Declining Church Attendance and the Political Ramifications

#2
#2
My church seems like it has the same attendance since I can remember. The people who I grew up with who went to church still go to church. I know a lot people who didn't go to church when they were younger and now do. Media doesn't want people going to church so they write this to make society think it's real.
 
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#4
#4
I think in the next generation those who claim belief in god will be a minority...I'm hopeful that people will then view life as more precious and not less....I studied religious origins and myths in college and haven't had a personal god in years...but it still shocks me the number of people who follow any organized religion
 
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#5
#5
Havent stepped foot in a Church in almost 25 years. I don't think the political ramifications are that big outside of the abortion debate.
 
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#6
#6
The church and morality is demonized in media, academia, Hollywood and Washington...

Leftist, communism is praised...

Merica...
 
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#8
#8
Isn't is possible that it is entirely demographics - nothing more, nothing less?

Baby Boomers are getting older and dying off (literally). This was a huge generation and when they got older and started families they began attending church. This explains higher church attendance in the 80s and 90s.

Younger people (not just younger people today but younger people throughout history), generally speaking, don't attend church as much. However, what is different today about younger people is that they are getting married later and having children later. It is natural to pick up church attendance after marriage and/or having kids because you want them raised in that environment.

The younger generations, especially Millennials, are not replacing Baby Boomers in the pews as fast as they are leaving them. I think that probably explains most of it, as much as The Atlantic and publications like it want to get excited that people are getting less religious.
 
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#9
#9
Pacer92 said:
The church and morality is demonized in media, academia, Hollywood and Washington...

Leftist, communism is praised...

Merica...
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Does everything have to be the fault of the left? The evangelical right vote went heavily in Trump's favor during the Presidential primary when there were choices such as Mike Huckabee and Rick Perry who were courting it much harder and with more credibility. Religion and 'morality' just seems to have taken a back seat even within the far right.
 
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#10
#10
Growing up in a religious family, I've noticed that immersing yourself in a good church that endorses your personal relationship with God is far more difficult than worshipping from home. My mother is as devout as they come and hasn't attended service since I was a teenager.
 
#13
#13
DinkinFlicka said:
Growing up in a religious family, I've noticed that immersing yourself in a good church that endorses your personal relationship with God is far more difficult than worshipping from home. My mother is as devout as they come and hasn't attended service since I was a teenager.
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For a change, I agree with your post. However, I think the smaller churches still offer that particular style of worship. The larger, more "trendy" ones tend to make you feel lost in a crowd rather than a part of the service itself.
 
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#14
#14
Grand Vol said:
For a change, I agree with your post. However, I think the smaller churches still offer that particular style of worship. The larger, more "trendy" ones tend to make you feel lost in a crowd rather than a part of the service itself.
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I'm on the outside looking in but my observation is that many larger churches have made the same mistake as the US as a whole has...trying to be too inclusive...having two or more services...traditional and contemporary..trying to get numbers up by giveaways and making it less about the religion and more about the butts in the pews and the coins in the offering plates
 
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#15
#15
We attend church, and my kids love it. My political views aren't influenced one bit by those I go to church with. The majority of the people voted trump, with several that supported Hillary, yet I didn't like either. We're a smaller independent baptist church, the kind some think are uneducated far right and pushing politics. However, I've never one time heard our pastor preach, or push anything political, including abortion.
 
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#16
#16
VolnJC said:
I'm on the outside looking in but my observation is that many larger churches have made the same mistake as the US as a whole has...trying to be too inclusive...having two or more services...traditional and contemporary..trying to get numbers up by giveaways and making it less about the religion and more about the butts in the pews and the coins in the offering plates
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Which churches are doing giveaways?

And what time do they start?
 
#18
#18
#19
#19
#20
#20
This will make me some enemies on both sides, I'm sure.

I'm a foxhole atheist. I also grew up in a Southern Baptist church. I've been on both sides.

I don't think that there is necessarily a problem with being a person of faith in itself. The problem comes when all rational thought goes out the window in favor of the "Good Book." I've seen it too many times for me to be comfortable when people start quoting (often out of context) Bible verses at me to prove a point. That tells me that they have put almost no thought into their position and are instead parroting things they heard from the pulpit.

