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 Does Anyone Go To Church?

Today, I want to talk about religion and church participation in the United States. I wonder if anyone still goes to church, and what is the general attitude about religion today.

First off, I want to share my knowledge and experience with church and religion. I think it's typical for my age group. I was raised in the Christian faith, and was taught the King James Bible. My family went to church every week and we had lots of social activities that originated from church.

Church members called themselves "family" and "brothers and sisters in Christ." My memories of church are mostly of rules and structure. Church leaders told us what to do and they told us it was what God wanted. They told us God interpreted the Bible through them. Of course, the leaders had instructions on tithing part of your income to the church.

I think most of this is pretty status quo.

We stopped going to church when I was a tween. Mostly, because life today is not static, changes in life circumstances make it hard to stay in a church forever.

I didnt worry about religion or church for a long time. I did pop in a few times and was a member of one for a few years, but the problem was always that it became a hierarchy. It would turn ito rules and control and the leaders never practiced what they preached. So, I was turned off and I think this is also, status quo.

Most people younger than me have even less experience and knowledge because their parents are like me.

Gallop Poll

Published by Erin Duffin, Sep 30, 2022 

According to a 2021 survey, 31 percent of Americans never attend church or synagogue, compared to 22 percent of Americans who attend every week.

Religiosity in the United States: Despite only about a fifth of Americans attending church or synagogue on a weekly basis, almost 40 percent consider themselves to be very religious. Additionally, states in the Deep South such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana had the most residents identifying as very religious. In contrast, New England states like Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire had the most people identifying as nonreligious.

A Christian nation? Despite the official separation of church and state embedded in the Constitution, many would still consider the United States to be a Christian nation. Catholicism has the largest number of adherents in the United States, due to there being many different Protestant denominations. The Southern Baptist Convention had the largest number of Evangelical adherents, while the United Methodist Church was the largest Mainline Protestant denomination.

So, does anyone go to church? The answer is yes. But according to Gallop Polls and Statistics, Americans say they are "religious" but don't have a church or a religious doctrine they follow. As a matter of fact, witchcraft, is returning as an accetable religion. As people are replaced, younger generations have less religious affiliations.

This lack of shared values is another wedge to overcome, in addition to race, ethnicity and gender.

I totally get the whole "church", "religion" avoidance. What I would like though, is to somehow get people on a moral value system that isn't just based on whether something is legal, or illegal, but instead, is it the morally right thing to do.

Since most Americans don't have religious morals, there is no standard to look to for guidance. Herein, I think lies the problem and why most of us don't like church, religion, or even people at large.

I mean, if there are no agreed upon values, it's hard to have cohesive relationships, or even make sense to, and with one another.

Without a shared set of morals, there is nothing to use as a way to create laws, or establish guidelines. The quest for individual "freedom", in a way, has morphed into each person deciding (mostly self-serving) ideals of right and wrong.

Since there is a growing divide among perspectives there is less agreement than in the past.

My prayer for Americans is to turn to God and not church or religion. I guess I would be asked, which one? I can only say to turn back to what you once knew. For me it is Jesus the son, and God the Father.

  1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Complete-church-midnight-mass_(3135957575).jpg
  2. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucia_procession.jpg
  1. Gallup poll March 2021
  2. Statista Society Religion 2021

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