Thousands of churches are closing across the U.S.

[Audie]

Yes, many have lost their sense of community as our culture has become more and more isolating and materialistic. But just because you came too late to experience it doesn't mean it wasn't a thing.

My, aren't we the judge of all mankind's thoughts and feelings.

You would have had to actively participate in it for that to happen.

As the general culture has become more and more isolating, a lot of churches have become more and more cult-like to try and hold onto their members. That is sad, indeed.

I have been fortunate to have experience a very different kind of Bible study. So I know they do still occur. Or did 25 years ago, anyway. But even the kind of thing you're talking about created a community among those who wanted it. Unfortunately, as you point out, it did so by separating them from everyone else.

Clearly you are resentful. But not all churches are that way, or have always been that way. And you are condemning them all based on your own very singular bad experience. And that might have been because you're the "odd penny" that won't conform. Which is, itself, a kind of isolating selfishness. Perhaps even that church provided a sense of community for the people it served.

But I agree that for whatever reasons many churches have not been able to withstand the onslaught of selfish individuality that our modern consumer culture with it's industrial strength advertising propaganda has created. Our neighbor loses their job and their home or a loved one and we really couldn't care less. So long as it's not us. We all live in the tiny community of 'me and mine', now. And everyone else is just competition. Churches used to be a place where people were brought together to look after each other. Now they're becoming just another business on the block. Selling their wares by hook or by crook. Another wanna-be monopoly.

"My aren't we the judge"
You make things up as needed, and then
judge those.

 

[Audie]

I loved the burn

Ok I don't know the cultural reference.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

Ok I don't know the cultural reference.

I’m sorry. I admired the quip about being civilized before European ancestors rubbed sticks together or something. A well placed insult would be called a burn in the US.

 

[Muffled]

We sure don't allow J.W. in China.

And for very good reason.

I believe they are pretty much harmless except to themselves.

 

[Muffled]

One and very sufficient reason is the
ignorant regressive anti intellectual
anti science teachings. Irrational and absurd
cult.

Our civilization goes back to before your
ancestors had gotten skilled poking
at cave bears with sharp sticks.

Yet another new edition of your weird and rather creepy
sky god religion has no place here.

There are lots of things that " if everyone
were" would make for an ideal world.
JW is not one of them.

Conceivably you are correct about " no war".
Same with many other conceivable conditions.

Won't ever happen tho, or, as they (i)
would put it, " if wishes were fishes,
We'd all eat pie".

I'd take " all Buddhist monks" 10,000 times
over JW.

Sky God is incorrect. God is everywhere. One may extol science but it loses its appeal when it becomes ignorance.

 

[Muffled]

You really don't understand that the joke is
2000 years of (sometimes hysterical)
" sign" reading?

Esp when your " bible" says nobody will
see it coming.

I believe people have a tendency to ignore signs. There are people in this country who will drive right through a stop sign.

 

[PureX]

I hold the churches responsible to be something other than a stage prop, while your post treats them as products of the environment.

Churches are just buildings where people meet. If people don't want to meet with each other anymore, then the churches close their doors. So why don't people want to meet with each other anymore? Most likely because they feel they aren't getting anything out of it. So what did they used to get out of going to church every Sunday, and for occasions like weddings and funerals and christenings?

I think it made them feel like they were valued members of their community. I think it helped them get to know and appreciate their neighbors. And I think it helped them to stay aware of their responsibility to their God beliefs and to each other.

But the selfishness and greed of industrial strength capitalism has eaten away that sense of mutual responsibility and well-being and has pitted us all against each other, now. No one wants to hear sermons about how they owe their fellow man, anything. No one wants to hear about loving their neighbor on Sunday and then spend the rest of the week trying to screw their neighbor out of every penny possible. So people lost interest. And the preachers had to look for some other message to preach. Self-righteousness was a good one. Telling people how superior they are worked. People would show up for that one. So is "your neighbot is a hell-bound loser!" That one makes it a lot easier to screw them over all week for money.

