# Recent Religious Trends **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405 "2023-04-09T00:09:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/21 "2023-04-11T17:55:03Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I was wondering if similar trends were present in the United States. I’m amazed you don’t know, since the subject has been thoroughly covered in [The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/01/us-religious-affiliation-rates-declining/672729/). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/22 "2023-04-11T18:01:51Z")
I don’t believe in the whole premise behind god worship, but I like to believe that if I did, I would still find churches to be monuments to excess, exploitation and intimidation and would not attend. I have to believe that at least part of the Christian demographic feels the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/23 "2023-04-11T18:11:29Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Being a member of a church is the central way the majority Americans used to know each other, help each other, have fun together, hear and make music, celebrate milestones and grieve tragedies. I am sure there were (and still are) people in the pews every Sunday who didn’t have much use for God but appreciated the other things that churches do. I can see the appeal of community and fellowship. But as someone who has attended church with my Mother-in-law twice in the last five years (and none in the previous 40 or so) I can tell you that attending church for the other purposes is pure hell for us non-believers. People are having what they perceive as serious conversations about a guy who was conceived immaculately, and later died, but then rose from the dead. Plus a lot of other obvious crap. So, joining together to worship insane ideas does not foster any sense of community I’m interested in. I’d be happy to join a bowling league, however. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/24 "2023-04-11T18:14:44Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I don’t believe in the whole premise behind god worship, but I like to believe that if I did, I would still find churches to be monuments to excess, exploitation and intimidation and would not attend. I have to believe that at least part of the Christian demographic feels the same way. I am a little more generous. Even as a non-believer, I think the churches fill some of the social voids our modern world has by providing people a sense of community and connection with others - real, not virtual. Beyond that sort of thing, yeah, organized religion runs the gamut from harmless community gathering to swindling the faithful to outright hatred and persecution of others. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/25 "2023-04-11T19:04:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I don’t believe in the whole premise behind god worship, but I like to believe that if I did, I would still find churches to be monuments to excess, exploitation and intimidation and would not attend. I have to believe that at least part of the Christian demographic feels the same way. My church is _nothing_ like what you imagine. But you do you. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/26 "2023-04-11T19:42:07Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > OTOH, at a local Lutheran church in my small town in Montana they are expecting a huge turnout for Good Friday/Easter Services and have brought in lots of extra chairs and packed the nave. So for at least some holidays, Christians will show up in droves. Why typical Sunday services are so down may have something to do with COVID, although I don’t really see why COVID would keep people away. So when we (Lutheran church - ELCA) came back from COVID, our attendance was abysmal - now granted we came back later than some other churches and mandated masks for way longer, but it was down to like 40 on a Sunday vs. 70-80 before. Though on Easter Sunday, it was amazingly full - around 100. And I know some of that are people who go twice a year (or for nostalgia), but more than a few talked about coming back. So who knows at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/27 "2023-04-11T20:03:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In-person attendance is still much lower than it was pre-COVID, just accelerating what had been a long, slow decline. I’m involved in a club for writers, which is part of a network of such clubs around California. We went virtual when Covid hit, and stayed that way, but some clubs went back to physical meetings and report a decline in attendance also. I think people got out of the habit of going to physical meetings. > [@snowthx](#): > > I think it’s an interesting question regarding atheism. There are likely many still in the closet due to social conventions supporting believing in God. And for many faithless, its not like we actively don’t beleive, its just that it does not take up any time or energy, unless someone tries to shove their beliefs at us. Otherwise, its not even a thought. But polite society seems to demand religion, any religion, over being atheist, so I suppose “not active in any religion, but beleive in God” gets you out of an uncomfortable conversation. It depends on where you are. In the Bay Area there are so many non-Christians that I’ve experienced the expectation of religion someone in the South might have. And I worked in tech so not much expectation there either, and the percentage of Christians was even lower than in the general public. A lot of it might be that atheism is more respectable than it used to be, and the role models of prominent atheists help people find they are not alone. Not being gay I can’t say for sure, but I think there are a lot of similarities between coming out of the atheist and gay closets. So that might explain some of the increase in self-reported atheists, and we can’t know for sure the number who are atheists but are scared to say so, even on a poll. (Which might be also afraid to admit it to themselves.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/28 "2023-04-11T21:13:14Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > But you do you. I don’t need your permission. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/29 "2023-04-11T21:58:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I don’t need your permission. Such asperity! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/30 "2023-04-11T22:28:12Z")
You know he played the Marlboro Man, right? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/31 "2023-04-12T01:45:48Z")
