Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 4:24:57 PM
Have you heard that Americans are prone to change religions? Well, it might not be what you think. Duke Helfand of the Los Angeles Times reports on a Pew Forum survey.
Americans are fickle consumers of religion, with about half changing religious affiliations at least once in their lives as they drift away from childhood traditions or stop believing in the teachings of their faiths, according to a national survey released Monday.
By contrast, Iran doesn't have any converts, at least not away from Islam. Just like it doesn't have any homosexuals.
Monday's survey, based on follow-up interviews with 2,800 people, delved more deeply into the reasons behind the religious churn among Roman Catholics, Protestants and the unaffiliated. Jews, Muslims and other groups were not included because their numbers were not large enough to produce reliable results, the researchers said.
Uh, so these were basically "Christians" going from one Christian church to another, or dropping out of churchgoing, or starting up churchgoing. When most people hear "changing religions", they’re thinking of someone going from some form of Christianity to some form of Judaism, or vice-versa, or from Hinduism to Islam, or something like that. Meanwhile, there are probably people saying that they haven't changed or dropped their religion, identifying with their family’s Christian denomination, even though they make to church twice a year, if at all.
Many without religious belief also said they found religious people to be hypocritical, judgmental or insincere.
Okay let’s take those one at a time.
Hypocritical – This is an often misused term. People erroneously apply it to people who did something in the distant past, but now agree that doing such a thing is wrong. It can even be misapplied when it is used of someone who has recently done someone even though they have agreed that such a thing is wrong. A hypocrite is someone who publicly professes to believe one thing, but they actually believe something else that is contradictory. Now, a person's behavior may be an indication of their beliefs, but sometimes people do act against their beliefs. Are there traditionally religious people who do any of these things? Yes. But people do these sorts of things – across all religious identities. Some people seem to be just fine with people doing sleazy things, as long as they have never spoken out against doing those things.
Judgmental – Sorry, but you can't go through life without making judgments. We all do. The important thing is to judge rightly. "Judge not lest ye be judged", in context, isn't telling us not to make judgments. It is letting us know that we are not above judgment. Christians are to confess their sins. None of us knows for sure the heart of anyone else, and it isn't our place to judge someone else's destiny. But we can certainly judge their actions and their words. Really, this reason for leaving a church or a religion smacks of "I want to live my way, without anyone expressing disapproval." Being a part of a congregation includes peer pressure, and if you read the Bible, Jesus makes a lot of judgments and tells some people what they are doing is wrong.
Insincere – Yup, there sure are people in religious organizations that are insincere, just like there are insincere people everywhere. If you believe the spiritual or organizational leader of your church is insincere (like, say, if you are a Roman Catholic and you believe the Pope is insincere), then I can understand leaving the church. But I just don't see doing it if you think one of the ushers in insincere.
In most cases, former Catholics who are now unaffiliated said they were dissatisfied with the church's teachings on abortion, homosexuality, birth control or treatment of women.
Such people either don’t believe in the authority of the church, nor the Bible; or they are knowingly running away from something they believe to be true for the sake of comfort or convenience. Although I'm not aware of what the RCC does to women that is so bad. Maybe someone can enlighten me?
More than two-thirds of those Catholics who switched to Protestantism, meanwhile, said that their spiritual needs were not being met and that they found another religion they preferred.
Sadly, there are Protestant churches that refuse to recognize the sinfulness of abortion or sexual behavior outside of marriage.
The survey also showed that 80% of those raised as Protestants have remained so. But more than a quarter of them have switched to a different Protestant tradition -- for example, changing from Presbyterian to Episcopalian.
Is that really a big deal?
I'm thinking some of the people who have "dropped out" have done so for reasons they are not stressing to others – such as having a falling out with other congregants, not wanting to be asked to get involved (especially financially), not wanting to deal with the schedule (getting up on Sunday morning, etc.) – stuff like that.
That is not to say that there aren't people who have serious doubts or disillusionments that have cause them to leave the religion in which they were raised. The Church should not be letting people fall out of the back door because they are concentrating too much on getting people in through the front door.
I wasn't really raised in a religious home. There was mostly sporadic church attendance, and not by the whole family. Since becoming an adult, I have attended churches other than that particular denomination. I don't (and didn't) look for a church that is going to give its stamp of approval on my lifestyle. In fact, there were times I was attending church and listening to sermons against something I was doing - that helped me to move away from my sin. I choose a church based first and foremost on how it teaches the Bible, then how it is making and treating disciples. Is it a place where I can serve others? It is healthy and well-balanced? Is it a place where I can grow in my walk as a follower of Christ? If not, I don't want to spend my time there, take others there, or give money to it.