Free Republic

Our society is in the midst of a massive cultural shift. According to the Barna Group, “rates of church attendance, religious affiliation, belief in God, prayer and Bible-reading have been dropping for decades. Americans’ beliefs are becoming more post-Christian and, concurrently, religious identity is changing.”This is the environment in which Generation Z is growing up.

Some on the Left, such as Mehdi Hassan, are still on a crusade to convince Americans that the shutdowns and mandates during COVID were great for everybody.Last week he did a show focused on how closing schools down during COVID was a good idea (although, in a fascinating twist, he sometimes seemed to imply that time in school itself is bad for kids). You can watch his idiocy here:Mehdi Hassan is such a political shill that he would rather twist logic and reason to justify school closures, rather than accept the simple fact that this position pushed by the Democrats...

Church attendance in the United States is lower than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey indicated. In the new Gallup survey, 31 percent of respondents said they have attended church, synagogue, mosque or temple in the last seven days. In Gallup polls conducted from 2020 to the most recent May 1-24, 2023 poll, an average of 30 percent of respondents said they had attended services in the last week. These data represent a modest decline of an average of four points since the four-year period before the pandemic, when an average of 34 percent of respondents said...

The New Testament, from Acts 2 to Revelation 3, is about the local church. That is a big portion of the Bible!The local church is God’s plan A to carry out his mission on earth, and He did not give us a plan B.Sure, the local church can be messy. It’s made of imperfect members like you and me. We are all sinners. No local church is close to being perfect.But God made it clear that Christians are to be connected to a local church. Anything less than our commitment and devotion to our church is nothing less than disobedience...

I did not attend CPAC 2023 this year for various reasons, mostly time and cost. Compared to Florida, Washington D.C. is prohibitively expensive, with fewer food and lodging options. Also, after two years of a popular, and well-received (not to mention warmer) event, I wasn’t interested in wasting energy, money, and time dealing with the cold, crime-ridden, and freedom-restricted swamp that is D.C.From attendee and news reports, my instincts were right, and apparently, others felt the same. The Washington Examiner unpacks the bad news for the Conservative Political Action Conference.The Conservative Political Action Conference’s return to the nation’s capital has...

BREAKING: Paul Ryan says he will not attend the RNC if the nominee is Trump pic.twitter.com/2U7jwcsRnv— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 25, 2023[Call a waahmbulance, dude. ~ Beege]

Churches are closing at rapid numbers in the US, researchers say, as congregations dwindle across the country and a younger generation of Americans abandon Christianity altogether – even as faith continues to dominate American politics. As the US adjusts to an increasingly non-religious population, thousands of churches are closing each year in the country – a figure that experts believe may have accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation means some hard decisions for pastors, who have to decide when a dwindling congregation is no longer sustainable. But it has also created a boom market for those wanting to buy...

Let’s start with a scenario that your church has an average worship attendance of 100. I use that number for simplicity. The median worship attendance is 65.Now, let’s ask a simple question. How many attendees do you have to add to your attendance in a year to stay even?The answer for a typical church is 32 with a worship attendance of 100. You can double the number to 64 if the church’s attendance is 200.Did you get that? A church has to increase the number of attendees by 32 percent each year just to stay even.In a church with 100...

The news is astounding. Churches with fewer than 250 in average worship attendance account for 92% of all churches in the United States. At Church Answers, we call these congregations “standard churches” because they represent all but 8% of churches. It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to discern what important trends and developments are taking place that have direct bearing on standard churches. Here are five major developments. 1. There will likely be a migration to neighborhood and rural churches. We are certainly aware that the greater majority of attendees are in larger churches. But we are also aware that...

There are times when a church attendance plateau is a victory. I believe many churches are in a season of stagnation, and it’s not all bad.But first, a few caveats.Stagnation is not the goal, but a plateau can point to a future growth climb. Also, churches can be in denial about declines. Leaders should never ignore problems.The first step on the plateau is to recognize where you are. Unfortunately, churches and leaders can tend to lack self-awareness. Don’t call declines a plateau. The definition of being on a plateau is an extended season of not growing or declining. Be self-aware....

