Protestants lose members to 'unaffiliated'

[chewchoo]

article

If you are a Protestant and you’ve wondered perhaps why fewer of them are showing up for church Sunday, there’s a reason: There are fewer U.S. Protestants. At least that is one of the major findings in a study of religion in America compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. And while more than three-quarters of Americans consider themselves Christians, many of them either don’t practice the religion of their childhood or simply don’t practice it at all.
That’s because they are shopping for religion much the same way they shop for clothes, a car, a refrigerator or a house. Faith has become another product in our capitalistic society, and choosing a church has much more to do with convenience and feeling good than it does with doctrine or biblical interpretation. There’s about as much denominational loyalty anymore as there is loyalty to the automotive Big Three. Whoever cuts the best deal gets the business.

The Pew study showed 28% of Americans have abandoned the faith they practiced when they were children. Among Protestants, that jumps to 44%. Slightly more than half of all Americans consider themselves Protestants. Compare that to the late 1970s when Protestants made up nearly 70% of the U.S. population, according to the Pew study of 35,000 adults done last spring and summer.
CNN did one of its quickie online polls that revealed 28% of viewers still were going to the church of their childhood, while 57% had walked away from the church. There was nothing scientific about the results, but they are interesting.
The study also found:
A total of 78.4% of Americans say they are Christians. That includes 51.3% Protestant, 23.9% Catholic, 1.7% Mormon, 0.7% Jehovah’s Witnesses, 0.6% Orthodox and the rest spread among other faith traditions.
Jews make up 1.7% of American believers, Buddhists 0.7%, Muslims 0.6%, Hindus 0.4% and others 0.3%.
Unaffiliated Americans total 16.1%, including 12.1% who have no particular belief, 2.4% who are agnostics and 1.6% who say they are atheists. The study shows the unaffiliated group is the fastest-growing of those studied.
What does that say to the organized church? If the fastest-growing segment of believers are cutting loose from the organized church, that ought to set off alarm bells somewhere. If I were in business, and the fastest-growing segment of my customer base was abandoning me, I’d try to figure what was wrong and fix it - fast.
I’m not sure the problem is the message. Maybe it’s how the church delivers it. Maybe 11 a.m. Sunday doesn’t work anymore.
What needs to change? If I knew that, I would not be writing newspaper columns for a living. I’d be making a fortune as a church-growth consultant. The study reaffirms the importance of religion in people’s lives. The key is to match that need to believe with a way to express it that does not sacrifice ageless truths for something that feels good or is convenient.

 

[deb1]

I had heard about Catholics loosing members but I hadn’t heard anything reported on mainstream Protestants loosing members.

I’d much rather a nonCatholic go to a Mainstream Protestant Church then some of the nonaffliliated ones. That is because some of churches depend on the pastor’s charisma and a feel good teaching then actual truth.

 

[stbruno]

I worry about everyone who leaves the church founded by Jesus Christ for a watered down version…Jesus didn’t promise us a justifiable religion where everything can be rationalized. Where sin is outdated. Instead He said, repent and sin no more, pick up your cross and follow me. I worry especially for my own family members who have fallen into the secular trap as well. More reasons to pray.

 

[chewchoo]

the relativitist world is taking over.
i read an oprah quote the other day

if you seek what is honorable, what is good, what is the truth of your life, all the other things you could not imagine come as a matter of course.

if we only seek the truth of our life, then what is honorable and what is good is also only based on our life.

and what we never imagined IS a matter of course now!! only a lot of it is not good.

when are people going to wake up and smell the coffee that the golden rule has an author, a divine author?

 

[Humanum_Genus]

We can all blame the new-age peddlers like Oprah, for this problem.

Another good reason to shun anything and anyone who is part of the new age movement.

 

[JimmyJeff]

You all might be interested in this study I read today entitled “Trendy Spiritualism Breeds Unhappiness” out of Australia. Basically the researchers found that those who left more established traditional religions for new agey type religions were more depressed and unfocused than those who left religion altogether.

theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23071663-26103,00.html

 

[chewchoo]

You all might be interested in this study I read today entitled “Trendy Spiritualism Breeds Unhappiness” out of Australia. Basically the researchers found that those who left more established traditional religions for new agey type religions were more depressed and unfocused than those who left religion altogether.

theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23071663-26103,00.html

yep, self is the new god.
if you’re self reliant you’re a-okay

 

[brycelaliberte]

It sounds more like these people have just become plain apathetic. They have everything in their life looking pretty for them, so why is there reason to worry about anything true or eternal? Everything in the end will be just like it is now, so why worry about the later when existentialism is working out SO good?

You cannot reason with the apathetic one, even to convince him of his apathy.

 

[Cajetan]

I’d much rather a nonCatholic go to a Mainstream Protestant Church then some of the nonaffliliated ones. That is because some of churches depend on the pastor’s charisma and a feel good teaching then actual truth.

Definitely. When Protestants break away from the historical demoninations (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc.) and end up at some non-denominational hole-in-the-wall “Assembly of God” or whatever, they can be opening themselves up to real dangers. These are usually the most fundamentalist, and also usually where cults form. The individual pastors of these “churches” are in complete control of what is taught in them; they have no outside authority and no doctrinal standard which they must abide by. It’s a pulpit of one man’s personal theology.

 

[Augie1530]

What about these protestant pastors like Robert Shuller and Joel Osteen who has that mega church in Texas that you never hear the words SIN SALVATION JESUS or even scripture lessons being read and used in the services ?

