Fewer than half of Americans attend church - why?

[Shadow Wolf]

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

We saw several of them here do exactly that as they protested covid restrictions and insisted they must be allowed to physically attend church in person. I heard one guy on the news say he needs "spiritual food."

 

[JustGeorge]

Atheists? Organized?!

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

They're like cats, hm?

Going to see to it I keep the atheists out of my sandbox, then.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

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.

Just as Revelation reveals to us that ' spiritual waters ' (people) would dry up spiritually - Rev. 16:12; 17:1; 17:15.
False clergy ( the 'composite man of sin' 2 Thessalonians 2:2-8 ) have created a 'prodigal church' (Christendom) so that people can have their 'ears tickled' with No change in life style to match Scripture - 2 Timothy 3:1-15,13; 2 Timothy 4:3

 

[ADigitalArtist]

We saw several of them here do exactly that as they protested covid restrictions and insisted they must be allowed to physically attend church in person. I heard one guy on the news say he needs "spiritual food."

Yeah for sure there *are* people who equate the two but honestly I think it's just loud fundamentalists. The majority of religions don't need services often if at all. Some of the most devout people I know are nondenominational because it's more in line with their personal creeds.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

We saw several of them here do exactly that as they protested covid restrictions and insisted they must be allowed to physically attend church in person. I heard one guy on the news say he needs "spiritual food."

If they are 'here' then it would seem they could connect to ZOOM meetings for spiritual food.
'Caesar' is Not asking us to do something un-scriptual, so a Christian would comply.
A person without ZOOM or phone access to meetings I would think could find someone who does to help them.
If their clergyman can't help them in that area, seems they need to go away and ask elsewhere.

 

[Sand Dancer]

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

We are finally going the way of other first world nations. We have outgrown it.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Yeah for sure there *are* people who equate the two but honestly I think it's just loud fundamentalists. The majority of religions don't need services often if at all. Some of the most devout people I know are nondenominational because it's more in line with their personal creeds.

To me the issue is Not whether the majority of religions need often or at all services, but Christians are instructed to Not forsake meeting together as found at Hebrews 10:24-25.
For Christians then it would 'Not be in line' with any personal creeds, but with biblical standards.
Our congregation did miss 'one' meeting last March before connecting to ZOOM, also anyone without computer access is able to phone into the meetings.
With 'gallery view' there we are side by side.
Even a person in a nursing home or hospital stay can connect to meetings.
We can interact with each other and even with the speaker.
Even if the speaker at that meeting is living in another state or even another country.
It is so easy to invite a guest speaker who even lives 'across the pond' to come and speak.
...and No gas dollars involved, nor travel time involved.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

We are finally going the way of other first world nations. We have outgrown it.

I suppose the ^ above^ is a reason why Jesus said what he did at Matthew 7:13-14.
That 'few' would be on the narrow road.....
Few in comparison to the 'majority' who like the broad way.....

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Yeah for sure there *are* people who equate the two but honestly I think it's just loud fundamentalists. The majority of religions don't need services often if at all. Some of the most devout people I know are nondenominational because it's more in line with their personal creeds.

Lots of people gathering on Easter last year, at least one pastor dead saying his church is safe and god will heal them, several churches around here. There have even been many court challenges to make church exempt from covid closings so they could gather. And they've used all kinds of excuses to try to explain why church closures are unconstitutional.
It seems to strongly correlate with the ones who want RFRA privileges to discriminate against gays and to make sure schools can't teach evolution or sex ed and have to teach creationism and American exceptionalism.

 

[Sand Dancer]

I suppose the ^ above^ is a reason why Jesus said what he did at Matthew 7:13-14.
That 'few' would be on the narrow road.....
Few in comparison to the 'majority' who like the broad way.....

I think he meant that the ones that actually followed his teachings would be few, and he was right. More than half of Christians make up their own rules and don't care about following Jesus. He is fire insurance at best. Too bad the religion wasn't tried on a large scale.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

I think he meant that the ones that actually followed his teachings would be few, and he was right. More than half of Christians make up their own rules and don't care about following Jesus. He is fire insurance at best. Too bad the religion wasn't tried on a large scale.

Yes, I agree that ones who actually follow Jesus' teachings would be few.
For example: Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8 Jesus taught to declare on an international scale the ' good news of God's kingdom ' (Daniel 2:44)
I often hear the 'good news about Jesus Christ' and No real mention about Jesus being King of God's kingdom.
So, I would say more than half of the 'so-called Christians' (Christendom). The fake 'weed/tares' Christians.
They are part of the MANY who call Jesus as Lord but prove false - Matthew 7:21-23.
Jesus being more than 'fire insurance' but insurance against: destruction or being: destroyed forever.
At 2 Peter 3:9 it is 'repent' or 'perish' (be destroyed)
- Psalms 92:7; Psalms 104:35; Isaiah 11:3-4; Revelation 19:14-16.

 

[Kooky]

I think he meant that the ones that actually followed his teachings would be few, and he was right. More than half of Christians make up their own rules and don't care about following Jesus. He is fire insurance at best. Too bad the religion wasn't tried on a large scale.

I think you are doing your fellow Christians a disservice. The Bible isn't exactly a clear and concise set of regulations, so treating it as an instruction manual for how to live one's life is bound to lead to frustration and confusion, and the more followers you add, the more likely you'll have disagreement over how exactly to follow its teachings, and even what exactly its teachings are.

For all we know, this could have actually been on purpose - the confusion over His divine message all part of God's plan from the very beginning.
It's not a reading I would fervently attach myself to, but it could make for a novel approach to religious disagreements, don't you think?

 

[ninerbuff]

Cause EXPLANABLE things make more sense than made up stories in the bible. The younger generation is smarter now and uses logic and not rely on passed down stories that can't be proven to really have happened. Kinda like mythology.