My point is that preachers preach what the people want to hear or their churches close up. They are products of/servants of their environment. They have to be or they are gone.

I suppose your theory is that they are failing because of the evil corporations, but you don't hold them responsible for the evil corporations.

The churches are not responsible for the evil corporations WE ARE. We embraced the greed and selfishness of capitalism and the arm-loads of foolish goodies that doing so provided for us. And in the process WE turned our backs on the message of "love thy neighbor". We're the ones that didn't want to hear it. And so eventually the preachers stopped preaching it. And they started preaching the messages that we were willing to show up for. Messages of bigotry and superiority and justification.

In fact they are responsible to be salt and light, and those that aren't salt and light should disappear.

No one wants to hear that message. That kind of message challenges us to be willing to share with others, and help others, and to forgive others their faults, and to embrace other people's differences. That ain't who we are, anymore. We're all just blind consumers, now. We don't share. We don't deny ourselves anything. We accumulate as much as we can. And we pile it up and use it to accumulate even more. No such thing as having enough to give any away to those in need.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Churches are just building where people meet.

That's a rather materialistic view and approach towards what a church is.

No one wants to hear that message. That kind of message challenges us to be willing to share with others, and help oters, and to forgive others their faults, and to embrace other people's differences.

Now who's being the judge of everyone's thoughts and feelings?

 

[PureX]

That's a rather materialistic view and approach towards what a church is.

Without the people that's all the church is ... a building. A meeting hall. So if we are discussing churches closing, we are discussing the people not showing up.

Now who's being the judge of everyone's thoughts and feelings?

Well, if people stop showing up, there must be a reason.

 

[Audie]

I believe people have a tendency to ignore signs. There are people in this country who will drive right through a stop sign.

Road signs have not all been wrong
for the past 2000 years.

 

[Audie]

Sky God is incorrect. God is everywhere. One may extol science but it loses its appeal when it becomes ignorance.

" Science becomes ignorance" is just a
limp rejoinder devoid,of meaning.

Perhaps what you are realizing and nearly
said it, that science loses appeal to the
religionists when it poses a challenge to
their ignorance.

It's been a problem for dogma for centuries.

Did you know the church was outraged
at claims of non circular planetary otrbts,
and sunspots, because the Heavens are perfect
and like spots would be imperfections?

Even the most determinedly ignorant has given
that up. But did you know that there are still some
bitter clingers to ignorance that they- yes, its true-
still deny the science that shows there was no flood??
Incredible but true.

 

[Audie]

I believe they are pretty much harmless except to themselves.

True to an extent. But they try to
spread it, which makes them a danger to
all of society

 

[Audie]

I’m sorry. I admired the quip about being civilized before European ancestors rubbed sticks together or something. A well placed insult would be called a burn in the US.

Ah gotcha. Thanks.
American idioms are difficult.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Without the people that's all the church is ... a building. A meeting hall. So if we are discussion churched closing, we are discussing the people not showing up.

The church is the people. It's not a building. Lots and lots and lots of Christians today amd all throughout the history of Christianity have not had any formal building to meet in. The first Christians met in Roman catacombs due to the necessity of secrecy, and today still the Amish take turns hosting the congregation at their home.

Well, if people stop showing up, there must be a reason.

Amd your explanations probably aren't even of the top 10 reasons.

 

[metis]

Churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, are a means to end, thus not the end.

 

[paarsurrey]

Thousands of churches are closing across the U.S.​

What happened to them?

Regards

 

[Viker]

Thousands of churches are closing across the U.S.​

What happened to them?

Regards

People losing interest. Without enough people to tithe smaller churches can't afford the bills to stay open. Some people have moved to going to megachurches or larger more modern churches.

 

[loverofhumanity]

Churches are just buildings where people meet. If people don't want to meet with each other anymore, then the churches close their doors. So why don't people want to meet with each other anymore? Most likely because they feel they aren't getting anything out of it. So what did they used to get out of going to church every Sunday, and for occasions like weddings and funerals and christenings?

