable of the Madman and Charles Taylor’s work deserve a look. Basically, secularization is not something happening outside the church that threatens the church. It’s a pervasive mindset found in many who profess faiths of any sort. For more you’ll just have to stay tuned.
I often fail to fully understand terms, I’ll happily stay tuned! TY. That said, the urgent need to address abuse is startling to say the least. Already, this morning [re CofE]: ‘Wrestling with Jellyfish’ https://survivingchurch.org/2023/07/07/wrestling-with-jellyfish/
Indeed. You might check out the process we began in preparation for General Convention in 2015 reflected in the liturgy dedicated to repentance and transformation. I was in the working group receiving reports in the context of suspending the statue of limitations and allowing for disciplinary responses to older cases. Most of our ongoing disciplinary proceedings involve either sexual boundary violations or money.
It grieves me to hear this. But as I said to Denise, I’m not surprised. As for secularization, I suspect that my view of it is a bit offbeat. Think of Nietzsche’s Parable of the Mad Man or less creatively Charles Taylor.
You’ve had more than ‘normal’ church pressures in W.Louisiana, hurricanes with long-term effects, Covid, political tensions, etc. I realise you can only be brief but how’s things with the churches and is it different between city/rural? Has inter-denominational co-operation increased? Thanks.
Louisiana is an outmigration state. Many small towns in rural areas are declining economically and with respect to population. So in those areas demographic shifts are the most powerful influences bringing on decline. In larger towns and cities demographic issues join a wider group of influences that are largely cultural. The place of church, even among the self-described religious, has changed. For instance, sports teams, dance competitions, and the like take place on the weekends. Parents prioritize participation in such things over worship since they hold out the promise of success for their children. But that’s just one example of the influence of secularization. I’ll be writing more soon about the various responses to it based on some different research. On a more mundane level, the national statistics from the Episcopal Church came out in the winter. Average Sunday attendance was drastically down almost everywhere. It was up here. I can take absolutely no credit for that. That’s on the local clergy.
Average Sunday attendance UP .. wow! That’s wonderful, and despite very significant challenges. Well done to you all!
This is really hopeful. Thank you!