- Feb 27, 2003
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Here's something that might be interesting to discuss.
We here things all the time about how Orthodoxy is growing quickly, and sometimes about not so rosey pictures about the growth of the Church. Either way we look at it, we are an insignificant minority on the American religious scene (I've heard the 1-5 million member estimates before, but I don't remember ever walking into a parish with 1,000-5,000 members).
So, how do we go from an extreme minority of the population to even a noticable minority?
I suppose the innitial reaction of most people is to seek converts, maybe pointing to the number of converts the Church is recieving at present. Nice as it may be, real growth through converts are usually localized around certain areas, usually were there is a popular priest. I would say that this growth most likely cannot be sustained, as the fad among some Protestant seminaries ends and more Protestant denominations begin anti-Orthodox polemics.
It is my belief that the best plan for sustained, and rapid, growth is not through looking without, but through looking within. This can be done by the proven method used by French Canadians in Canada and norther New England, Mormons in Utah, Albanians in Kosovo, Muslims in Lebannon, and others. That method would be by returning to the Church's teaching concerning the morality of contraception, and growing through birth rates.
Through the easily attainable TFR of approx. 7, each generation would be 3.5 times the size of the one that birthed it, leading to a population double time of about 18 years. That would be even without converts. With a positive inflow of converts, we could be doubling our presence here in this country in as little as every 10-15 years.
This method would not only sustain growth through periods with low or negative conversion rates, but would provide a more sturdy age structure for sustaining the retention in faith among our children by providing an Orthodox peer group. Instead of growing up with no or little in the way of Orthodox peers (a necessity in a culture that is geared towards assimilation), a group of a mere 10 married couples of childbearing age could provide around 5 children per year.
Just another example of how this can work is the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel. They have been able to bring their numbers up to 7% of the total population, with a population of around 25% of all school age children. This being possible in a nation with a higher birthrate and immigration growth rate than the USA.
We here things all the time about how Orthodoxy is growing quickly, and sometimes about not so rosey pictures about the growth of the Church. Either way we look at it, we are an insignificant minority on the American religious scene (I've heard the 1-5 million member estimates before, but I don't remember ever walking into a parish with 1,000-5,000 members).
So, how do we go from an extreme minority of the population to even a noticable minority?
I suppose the innitial reaction of most people is to seek converts, maybe pointing to the number of converts the Church is recieving at present. Nice as it may be, real growth through converts are usually localized around certain areas, usually were there is a popular priest. I would say that this growth most likely cannot be sustained, as the fad among some Protestant seminaries ends and more Protestant denominations begin anti-Orthodox polemics.
It is my belief that the best plan for sustained, and rapid, growth is not through looking without, but through looking within. This can be done by the proven method used by French Canadians in Canada and norther New England, Mormons in Utah, Albanians in Kosovo, Muslims in Lebannon, and others. That method would be by returning to the Church's teaching concerning the morality of contraception, and growing through birth rates.
Through the easily attainable TFR of approx. 7, each generation would be 3.5 times the size of the one that birthed it, leading to a population double time of about 18 years. That would be even without converts. With a positive inflow of converts, we could be doubling our presence here in this country in as little as every 10-15 years.
This method would not only sustain growth through periods with low or negative conversion rates, but would provide a more sturdy age structure for sustaining the retention in faith among our children by providing an Orthodox peer group. Instead of growing up with no or little in the way of Orthodox peers (a necessity in a culture that is geared towards assimilation), a group of a mere 10 married couples of childbearing age could provide around 5 children per year.
Just another example of how this can work is the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel. They have been able to bring their numbers up to 7% of the total population, with a population of around 25% of all school age children. This being possible in a nation with a higher birthrate and immigration growth rate than the USA.