I think it made them feel like they were valued members of their community. I think it helped them get to know and appreciate their neighbors. And I think it helped them to stay aware of their responsibility to their God beliefs and to each other.

But the selfishness and greed of industrial strength capitalism has eaten away that sense of mutual responsibility and well-being and has pitted us all against each other, now. No one wants to hear sermons about how they owe their fellow man, anything. No one wants to hear about loving their neighbor on Sunday and then spend the rest of the week trying to screw their neighbor out of every penny possible. So people lost interest. And the preachers had to look for some other message to preach. Self-righteousness was a good one. Telling people how superior they are worked. People would show up for that one. So is "your neighbot is a hell-bound loser!" That one makes it a lot easier to screw them over all week for money.

My point is that preachers preach what the people want to hear or their churches close up. They are products of/servants of their environment. They have to be or they are gone.

The churches are not responsible for the evil corporations WE ARE. We embraced the greed and selfishness of capitalism and the arm-loads of foolish goodies that doing so provided for us. And in the process WE turned our backs on the message of "love thy neighbor". We're the ones that didn't want to hear it. And so eventually the preachers stopped preaching it. And they started preaching the messages that we were willing to show up for. Messages of bigotry and superiority and justification.

No one wants to hear that message. That kind of message challenges us to be willing to share with others, and help others, and to forgive others their faults, and to embrace other people's differences. That ain't who we are, anymore. We're all just blind consumers, now. We don't share. We don't deny ourselves anything. We accumulate as much as we can. And we pile it up and use it to accumulate even more. No such thing as having enough to give any away to those in need.

Beautiful post. Everything is impermanent in this world. Religion It has its seasons too spring, summer autumn then winter sets in. That’s why in all the Holy Books of all the major religions it speaks of a time when religion will be renewed. So for example Krishna says in the Gita He returns from age to age to renew religion, Buddha speaks of Maitreya who will bring a new religion and Christ speaks about a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ which is also indicative of a new spiritual revolution or religion. The reason for this renewal is that the needs of each age are different. Today we need a message that can help reconcile the relationships between the religions, races and nations whereas in the past it was more focused on one people or individuals.

The interesting thing is what you brought up about clergy and priests and how their focus instead of love and harmony has become one of bigotry towards others and also others from different faiths. We are all members of one human family and so we should welcome all with love and oneness no matter which belief or no belief and that would go a long way to bringing people together again. It’s worthy noting that the message for this age we Baha’is believe is the unity of people and to love all religions, races and nations. This we believe is God’s latest guidance through Baha’u’llah Who abolished priesthood because it was so prone to corruption. So in this new era there is to be no individual with power in our religion. Everything is decided upon by joint consultation not autocratic authority and annually elected assemblies of nine people who can be replaced at any time. I believe the age of priesthood has come to an end and with this age when many can investigate truth for themselves we no longer need to be spoon fed.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Thousands of churches are closing across the U.S.​

What happened to them?

Regards

All religion in the US is diminishing, with the exception of Catholics and Pentecostals. Fewer Muslims are going to Mosque. Fewer Jews are going to Synagogue, etc.

I've read a number of articles speculating on why this is the case. I can't give you a definitive answer. But one theory that makes a lot of sense to me is that Americans are responding negatively to the hijacking of the far right by evangelicals. It leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouths, and people are inclined to simply want to get as far away from religion as they can.

 

[loverofhumanity]

There are many reasons for this. Lack of attendance due to increasing attachments to material things and irrelevance in meeting the needs of this age. In this interconnected world, peace between religions is of supreme importance but today the banter is mostly ‘our beliefs are superior, or we are saved but you are sinners and infidels’. This only creates prejudice and alienation between faiths and aggravates tensions in an age where our survival depends upon tolerance and cooperation.