Posted on 04/06/2013 3:19:57 PM PDT by NYer
It may not be the reason you think.
The Rev. Stephen Fichter understood just how dominant a role sports has assumed in the culture when a family told him they would be out of town Good Friday to Easter Sunday to attend their child’s volleyball tournament.
“It’s truly sports that has become like the religion” for many people, said Fichter, a researcher and the pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Haworth, N.J.
From youth travel teams to big-time national festivals such as the Final Four, sports have been making increasing inroads in the busy lives of many Americans. Some scholars even trace the evolution of sports from pastime to a form of civil religion to now having become almost a folk religion.
And it is having an impact on religious groups, which report increasing difficulty convincing families that are willing to spend half a day traveling to a 9-year-old’s softball or soccer game to make time for worship services.
Some congregations are meeting the challenge by offering alternative service times and their own sports teams and programs. But many despair of their ability to compete in a culture increasingly consumed by athletics, with its multi-million dollar idols and its own sacred relics. Witness the Babe Ruth jersey that sold last year for $4.4 million.
In a study of 16 declining congregations in the U.S. and Canada, the reason most cited by clergy and members for falling attendance was the secularization of Sunday, with many identifying children’s sports as most responsible. Researcher Stephen McMullin of Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia reported the findings in the current issue of the Review of Religious Research.
“(Parents) will make sure Johnny goes to sports, but when it comes to church, I’ve just seen it over and over again, and even in our own congregation, the families that have children in sport will sacrifice church for the sake of their son or daughter’s sports program, so sports is another huge reason why our church is declining,” one pastor said.
There were few Easter Christians, individuals who show up for worship one or two days a year, among the earliest followers of the faith.
Facing penalties “like hanging — that tends to clear the head,” the Rev. Aidan Kavanagh, the late liturgy professor at Yale Divinity School, dryly observed.
Christians in the United States no longer need fear persecution for missing services. Demanding schedules, many of which revolve around youth sports, are the new competition for congregations.
Fichter surveyed 341 Catholics in one congregation who reported attending only on Easter and Christmas. He said he thought many people would cite disagreement with church teachings or negative experiences. But only 7 percent of respondents gave either of those reasons.
More than two-thirds said the reason they attend only twice a year was that they were too busy with other commitments. Sixteen percent admitted they were lazy. Fichter reported the findings at the joint annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association.
It's sad but parents aren't placing God before sports for their children nor themselves. When times really get tough, we can't look to the coaches or our favorite team for help.
God doesn't force Himself on us. It's truly sad that we usually have to go through a crisis, with no where left to turn befor we turn to Him.
Can’t get spouse to attend a Bible-preaching non-denominational with me because of these reasons you cite.
Most especially the high sound level and the same words sung over and over and over - - I must say I agree.
And maybe most especially because of the dressing, or lack of. Shorts (men), flip flops - who is interested in seeing dirty feet, ragged nails, really? A little respect and appropriate dress for the place one is attending. (Know a woman whose husband says don’t come to his funeral if you intend to wear shorts. That disrespects the family - and woe to the family member who disrespects this way)!
Not interested in being around folks who ‘let it all hang out.’
Thank goodness there is still some decorum left here and there!
Have to add - those girls and young women who insist on styling their hair in the pews/seats. Flipping it and the dander, etc. all around - right IN FRONT of me. Can tell a parent never set the rules. Brushing, styling hair - even ‘just’ smoothing and putting in a pony-tail - is for the bathroom - NOT for my ‘enjoyment - - ‘
All these annoyances are not going to change because this church has been popular for years - hundreds of Sunday worshippers.
We are from many years attending/active, office-holding members of a mainline church.
Raised 4 daughters in it, and not one is of that denomination now. All are active (other)church members, tho.
Something we did was right!
We believe all the years attending Sunday School, church, and having fun at other times kept the girls on a good path.
We attend their churches on occasion, to be with the grandkids.
You need to read her post more carefully. She didn’t say the church preached those things. She said the Christians IN the church were saying some of those things. And how can you say she’s wrong? FR is clearly dominated by Christians, and the dominant vernacular in FR is exactly what Nita described.
