A lot is always said about places of worship being a kind of social glue that holds together communities of people who otherwise wouldn't have much to do with each other. Religion acts as a great community builder. So then why is church attendence still shrinking?
What wasn't really touched on much (in my brief skim of the article anyway) is the hugely important link to tradition and a history. You'll find that attendence for minority places of worship in the west is far higher than churches, and I think a huge part of that is the link to a culture and religion that has, in a sense, been left behind when immigrants left their home country.
Put simply, I think a big reason why church attendence continues to drop despite the benefits of religious communities so often being espoused is that many (mostly protestant) churches don't seem to offer that connection to a past and a people. Even churches such as the Church of England, that SHOULD offer some sense of identity and link to the past to English people, instead feel either side of stuffy and old (in a bad way) or so desperate to court young worshipers that they end up appealing to no one, and totally ridding themselves of that cultural and historical connection. Some national churches, like some of the orthodox churches do a much better job of this (the apostolic succession thing certainly helps), but from a western, protestant perspective, churches are failing badly in this regard.
Paywalled so I cant read the full article. I will add that the "church" that has the most to offer to 'nones' in my part of the world is the Unitarian Universalists. You dont have to believe in anything supernatural, there is no collection plate to pass around and nag you about, the discussions are usually about social issues rather than spiritual and the community is usually intelligent and very supportive of one another.
Add comment