Mainline Protestants in Decline

Mainline Protestants make up shrinking number of U.S. adults

Pew Research has just released research on the decline of Mainline Churches. According to the research the decline is steep. There are 5 million fewer adults going to mainline churches since 2007.

Why?

Mainline churches are getting older. Is it age appeal? the median age for mainline churches is 52, and according to the research Millennials are the leading factor in the group called "nones" (no affiliation). Immigrants are also adding numbers to the ranks of unaffiliated. According to Pew Research, "Our 2014 Religious Landscape Study, a follow-up to the center’s first Religious Landscape Study in 2007, found that one-in-five immigrants said they did not belong to any religion – an increase of 4 percentage points since 2007, when 16% said they did not associate with any faith tradition." 
                                            

Root Causes

These factors don't really get at the 'why.' Once the why is known answers can be found as to how to get people back in the pews in mainline churches. 

Steve McSwain is Speaker, Author, Counselor to Congregations, Ambassador to the Council on the Parliament for the World's Religions, and Spiritual Teacher. He wrote a three part article for the Huffington Post in 2013 on why nobody wants to go to church anymore. In Part One McSwain came up with seven reasons. Some are external forces and some are internal forces. Internal forces include the Leadership Crisis, exclusion based on race, culture or sexual orientation, and hypocrisy. External forces include competition, religious pluralism, changing demographics and technology. Some of the external forces can be used to the advantage of the Mainline Churches like adapting new technologies to reach younger demographics, and embracing diversity. Internal problems can be corrected by making sure our doors are really open to all.

In Part Two McSwain says change is happening...no matter what...the Mainline Church must embrace change and diversity within our churches. He says we need to stop applying labels to people. "Stop Labeling "Nones" and the "Religiously Unaffiliated" as Unfaithful, or Sub-par Christians or, worse, Not Christians at All."  Finally, We should make friends with people who we disagree with.

In Part Three McSwain lists the final six ways the mainline can get people back in the pews. They include not using the bible and worship to promote prejudice and political agenda. End the war on science, biology and psychology. Be who you are. McSwain believes a contemporary service in a traditional setting will not work.  It is time to revise Christian theology,  The gatekeepers of theological and doctrinal thought must lead the way, believing the current crisis is a call to reexamine the Christian story.

Finally McSwain says, "Know that the Church's decline could never mean the death of Christ." If you believe the last point...it will never be too late.

Focus on The Core

Something we did in public radio was to understand the values of the audience that valued our content above all others. We focused our resources on our core audience. We grew. Today public radio has 30 million listeners. We were true to our intended audience. Because we  understood those values and stopped trying to be all things to all people we grew. McSwain got it right when he encouraged the Mainliners...liberal Christians...to be true to themselves. 

Pew Survey on Gun Ownership

Maybe it's just me. I think that horrific incidents like the mass killings at Virginia Tech, in Aurora, Colorado and in Newtown, Connecticut would change public attitudes concerning gun ownership. It's too soon to know what effect the killing of 20 young school children will have on this debate. Pew's research, Public Attitudes toward Gun Control, says the trend since 1993 suggests that Americans think it is more important to protect the right to own guns than it is to control gun ownership.

• In 1993 57% thought there should be more control over ownership. 34% thought it was ,more important to protect the right of Americans to own arms.

• At the end of July, 2012 47% thought there should be more control over ownership. 46% thought it was more important to protect the right of Americans to own arms.

Pew also points out that the public became more divided on this issue after Barack Obama was first elected President in 2008. The issue may be influenced by partisanship.  According to the the survey:

"The partisan gap in attitudes about gun control has widened considerably in recent years. In July, following the shootings in Colorado, 71% of Republicans said it was more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns while just 26% said it was more important to control gun ownership. Among Democrats, opinion was roughly the reverse: 72% said it was more important to control gun ownership while 21% prioritized gun rights. Independents were divided:50% said it was more important to protect gun rights; 43% said gun control was more important."

Partisanship should not jeopardize the safety of our children.

Politics/Most Have Enough Information

SuperPac's and the candidates are set to spend millions to sway your vote. Contrast that to a survey by the Pew Research Center that says most of us already have enough information about President Obama and Mitt Romney. 92% of those surveyed say they have what they need to know about President Obama. 69% of those surveyed say they have what they need to know about Mitt Romney.

According to the survey results there's a wide partisan gap in what people want to know about Romney.



This is not a surprise. If you look at the results of the Wisconsin recall vote for Governor Scott Walker. There was not much movement in the results from the election to the recall election despite millions spent by sources outside the state to sway the voters. It is believed, through polling, that the voters had made up their minds in advance of the recall. The millions spent was aimed at the undecided which was a small percentage of the voters.

Previous Pew research shows the widening partisan gap between Republicans and Democrats. The money being spent will be aimed at the voters who have not decided... a portion of the Independents.

Since the advertising dollars spent will not be that effective...wouldn't it be nice if the money was spent to create jobs? I'm just sayin'.

Search for Common Ground in Time of War

0.5% Served in Military Since 9/11- Pew Research

The Pew Research Center released a figure this week that only 0.5% of the US population has served in the military since 9/11. Pew points out the past 12+ years is the longest sustained period of conflict in US history. They also state that the connections between the military personnel and the broader population are growing more distant as the armed services grow smaller.

Something not mentioned in the report is how this equation would change if there was a draft. If more civilians were pressed into service, the public would become more involved in the implications of our political actions and the war on terror. During World War II 9% of the US population was on active duty. Add their families and the number becomes significant. A large percentage of the US population was involved in the military during the Vietnam War. Having a greater portion of the population involved in our country's conflicts informs the discussions around the conversations around US policy and political decisions.

I think a better informed and more engaged public involved in the issues that have great impact will make this country stronger. The process can be painful as with the Vietnam War, but, the process is important.
My parents were drawn together for the common good by two events that caused the paradigm shift, The Great Depression and World War II. There was a commonality to the issues that brought about a willingness to bring people together to work things out. We don't have that today. We have extremism brought about by partisan politics reinforced by the large amount of money being spent by super PACs.

There are organizations trying to do something to bring partisan politics under control. It is not going to be easy. If enough of us become active and speak out, change is possible.

There are others who think so too. Robert Reich has a new book called Beyond Outrage. In it he explains, what has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix it.  Robert Reich is also chairman of Common Cause.

Charles Ferguson in an interview with Tom Ashbrook on On-Point talked about how people rose up to change the balance of power away from the monied elite during the Progressive Era and during the Great Depression. Charles Ferguson has a new book, Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America.  


Another organization who wants to put an end the gridlock in Washington is called CenterPolitics.org. Their Website will be ready soon. They want to actively support candidates who are willing to work across the aisle and end the gridlock.


The most important element is what you decide to do. We all need to be informed and involved.