Fewer than half of Americans attend church - why?

[Twilight Hue]

America seems to be very religious, at least if you look at politics--but a new poll shows that church membership continues to decline. What is the explanation for this?

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

People are waking up and realizing it's time mythology goes back to its proper place.

Also religion/church never solves issues as effectively like good old fashioned self motivation and action.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Quite so, but the church is often a social institution. Some join the Elks, some the Kiwanis, some the church.

I think that's why most people attend church is for social reasons more than religious ones today.

Churches and various religions do have a lot of extra curricular activity that people like to go to.

 

[Altfish]

America seems to be very religious, at least if you look at politics--but a new poll shows that church membership continues to decline. What is the explanation for this?

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

They are growing up and realising that religion is not necessary

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

What is the explanation for this?

Organized religion is suffering due to a combination of factors:

1. The church has been getting crucified in the media for decades now with all kinds of bad actors offset by virtually nothing positive. Big turn off for many.

2. People are also turned off by hell theology, and don't accept that a loving god built a torture chamber and gratuitously keeps souls conscious just to torture them to no benefit to anybody but a sadist.

3. Science reveals that scripture is myth and not a reliable source for historical or scientific facts.

4. And irreligiosity if not atheism proper has become much less stigmatized and much more socially acceptable.​

Dawkins: "Although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist."

 

[Brickjectivity]

America seems to be very religious, at least if you look at politics--but a new poll shows that church membership continues to decline. What is the explanation for this?

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

It could be that the flood of free online porn has something to do with it, because its something men & women are ashamed of but are drawn into. Its probably men, mostly; but women too. Suppose that you got into something which you thought was evil, but then nothing happened to you as a result.

Another thing is changing culture, and the sheer number of stupid lies that certain preachers have gotten away with. Remember the back-masking scare -- by ministers and by CBN? I do. I remember as a child a week of church services and at the end burning rock'n roll media. How stupid would you feel if you had been led down the path of believing rock'n roll was evil and then decades later changing your mind? This culture has changed. Things we thought would surely bring destruction never did, but the drum bangers keep on banging. How many times has the end of the world been predicted publicly, shamelessly? They have turned church into a joke.

 

[ChristineM]

America seems to be very religious, at least if you look at politics--but a new poll shows that church membership continues to decline. What is the explanation for this?

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

It's not only America and i see several explanations.

In the UK the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey for 2018 tells us that the number of people who identify as christian has almost halved in the last 25 years.

Reasons, applicable in any country, the internet, freedom of information, religious scandals and hypocrisy, people are more open to question, peer pressure, better understand of science

 

[ADigitalArtist]

For low-church Protestants, maybe, but Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and others see attending the liturgy as necessary for the practice of Christianity.

Or non-denominational. Or people who are those things but disagree on that particular tenant. Or who agree but what constitutes liturgy can be done online, or in the home.
Or people who are religious but not Christians.
Lots of variety in practice.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Belief is trumped by understanding.

 

[Valjean]

It's not only America and i see several explanations.

In the UK the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey for 2018 tells us that the number of people who identify as christian has almost halved in the last 25 years.

Reasons, applicable in any country, the internet, freedom of information, religious scandals and hypocrisy, people are more open to question, peer pressure, better understand of science

Britain has a social safety net these days. No need to rely on the church.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It could be that the flood of free online porn has something to do with it, because its something men & women are ashamed of but are drawn into. Its probably men, mostly; but women too. Suppose that you got into something which you thought was evil, but then nothing happened to you as a result.

Another thing is changing culture, and the sheer number of stupid lies that certain preachers have gotten away with. Remember the back-masking scare -- by ministers and by CBN? I do. I remember as a child a week of church services and at the end burning rock'n roll media. How stupid would you feel if you had been led down the path of believing rock'n roll was evil and then decades later changing your mind? This culture has changed. Things we thought would surely bring destruction never did, but the drum bangers keep on banging. How many times has the end of the world been predicted publicly, shamelessly? They have turned church into a joke.

Televangelist preachers have pretty much drivin the nail in the coffin of Christianity. However some celebrity level televangelists have gotten wise and megachurches have further expanded into entire community centers complete with a full variety of shops, franchising, hotels, merchandising along with whole communities springing up around them.

 

[ChristineM]

Britain has a social safety net these days. No need to rely on the church.

It has had for over 100 years, the change in church affiliation has only shown itself in the last 40(ish) years so perhaps that is part responsible for the decline but most certainly not by much.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Televangelist preachers have pretty much drivin the nail in the coffin of Christianity. However some celebrity level televangelists have gotten wise and megachurches have further expanded into entire community centers complete with a full variety of shops, franchising, hotels, merchandising along with whole communities springing up around them.

They still try to pit Christians against Evolution. That's another thing. Christianity has to have a cerebral element, and they're just killing it.

 

[Quintessence]

My primary religion isn't organized in such a way as to have churches. "Membership" in my religion - if it can be even called that - is between an individual and their gods, not a matter of human institutions and bookkeeping.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

In my opinion I don't put much stock into those polls.Number of people over 18 years of age in the US is 209,000,000(rounded). They use 6,000(rounded).for their poll.
That is only 0.002870813% of adults.

Quiz: you've just flipped a fair coin and got "heads" 20 times in succession. If you flip the coin once more, what are the chances that you'll get heads for a 21st time?

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

The other obvious answer is that being a very religious person does not equate to needing to attend church services.

Quite correct: in fact, being quite sincerely religious seems to me to need little help in remembering what you believe, nor in practicing it each hour of every day.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

America seems to be very religious, at least if you look at politics--but a new poll shows that church membership continues to decline. What is the explanation for this?

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

I think the simplistic explanation is that it's still seen as 'more socially acceptable' to be a theist, and more particularly a Christian.

People feel less empowered to simply be 'nones'.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the organisation of some atheists plays into this a little too, but not yet in any meaningful way. More just my bias against 'organised atheism' I guess.

 

[Regiomontanus]

America seems to be very religious, at least if you look at politics--but a new poll shows that church membership continues to decline. What is the explanation for this?

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

I blame the internet.

 

[shunyadragon]

America seems to be very religious, at least if you look at politics--but a new poll shows that church membership continues to decline. What is the explanation for this?

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

Many Christians are antiestablishment Christians uncomfortable with 'organized religions,' and do not affiliate with a church. Some Christians consider them selves Christians and are indifferent to church attendance. Others like Jehovah Witnesses do not consider their Kingdom Hall a church or a religion, but take a literal fundamentalist view of the Bible. They are told to never enter a church, because of evil influence. Another factor is the growing diversity of other belief choices.

The polls on different other beliefs like belief in Creationism and rejection of the science of evolution reflect more the numbers of Fundamentalist Christians, which ~35 to 45%+ Americans believe in the literal Creation in Genesis.

 

[Valjean]

I think the simplistic explanation is that it's still seen as 'more socially acceptable' to be a theist, and more particularly a Christian.

People feel less empowered to simply be 'nones'.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the organisation of some atheists plays into this a little too, but not yet in any meaningful way. More just my bias against 'organised atheism' I guess.

Atheists? Organized?!

Atheists are like cats, they're all over the pace.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Atheists? Organized?!

Atheists are like cats, they're all over the pace.

And we should simply own that.
We can organise based on our love 9f basketball or beer. Or secularism even.
But atheism?!?!