 

[7_Sorrows]

sometimes when i am channel surfing and i come across the televangelists - it makes me really sad for the people who listen to them. they almost seem like car salesmen.
i really question the sincerity of their faith and whether they are “in it” solely for the purpose of gaining wealth.

these mega church pastors have enormous wealth that they have made off of teaching about Jesus or what they believe is in the Bible.

i can understand how protestants would become disenchanted about organized religion.

 

[BobCatholic]

With the relativism of the society reaching new levels, why go to a protestant church for relativism when you can have it outside of church?

 

[aicirt]

Definitely. When Protestants break away from the historical demoninations (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc.) and end up at some non-denominational hole-in-the-wall “Assembly of God” or whatever, they can be opening themselves up to real dangers. These are usually the most fundamentalist, and also usually where cults form. The individual pastors of these “churches” are in complete control of what is taught in them; they have no outside authority and no doctrinal standard which they must abide by. It’s a pulpit of one man’s personal theology.

I don’t know about that. I’ve been wondering about the structure of The Reformed Lutheran Church where Tiller the Killer was a member. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is pro-life and excommunicated Tiller who found haven in this other Lutheran Chruch.

According to a guest on The Journey Home, EWTN, the Methodists change their representatives every four years which means they change policy. Some years it is pro-life, some pro-choice.

The Episcopalians have an interesting minister, Rev. Katherine Ragsdale who is head of a seminary. Aghast at the murder of “Dr.” Tiller, she announced he’s a saint and martyr. Ragsdale is pro abortion.

Baptist and Evangelists are pro-life.

From the above, I’d say they’re facing danger in the mainline Protestant denominations.

 

[KathleenElsie]

It sounds more like these people have just become plain apathetic. They have everything in their life looking pretty for them, so why is there reason to worry about anything true or eternal? Everything in the end will be just like it is now, so why worry about the later when existentialism is working out SO good?

You cannot reason with the apathetic one, even to convince him of his apathy.

I wonder how many people will return to their faith roots with the economy in the tank? Or will they just turn to OBAMA for change?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m not sure what this means, if it means anything.

Protestants often change churches. Among most of them, it’s not considered all that “wrong” a thing to do. But leaving the church of their childhoods doesn’t mean they don’t have a church at all.

 

[Dale_M]

I’m not sure what this means, if it means anything.

Protestants often change churches. Among most of them, it’s not considered all that “wrong” a thing to do. But leaving the church of their childhoods doesn’t mean they don’t have a church at all.

Yes, and the headline may be misleading. Although the article Didymus posted is no longer on the web (this thread is more than a year old), the survey it was based upon is still available.

According to the survey:

Among those who are currently unaffiliated with any particular religion, nearly half (44%) were raised as Protestant and more than one-in-four (27%) were raised as Catholic.

religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf
(the quote is on page 8)

Those numbers I think are consistent with the overall makeup of the US - close to half being Protestant and about one-quarter being Catholic. So it doesn’t seem that Protestants are disproportionately losing adherents to the unaffiliated.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, and the headline may be misleading. Although the article Didymus posted is no longer on the web (this thread is more than a year old), the survey it was based upon is still available.

According to the survey:

religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf
(the quote is on page 8)

Those numbers I think are consistent with the overall makeup of the US - close to half being Protestant and about one-quarter being Catholic. So it doesn’t seem that Protestants are disproportionately losing adherents to the unaffiliated.

It would likewise be interesting to know what they mean by “unaffiliated”. Lots of Protestant churches claim to be “unaffiliated”, by which they mean they’re not affiliated with any organized religious denomination. All the non-denoms say that.

 

[1beleevr]

I have often wondered, why there is such an animal as a former catholic?Why would anyone leave the “perfect” church? I know a number of former catholics, who tell me that they have been scorned, and accused of being weak in their faith, or under catechised. I love what the wife of the late Reggie White( the great defensive end, NFL), said when asked how Reggie would like to be remembered. She paused for about 10 seconds, then replied,“As a believer!”

 

[Dale_M]

I have often wondered, why there is such an animal as a former catholic?Why would anyone leave the “perfect” church? …when asked how Reggie would like to be remembered. She paused for about 10 seconds, then replied,“As a believer!”

Perhaps that is the answer to your question. People leave the Catholic Church because they lose their faith. But I think you knew that, so I don’t understand the point of your comment.

It would likewise be interesting to know what they mean by “unaffiliated”. Lots of Protestant churches claim to be “unaffiliated”, by which they mean they’re not affiliated with any organized religious denomination. All the non-denoms say that.

That is an excellent point and a good question.

 

[1beleevr]

Dale m: I notice your religion is listed as “fallen away catholic”Okay, let me put it this way; this is a catholic forum, you are talkig about non-catholics leaving their denominations for so-called unaffiliated churches, and I say, “Why do catholics leave the so-called one and only church that Christ founded? Reasons that I myself have heard from former catholics, are,1) “I learned the Truth”,2)“Too Many rules, dress codes, etc”, 3) My boyfriend’s a Methodist and won’t convert, and I want to marry him!” Perhaps we also need to address why catholics leave! Personaly, I was raised in a Southern Baptist home, and got saved in a Baptist church, at age 15! Like most other prodigal Christians, I wandered in the wilderness, attending different “Protestant” churches, and finally landed in a non denominational church; void of title,rules(man-made, anyway) and awesome worship; Christ centered, very scriptural! And, an externally focused church to boot:thumbsup:We get to do Matthew 25: 31-46, and Matthew 28: 19-20!!!