Losing our religion?

by Larry Ashcraft

W

ith all due respect to the R.E.M. song from the early 90’s, it would appear that the Western world is leaving its religious roots.  Recently, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a study indicating that up to 44% of Americans have left the faith tradition of the families in which they were raised.  Further, 51% of the population claims to be Protestant, as compared with over 70% of 20 years ago.

It is not that people are necessarily leaving Christianity; it is that they are leaving the tradition of their families.  In fact, the fastest growing churches in the US seem to be non-denominational.  Time was that if you were born Methodist, Lutheran, Nazarene or Salvo, you stayed that way.  Not so now.

It appears that the days of denominational loyalty are long gone.  George Barna, in his book Revolution, predicted this a couple of years back.  He indicated that he saw a day of boutique churches and the occasional mega-church, where people will pick and choose their place of worship.

To answer this, several denominations have started aggressive recruitment campaigns and media blitzes.  These campaigns focus the “consumer” on joining one individual denomination or the other; yet I am not sure those I have seen actually concentrate on joining the church.  This is not to accuse those who want to build their denominations of being ungodly; I trust their motivation. I think that their methods are not effective and will probably not produce strong disciples. I hope I am wrong on the latter statement.

Syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman quotes Professor Donald Miller, of the Religious Studies Department at USC, in a recent column.  “You are the artist of your own life when it comes to religion,” says Miller.  “This enables people to be more thoughtful about what they perceive to be true and right rather than inheriting what passes down to them.”

For years, I have thought that one of the things that has hampered us from making true disciples is that we have not allowed for strong questioning or opposing opinion in the Body of Christ.  If someone questions doctrine or ecclesiastical practice, they are somehow branded as a malcontent — or worse, a heretic.  Unfortunately, unquestioning loyalty is often rewarded, I believe, at the expense of a thoughtful, active faith.

Even family members of mine have had people tell them to “get over their questions.”  They need to get past their hurts or anxieties.  I see this questioning and denomination-hopping not as unfaithfulness as much as I see it as a deep desire to discover deep meaningful faith.

Goodman writes, “I don’t think Americans are just shopping for their beliefs in a trivial sense, trying on creeds like this year’s vestment, searching for the latest spiritual fashion.  But we are a people on the move.  About 40 million of us move to another home every year.  So too, we drop in and out of church, U-Hauling our beliefs off in search of a better fit.  Today, we may shop in a spiritual mall.  But what good fortune to find the mall paved over the old religious battlefields.”

So I have been thinking very deeply these days about this subject.  I wonder, will there be a day when most of our denominations close up shop?  I see a day coming when we will need to change our idea of church.  I continue to wonder if we are more concerned about building denominations than we are about building the Kingdom.  I know that each denomination sees itself as having certain distinctions, both in theology and in practice.  I would submit, however, that most people really could not tell you the difference.

Where does this leave us who are faithful to denominations?  Are we at the point where we are losing our religion?  Is denominational loyalty important?  Is it more important that we ask people join a cause for Christ or a church?

I have been rolling these thoughts through my mind.  Is this questioning somehow being unfaithful?  Am I losing my religion?

Writer: Larry Ashcraft has been a Salvation Army officer for more than 25 years. He serves as the General Secretary for the North East Ohio Division in the USA Eastern Territory. Larry and his wife Janet founded of the Eastern Territory’s Project 1:17 School of Youth Ministry and Mission in 2001 and recently turned over the leadership of the school. Larry and his wife have two sons and a daughter-in-law who are their pride and joy. Larry enjoys sports, reading and good political debate. Larry and Janet’s joint passion is to see the emerging generation engaged and discipled for the mission of God, through The Salvation Army.

4 Comments to Losing our religion?

1. I’ve had the living daylights beaten out of me mentally by the loyalty versus faithfulness dilemma brought about by being a salvationist in a rural/small town setting where the corps are all aging and somewhat past the point of being able to re-boot, never mind being able to adjust to the changes necessary to remaining missional in stance.

   The place I’ve come to is this. It makes sense to me to disciple those who come to the army with a genuine and authentic focus on the army charism, it’s particular gift to the world. The aspects of ‘army’and soldier concept language that can be appropriated are absolutely right and good to celebrate, affirm and convey in our language of discipleship, because it comes out of the heart of who we are. But it needs to be done with an open and generous attitude, knowing that this may be just one approach the person learns from at a particular stage on their spiritual formation journey. My hope would be that when we give that formation we give it really well and freely, and avoid the mistake of watering it down into a kind of generic discipleship they could receive in any church, and that we avoid trying to lay foundations for a guilt trip if they come to move on, though commitment within realistic boundaries is something definitely to encourage.At the end of it, faithfulness to following Christ and the heart of one’s calling is more important than loyalty to a denomination - anything is better than being left for years in a situation where you can’t serve effectively and have no sense of direction or development in ministry. I meet people in spiritual meltdown over this regularly. The individual can only be faithful in service if the army does its bit in enabling that. When they don’t the covenant becomes not meaningless, but in urgent need of attention and reframing so that faithful service can continue elsewhere. I think sticking it out long term, I mean other than through an occasional dry patch or bad couple of years, doesn’t help either the army or the believer. It takes two to tango and to make a covenant work. The army/denomination has responsibilities as well as the believer in enabling faithful service, sadly these are often less clearly articulated and more difficult to hold to account.
Eleanor Burne-Jones on March 13th, 2008

2. The latest issue of The Atlantic is running an interesting series of articles tracing faith & religion, evangelicalism in the US etc. Here is a link to one which speaks to some of the same issues Larry raises in his posting: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/secularism
Geoff Ryan on March 13th, 2008

3. Hmm. I disagree. I think people are not losing their religion. “Losing” implies a forgetfulness, or disinterest. I think most people are quite deliberately rejecting their religions. And as it stands I doubt we can stop them.
   Maybe (hopefully) once they have rejected their religions; (which may or may not have been impeding their way to God) then there will be someone outside the box who can (re)introduce them to Jesus
   On the flip side though, for a people who chop and change churches every week, and leave at the first hint of trouble, carrying a cross along a narrow path would probably seem too much like hard work… depressing…
Steph on March 13th, 2008

4. For me “losing my religion” does not mean “losing my faith” I am one of many in recent days who have become disillusioned by the Army’s core values and it’s leadership’s refusal to live by it. In that context, yes I have lost my religion because I am no longer a member of the Army. When the Army’s leadership fails to provide the spiritual guidance I need and instead responds with political rhetoric, I must seek seek spiritual guidance and fellowship elsewhere. Thank you Mr. Ashcraft for raising the issue.I believe that as Christians we should be spiritually minded not politically articulate.
Peter on April 1st, 2008

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