Losing their religion: why US churches are on the decline

Wolseley · Jan 22, 2023

The great falling away continues. It won't be long, now.

Erose · Jan 22, 2023

It’s declining in the West, but growing in other places in the world, especially Africa and Asia. These things have happen many times before, and will many times more if our Lord is still long in coming.

chevyontheriver · Jan 22, 2023

Wolseley said:
The great falling away continues. It won't be long, now.

MSN

I get different information here and there.

One tidbit is that the modal attendance at Episcopalian churches is now 21 on a given Sunday. They'll be gone soon. And that Orthodox churches have generally grown since the epidemic hit. And Catholics middle on.

But the proportion of Catholics who show up continues to decline. I was raised on 100% Sunday attendance unless you were rip roaring sick. It's down to about 10% now.

Here's what I blame. The whole idea, the false idea, of universal salvation. The idea that I'm saved no matter what. So why mess with my Sunday brunch and walking the dog? It doesn't matter one bit. God owes me. I owe Him nothing. I'd do him a favor by going to church, but I'm not that interested. Everybody's saved who who cares. It doesn't matter.

Jesus seems to think it matters a great deal. That the way to salvation is narrow and the way to perdition is wide, at least according to Jesus.

mourningdove~ · Jan 23, 2023

chevyontheriver said:
But the proportion of Catholics who show up continues to decline. I was raised on 100% Sunday attendance unless you were rip roaring sick. It's down to about 10% now.

Wow. I did not know attendance has declined so much.

I was raised with the 100% Sunday attendance standard also (till Saturday night became an option).
Is very sad to hear of this kind of decline in attendance.

Would seem to me that persons do not know 'what' they are missing, when they miss Mass.
If they did, I would think they would not be 'missing' so often ...

RileyG · Jan 23, 2023

I'm not surprised. Our Lord said it would happen...people would no longer believe

Isilwen · Jan 23, 2023

chevyontheriver said:
One tidbit is that the modal attendance at Episcopalian churches is now 21 on a given Sunday.

The Episcopal Church we have attended tends to be packed each Sunday for all services.

RileyG · Jan 23, 2023

Isilwen said:
The Episcopal Church we have attended tends to be packed each Sunday for all services.

On a side note, Episcopalians have beautiful Churches and a wonderful prayer book. I use it daily. I would love to see more of them come into full Communion with Rome.

chevyontheriver · Jan 23, 2023

Isilwen said:
The Episcopal Church we have attended tends to be packed each Sunday for all services.

Wonderful. What makes that one different?

Isilwen · Jan 23, 2023

chevyontheriver said:
Wonderful. What makes that one different?

I'm not sure. I haven't been to any others.

Isilwen · Jan 23, 2023

RileyG said:
On a side note, Episcopalians have beautiful Churches and a wonderful prayer book. I use it daily. I would love to see more of them come into full Communion with Rome.

I was a cradle Catholic. I am no longer. Too much I disagree with when it comes to the Catholic church and therefore left it and wondered a bit about other churches. It wasn't until my Fiance (girlfriend then) showed me the Episcopal church that I found my home.

Wolseley · Jan 23, 2023

RileyG said:
On a side note, Episcopalians have beautiful Churches and a wonderful prayer book. I use it daily. I would love to see more of them come into full Communion with Rome.

I used to have a very nice leather-bound copy of The Book of Common Prayer; to me, it looked like a combination missal, breviary, and prayerbook all condensed into one.

Shortly after I got married, we acquired a puppy, who got ahold of it and chewed it to shreds.

WarriorAngel · Jan 23, 2023

Every time I see the thread title, the song 'Losing my religion' pops into my head.

Ok, just saying...

Carry on. :sorry:

RileyG · Jan 23, 2023

Wolseley said:
I used to have a very nice leather-bound copy of The Book of Common Prayer; to me, it looked like a combination missal, breviary, and prayerbook all condensed into one.

Shortly after I got married, we acquired a puppy, who got ahold of it and chewed it to shreds.

that's sad!

RileyG · Jan 23, 2023

WarriorAngel said:
Every time I see the thread title, the song 'Losing my religion' pops into my head.

Ok, just saying...

Carry on.

Great song! it's about losing temper, not religion

WarriorAngel · Jan 23, 2023

RileyG said:
Great song! it's about losing temper, not religion

I can't stop myself. :help:

lol

RileyG · Jan 23, 2023

WarriorAngel said:
I can't stop myself. lol

Yeah, people often misinterpret it.

Wolseley · Jan 24, 2023

RileyG said:
Yeah, people often misinterpret it.

Gee....I'm sure glad I come from an era where music was easy to understand and didn't need to be interpreted. Like these:

chevyontheriver · Jan 24, 2023

Wolseley said:
Gee....I'm sure glad I come from an era where music was easy to understand and didn't need to be interpreted. Like these:

So you know what American Pie really means? The day the music died?

Wolseley · Jan 24, 2023

chevyontheriver said:
So you know what American Pie really means? The day the music died?

Sure. February 3rd, 1959: the day that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper), and airplane pilot Roger Peterson all died in plane crash outside of Clear Lake, Iowa. The Day the Music Died.

There are all sorts of sites that explain what McLean's lyrics all really mean, including at least one by McLean himself. I remember one example; the lyric "Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry; and them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing 'This'll be the day that I die'". I never quite got that lyric in its entirety, mainly because rye is a whiskey, so why say "whiskey and rye"?

McLean said that he used to frequent a bar in New Rochelle, New York, named "The Levee". Business wasn't so good for this particular bar, and it tended to be closed at odd times ("The Levee was dry.") When that happened, McLean and his friends used to drive north about nine miles to a country and western bar in the little town of Rye, New York ("Them good old boys were drinking whiskey IN Rye".) There was a jukebox in the bar that they used to punch up Buddy Holly songs on, one of which was "That'll Be the Day" (When I Die), a 1957 hit by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Ironically, Holly got the title from a quotation from The Searchers, a 1956 Western movie in which Jeff Hunter says to John Wayne, "I hope you die!", and Wayne replies, "That'll be the day."

chevyontheriver · Jan 24, 2023

Sword of the Lord said:
Nah. I'd say it's better to be a pagan than an antichrist within the people of God, what with their homosexual/trans agenda and beliefs.

To be fair, there are evangelical congregations somehow still within the Episcopalian framework that share very little with the liberals. And maybe a few AngloCatholics that are somehow there as well. For decades there was an uncomfortable balance between Liberal and Evangelical and AngloCatholic, but that's broken down now with many of the rest walking away and the liberals taking control. I couldn't tolerate what they have become, but then again looking at the Vatican right now I wonder what we are becoming.

Losing their religion: why US churches are on the decline

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