I remember every Sunday we went to church. My father and mother went every Sunday and I did until I said no.
But in general religion is in decline.
U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time
Gallup
By Jeffrey M. Jones
March 29, 2021
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- In 2020, 47% of U.S. adults belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque
- Down more than 20 points from turn of the century
- Change primarily due to rise in Americans with no religious preference
Americans' membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.
U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937 and remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21st century.
The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference. Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years.
I think we can all agree that church membership is in decline. The question is why?
The Baptist Convention of Iowa wrote on their website,
About 58 percent of young adults indicated they dropped out because of their church or pastor. When we probed further, they said:
- Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical (26 percent).
- They didn’t feel connected to the people at their church (20 percent).
- Church members were unfriendly and unwelcoming (15 percent).
Fifty-two percent indicated some sort of religious, ethical or political beliefs as the reason they dropped out. In other words, about 52 percent changed their Christian views. Maybe they didn’t believe what the church taught, or they didn’t believe what they perceived others in the church to believe.
When I was little I went to Catechism School for my Confirmation (Of course I didn’t really have a choice) one of the things that I remember was that Jesus came down to give us a new testament. It was about “Love Thy Neighbor” …
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”
HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!
Where does it say but not LGBTQ+ people, not Jews, not Muslims, or not Blacks?
~~~~~~~~~
And that leads me to,
Friction over LGBTQ issues worsens in global Anglican church
By Chinedu Asadu and David Crary of The Associated Press and Catherine Pepinster of Religion News Service
December 7, 2022
Friction has been simmering within the global Anglican Communion for many years over its 42 provinces’ sharp differences on whether to recognize same-sex marriage and ordain LGBTQ clergy. This year, the divisions have widened, as conservative bishops – notably from Africa and Asia – affirmed their opposition to LGBTQ inclusion and demanded “repentance” by the more liberal provinces with inclusive policies.Caught in the middle of the fray is the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who is the top bishop of the Church of England and ceremonial leader of the Anglican Communion, which is one of the world’s largest Christian communities. Welby has acknowledged “deep disagreement” among the provinces, while urging them to “walk together” to the extent possible.
The divide came into the spotlight four months ago at the communion’s Lambeth Conference, typically held once every decade to bring together bishops from the more than 165 countries with Anglican-affiliated churches. It was the first Lambeth Conference since 2008, and the first to which married gay and lesbian bishops were invited.
The conservative primates of Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda refused to attend, while other bishops who share their opposition to LGBTQ inclusion pushed unsuccessfully for the Lambeth gathering to reconfirm a 1998 resolution rejecting same-sex marriage.
So the question boils down to… “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” with no exceptions!
Isn’t this in the Bible?
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD
It seems to me that all these conservatives evangelicals who quote the Bible all quote the Old Testament. Not the New Testament.
Lastly, I would like to point out one of the reasons today’s youth are not accepting of today’s religions is, ...church members seeming judgmental or hypocritical (32 percent) could it be because church leaders say “Love thy neighbor but not these people.”
By John BurnettDecember 10, 2022[…]American Christianity is in the midst of an identity crisis. Attendance is in steep decline, especially among millennials and Gen Z who say traditional church doesn't speak to their realities.In response, religious leaders are scrambling to experiment with new ways to offer meaning in peoples' lives. Most of the folks who show up at Battlefield Gardens on Sunday mornings say they're looking for a faith community, but they're burned out on traditional religion.[…]This impulse — this urgency — to try something new is being felt throughout the Christian church. Once-booming evangelical churches are worried about declining numbers. But liberal mainline protestants like the Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians are hemorrhaging members.
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