Who said anything about being entertained?
I go to church to learn the Word of God. Too many sermons, or maybe it was just the preacher, were terribly boring. We tried Home Groups, but the study material seemed to have been written by the same people who write magazine articles (you know, like, "How To Brighten Up That Dingy Old Laundry Room!", etc.).
Sorry if I wasn't clear. It's been a long day.....
feel not odd, for God doesn't care...
I don’t buy this for a minute. How many youth sporting events are held on Sunday mornings? Some, but not that many. I have been able to combine church and NFL watching for decades (but, then, I’m in the Central time zone, easier than in Pacific or Mountain). In Hawaii, they just moved the services to Sunday night.
No, the reason churches are empty is because of our fallen culture and the many churches that have compromised God’s values for the modern rubbish that passes for worship.
Armageddon is just around the corner folks.
So true. I've been to churches like that and it's a total turn-off. And I often wonder if people in churches who drive off newcomers will ever be asked about that on Judgment Day because it's so antithetical to Christ's teachings. The Bible story in John 8 comes to mind when i see Christians being judgmental... when the mob wanted to stone the adulterous woman.
Going to church...you submit yourself to God, you worship God, you serve God. It's very easy to find fault with churches (this thread is chock full of them), but what it boils down to is that it's more about what you want and less about what God wants.
Because they don’t get anything out of it?
I dropped off when I saw the churches that we tried had very few male-oriented fellowship programs. Oh sure, there were men's study groups, etc, but they just weren't supportive enough of fellow members. We'd show up, do our fellowship, and go home. People we tried to create friendships with were non-committal for almost anything outside of church. And we tried quite a few churches.
It's my wife that's moved us around form church to church. She also is not satisfied with the level of Christianity on display at most of the churches we've tried. She complains about the "clique-ishness" of so many of the members, even her Women's Group.
Some do not realize how hard it is now days to find a good Christian church, so many of them are packaged as "seeker oriented", a fair euphemism for Christian-Light.
And as to the idea of maybe "I'm the problem", well, to each his own and you can assume what you like, but my wife and I have tried to organize our own Home Bible Study group ("church" are a group of people who are Christians, not a building) and most people just want to "put in their time" for an hour or so on Sunday and go home. Sorry if that sounds cynical, but tell me you've never met anyone like that.
We haven't given up and we won't. I posted my comments as a reflection of what many men really think but might not say out loud.
I apologize for offending you.
Rest, Bear, and we’ll all be thinking of you and praying you’re well soon. God’s Peace.
Sorry? I haven’t hear you sing. Is it that bad?
We are an independent Christian church. The glory is only God's.
Personally, I stopped going to church (Apostolic) when I realized it wasn’t about Christ’s message but only about comparing clothing every Sunday. I consider myself a philosophical Christian. I’m agnostic on the supernatural elements, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. Even if Jesus was “just” a man, he was a man millennia ahead of his time.
When did attending church on Sunday turn into entertainment?
*****
Since churches brought in drums and electric guitars and loud amps to lure the youngsters with music. I don’t like it and consider that disrespectful to worship and loving Jesus.
Church is when two or more are gathered in HIS name. Amen.
The last church I tried the pastor said after the service that the easy part about being protestant is you can sin on Saturday and get forgiven on Sunday. I know a few people in his church and understand why they do what they do all week.
What the heck is the point of a church that condones repeated bad behavior? Seems rather pointless to even show up on Sunday.
That doesn’t sound like a Bible-believing church or you misunderstood what he was trying to say. There is indeed grace as everyone is a sinner and if you believe in Christ your sins will indeed be forgiven. However all will be judged for what they did. So, no you cannot fool God and game the system. I doubt the pastor was saying that. If so find another one.
I found Bible studies were good for better understanding the basic theology. Many people have cynical views of the church because THEY haven’t taken the time to understand the faith. You can’t just show up on Sunday and get it. Big church is just part of it.
wish you well.
Do go! You are an integral part of a community!
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