Amazement seems an awfully strong emotion. I don’t remember reading that article in The Atlantic, which I do like and which often inspires my threads… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/32 "2023-04-12T02:08:59Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I can see the appeal of community and fellowship. But as someone who has attended church with my Mother-in-law twice in the last five years (and none in the previous 40 or so) I can tell you that attending church for the other purposes is pure hell for us non-believers. … [Snip.] > > I’d be happy to join a bowling league, however. The church I attended as a child had other purposes. And while it didn’t have a bowling league, it did have a curling league (we’re in Canada). Sometimes, I think our family only attended Sunday services so I could be in Cubs and Scouts, my sister could attend a dance class, Dad could go curling, Mom could play bridge, and so on. Mind, it was a very inoffensive Protestant sect, without all the “You need Jesus! Jesus will save you! Have you been saved?” crap that more evangelical/pentecostal churches had, and continue to have, in every “extracurricular activity” outside of Sunday services. Hell (heh!), we didn’t even have a Bible study class, or midweek prayers, or anything other than an hour-long Sunday morning service. Our church was basically a social club, where membership required an hour of time on a Sunday morning, and a couple of bucks in the collection plate. I ended up singing in the choir for years–hey, free singing lessons, because they never passed around the collection plate among the choir. Point is, that not all churches try to ram religion down your throat, even in their “extracurricular activities.” For some, community and fellowship is the goal, not conversions. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/33 "2023-04-12T02:22:31Z")
Many “nones” are not atheist or agnostic; they may believe in a higher power but do not practice a specific religion. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/34 "2023-04-12T03:39:16Z")
Moderating: > [@Chefguy](#): > > > [@Ulfreida](#): > > > > But you do you. > > I don’t need your permission. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > Such asperity! Please comment on the content, and not on the commentators. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/35 "2023-04-12T14:23:54Z")
Sorry, but I felt that the rude and dismissive comment needed a response. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/36 "2023-04-12T22:22:34Z")
This report provides good insight and data on the topic WRT the pandemic: > **[How the Pandemic Has Affected Attendance at U.S. Religious Services](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/03/28/how-the-pandemic-has-affected-attendance-at-u-s-religious-services/)** > > During the pandemic, a stable share of U.S. adults have been participating in religious services in some way – either virtually or in person – but in-person attendance is slightly lower than it was before COVID-19. Among Americans surveyed across... _There are some indications that in-person engagement in religious services has declined slightly since 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. The share of all U.S. adults who say they typically attend religious services at least once a month is down modestly but measurably (by 3 percentage points, from 33% to 30%) over that span, and one-in-five Americans say they now attend in person less often than they did before the pandemic._ _At the same time, the share of U.S. adults who take part in religious services in some way (in person, virtually or both) in a given month has remained remarkably steady since the early days of the pandemic – even though how they participate has shifted dramatically._ ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/37 "2023-04-19T18:21:55Z")
> **[Opinion | Lots of Americans Are Losing Their Religion. Have You?](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/opinion/religion-america.html)** > > We want to hear from readers who were once observant but aren’t anymore. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/38 "2023-04-19T18:37:42Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > My opinion is that the decline in church attendance is but part of a general weakening of all community ties, responsibilities, and of all social groups. We are following our individualistic cultural tenets by detaching ourselves from all the structures that wove together communities – Rotary Club, Freemasons, bowling leagues, volunteer fire department, library guild, you name it, and it’s struggling. We’re all free-floating motes now. It takes two people working 40+ hours a week to have a roof over your head and food. I don’t think people just stopped wanting to go out and have a few beers with their friends on a Wednesday or dancing on Friday. When the local butcher could have a house, 5 kids, and a stay at home wife. People had evenings and weekends to do stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/39 "2023-04-19T20:26:51Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > It takes two people working 40+ hours a week to have a roof over your head and food. I don’t think people just stopped wanting to go out and have a few beers with their friends on a Wednesday or dancing on Friday. When the local butcher could have a house, 5 kids, and a stay at home wife. People had evenings and weekends to do stuff. I tried to find studies about how the amount of leisure time has changed. The trend since post WWII has been a substantial jump in available hours, followed by a modest trend of increase. Not a decrease. Much of the increase has to do with less time managing households – less cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping, sewing, mending, growing and putting up food. Most of that fell to women but men are also much less likely to repair and build stuff like machines, cars, and their own homes than they once were. Similarly, people are far less likely to create their own entertainments as a social group ; one can think of many now moribund pastimes of previous generations, and most of them were social, like local dances, pick up games, fairs, etc. I think churchgoing – mainly a social function, for many – falls into that general pattern. People are now much more likely to be pure consumers of entertainment, not actors or creators. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405/40 "2023-04-19T23:40:12Z")
I don’t think the amount of available leisure time (whether more or less) has much to do with church attendance. People do have enough time to go to church, if they want to go. There are just other things they would rather do. Why the percentage is increasing of people who would rather do something else with their free time is a question that I don’t think anyone has answered. Speculation is fun but inconclusive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-religious-trends/982405.md?page=1)