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.
If sitting alone is of great concern take a friend or go alone and make a new friend or take a friend and both of you make new friends. Christianity is more a way of life than a religion.
Yes I’ve been letting this being single, alone in church get in the way of just going sundays regularly. I enjoy worshipping God in church so that’s not the issue. I just blame myself and not the church which is an accurate asessment.
I think it is crock with busy parents
I used play softball when I was in grammer school my mom made sure I try get 5pm or 7am mass if the game fall on Sunday
Maybe times are changing here I think bottom line Parents are lazy these days
There some parents still base PR move with Church on sex abuse scandel especially in My CITY somebody should went Besnon Stabler on LA Archdisooe long time
LAPD was too lazy to invetigate
I am also single and go to church, like you, to worship God. I have learned over the years that if you want friends, you have to extend yourself in friendship.
It is never easy to be single and a member of the Church. While the Church rightly must focus on both the married as well as priestly/consecrated life, those who are single either by choice or circumstances are the most forgotten members of Christ’s body, the Church.
Ok— I kicked my butt today and went to church. Procrastinated but made the 1PM spanish language service at least.
Always though I feel better after going to church and never regret it when its over. Thanks to many on this thread to help me get beyond an excuse that robs me of blessing if missing church.
What an awkwardly worded headline.
“It’s just that church bores me.”
Any thought to the idea that church isn’t about you?
There’s very little “difference” in the churches today then what can be seen and done in the world....nothing that sets it apart....rather churches have brought everything of the world into the churches.
In my travels I have visited many churches.....rare to hear a strong message from the pulpit...one that reaches out and takes hold of your soul.
The churches so often are about the coffee bars...book stores within...lots and lots of chatter the entire time your there. The idea one is going there to worship and hear what God might have for the church to hear...is now who you’re going to meet, and the “stage” is set for the show.
Much is theatrical...
Nah.....the true bottom line is people don’t ‘want’ to go to church....and so decide not to. It’s really that basic....reasons and excuses come in order to justify not being there to those who might inquire......
I worry about my own religion, He who is without sin.....
again we are not talking about the gay infiltration. You’re going exactly where they are leading you.
Pretty much covers it.
Families use to get together for dinner as well.....everything in town was closed then...people made certain they stocked up for week-ends...if they weren't with the family it really was generally a day of kicking back....and then we wonder today why peoples life and jobs are so stressful....there's never a day to recover.
If you enjoy worshipping God a bit noisier than most find a charismatic church nearby.
Well, we know from Scripture, that the Church - founded by Jesus Christ - is Christ's bride (Ephesians 5:29) and has "no spot, wrinkle or blemish" (Ephesians 5:27). The question for searchers is to discover that church. The Catholic Church traces its roots to Jesus Christ. Insofar as "he who is without sin", Scripture again reminds us that individual clergy may commit sins, even popes commit sins because in the Church there are both "weeds and wheat" (Matthew 13:30).
You’re going exactly where they are leading you.
Here again, we Catholics have the assurance from Christ hat the gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18) so how can the Church commit error? In its 2000 year history, despite a few bad popes, not one of them has ever erred in teachings on faith or morals. How many other churches can make a similar claim? None.
On March 17, Pope Francis told an overflow crowd in St. Peter's Square never to despair of God's mercy to sinners. "The Lord never tires of forgiving," Today is the Feast of the Divine Mercy. Take a few minutes to read the promises made by our Lord, here. I will keep you in my daily prayers.
Of late, that number is growing. Personally, I will not go out to dinner alone but have no problem attending Mass on Sunday as a single woman. The difference is apparent - going out to dine is lonely whereas at mass, we are with a companion, our Lord and Savior, who waits for us each week. That knowledge brings joy to my heart and wings to my feet ; - )
I think that too they find the church boring not part of their lives
I have friends who don’t go to church at all OR only go on Easter or Christmas
AMEN! You got it. Jesus is with us, even when we are alone!
Well, I haven’t heard the Christians in any of my churches saying those things either. Do you feel better now? It just smacks of what people want to ASSUME. Like I said, if it’s true, why not post the names of the churches and help us all out. Because it’s not true. If I ever heard that kind of stuff from any church or the people therein, I’d be making sure everyone knew.
My motto was and is, "treat company like family and family like company." I never wanted my children to think that they were less than the dinner guests, that I saved "the best" for strangers.
As for church, the Sabbath, we went together and sat as a family, sports never took first place, we treated them and still do, as "entertainment."
Not to get preachy but I am mindful of the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." Why bother with church at all if one's god isn't the One True God?
The Lord knows our hearts and He knows our priorities, "for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Lastly, we should never be about chastising others for if they have no desire to attend the fellowship of believers, chances are that they are not believers, so until they feel moved by the Spirit, we should not judge them. The doors are always open to receive them and we are ready to receive and love them, when they do come (or come back.)
Jeff: I was trying to point out the irony of your complaint with the fact that you are not making it better. Of course, I know what you say is true. The Black church, in particular, suffers from this problem. The women run the church. Not biblical at all.
While I am sorry you and your wife have not found the “right” church. Consider that the moment you find the perfect church, you better not join since you’ll ruin it. That’s an old joke...I’ve told people that many times and they always laugh since human nature tends to be critical of others more so than ourselves.
We left a church after 24 years. It was a great place. Many strong believers there. Too many - and too complicated - reasons for our leaving. The church we are in now is awesome.
I do think you can have a house church and there is nothing wrong with that, but we are told NOT to forsake the assembling of ourselves. Therefore, you can’t be obedient and not go to church. Of course, church could be just your own family. Look at all the underground churches!
And pray for God to find you a home.
What? Even if he was just a man? If he was just a man, Christians are to be pitied above all creatures. No, he was way more...
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