I have also seen, from the other side, this almost religious type worship of an anthropomorphized version of science. It seems that a good chunk of people are looking for some sort of higher authority and end up replacing one with the other instead of actually allowing themselves the freedom of real free thought and the burden of uncertainty that comes with it.

Back to the religious aspect, though. If someone followed say, the Thomist doctrines and followed the laws contained therein, there would be much less reason for people of science to have a disdain for people of faith. Thomas Aquinas might say (paraphrasing) that in order to know God we must know his creation, and that careful, thoughtful examination of God's creation (physics, biology, etc.) necessarily brings one closer to God. Thomas Aquinas also said something along the lines of (again, paraphrasing) "If scripture and science disagree, then we are either comprehending scripture wrong or the science is wrong." I don't really agree with that notion, but it's one of intellectual honesty that I can respect.

On the question of morality, I think that the question comes down to the moral maturity of an individual; which is whether or not they have achieved post-conventional morality. As far as I'm aware, most do not achieve it and need some sort of framework to make their moral decisions on whether that be a holy book, the legal system, or their wise old grandparents. I do not know, and I do not believe it has been discovered, why most people are unable to achieve post-conventional morality. I'm not a philosopher, and most certainly not a scientist. It could be biology, or maybe the environment in which one is raised. It could be the ability, whether taught or innate, of an individual to take responsibility for their own actions.

Yeah, I rambled. Sorry, it's a topic that really interests me. I have a devout Christian friend that I served with that I argue with constantly. We're the best of friends (really, he saved my life) and we don't disagree on a lot of things, but we respect the heck out of each other, even when we are passionately arguing over drinks about religion and the supernatural as a whole.
 
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#21
#21
Grand Vol said:
Which churches are doing giveaways?

And what time do they start?
Click to expand...

The church across the street from me does a lot of food drives. Out here in the boonies churches also serve as de facto community centers. Even though they are Baptist and are supposed to hate me, an atheist, they welcome me and my contributions with open arms. I've donated food, cooked food, and played taps at the Veteran's Day services they put on. They always thank me and invite me to church, and I always politely decline. It's become something of a game we all honestly enjoy. Granted, there are a few older hardliners that resent my presence, but the congregation as a whole welcomes me and my honestly good intentions, and I welcome theirs. We all want to make our community better, so we try to put our disagreements away and work together. It's not perfect, but it shows that we can all work together.
 
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#22
#22
mdrew27 said:
My church seems like it has the same attendance since I can remember. The people who I grew up with who went to church still go to church. I know a lot people who didn't go to church when they were younger and now do. Media doesn't want people going to church so they write this to make society think it's real.
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Tin foil hat confirmed.
 
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#23
#23
Personally, outside of being agnostic, the decision to not go to church would be a no brainer for me. I get a 25% bonus for working on Sundays. Must be the devils cut..
 
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#24
#24
mdrew27 said:
My church seems like it has the same attendance since I can remember. The people who I grew up with who went to church still go to church. I know a lot people who didn't go to church when they were younger and now do. Media doesn't want people going to church so they write this to make society think it's real.
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The media doesnt want people to go to churches, they want em to go to mosques.
 
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#25
#25
DevilDoc said:
The church across the street from me does a lot of food drives. Out here in the boonies churches also serve as de facto community centers. Even though they are Baptist and are supposed to hate me, an atheist, they welcome me and my contributions with open arms. I've donated food, cooked food, and played taps at the Veteran's Day services they put on. They always thank me and invite me to church, and I always politely decline. It's become something of a game we all honestly enjoy. Granted, there are a few older hardliners that resent my presence, but the congregation as a whole welcomes me and my honestly good intentions, and I welcome theirs. We all want to make our community better, so we try to put our disagreements away and work together. It's not perfect, but it shows that we can all work together.
Click to expand...

I was going to bring the aspect of community up so i will just add. I think it is just a micro society of individuals that have an innate desire to belong and not necessarily about the scripture.
 
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