Hallway at 2022 SHOT Show. It would normally be full of people. U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)-–As someone who has attended most of the shot shows in the last decade, the most obvious difference in 2022 is the ability to move through the halls and aisles at the show without the crowed press of people seen at previous shows. Attendance is down by a significant amount. The exhibitors who are present seem to be attracting good interest, such as with this Aimpoint exhibit:Aimpoint at SHOT Show 2022 Some major players have a limited presence at the 2022 SHOT Show. This Colt location would...

Sports are back, certainly as a TV product. The NFL is up in the ratings over last season. The NBA, buoyed by a resurgent Warriors, improved Eastern Conference and avoidance of Thursday Night Football, is up over last season as well. So all is well, right? Let’s just say there’s an issue, one that franchises are attempting to obscure. I’m looking at it through the prism of the NBA, because that’s the sport I’m obviously most familiar with, but this is a broader problem that could explode into a larger story. Jacob Feldman of Sportico gives us a good look...

A limited number of fans will be allowed to attend all rounds of next month’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Indiana. A limited number of fans will be allowed to attend all rounds of next month’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Indiana

I haven’t heard any attendance number from the January 6th Trump rally. Is there any credible source as to how many were there ?

**SNIP** Miami Dolphins President/CEO Tom Garfinkel laid out his team’s plans Monday on “Good Morning America,” describing how going to an NFL game will become much like ordering takeout from a restaurant or grocery shopping during the pandemic. All fans would wear masks, and colored spots on the ground outside the stadium would indicate proper social distancing as spectators wait to enter. Food would be ordered from the seat and then picked up at the designated concession stand, eliminating the need for lines. Entering and exiting the stadium also would change to give everyone more space. “We would have times...

As a result, new stadiums are shrinking. In a piece for USA Today, sports writer Gabe Lacques noted the falling attendance of several MLB teams.

Approximately 3,000 strangers came to the funeral of a Vietnam veteran with no surviving family. On Wednesday, strangers from Florida, Tennessee, and Iowa reportedly drove to a Michigan funeral for 67-year-old Wayne Lee Wilson, who died on May 28. The former truck driver “proudly” served in the military from 1971 to 1977, including during the Vietnam War, according to an obituary from the Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Services. “He was passionate about helping his fellow wounded veterans and encouraged others to give to the Paralyzed Veterans Association,” read Wilson’s obit. “Mr. Wilson has no surviving relatives.” The notice stated,...

Week one of the regular NFL season kicked off this weekend with a wimper - the ratings were at a 10-year low. ... Americans are fed up with athletes kneeling during the National Anthem and it showed - plenty of empty seats plagued stadiums on Sunday. [Snip] On Sunday, Miami Dolphins wide receivers Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson kicked off their first game one of the NFL season by taking a knee during the National Anthem and Colin Kaepernick celebrated. The constant protests on the field are destroying the NFL. The President slammed the NFL on Sunday for their abysmal...

As the NFL kicks off its regular season, some sports teams are experimenting with a secret ingredient to help reverse declining attendance: cheaper food. Recently, the Detroit Lions announced concession discounts for the first hour after gates open at the stadium, with $5 beers and lower-priced meal combos available at certain stands throughout the rest of the game. Lions Team President Rod Wood explained in a statement that the team’s program aims to serve fans “without hurting the quality or speed of service.” To be sure, concession sales are relatively inconsequential to an athletic team’s overall revenue, experts say. Still,...

The NFL had a disastrous weekend when it came to ratings. Numbers have been down all season and it was more of the same for the wild-card games. The biggest surprise was that the best game (Panthers-Falcons) had the biggest decrease year over year. Yes, markets were a big factor, but that was a competitive and entertaining game. Here's the breakdown: Titans-Chiefs (14.7) was down 11 percent versus last year's Raiders-Texans game. Falcons-Rams (14.9) was down 10 percent versus last year's Lions-Seahawks game. Bills-Jaguars (17.2) was down 10 percent versus last year's Dolphins-Steelers game. Panthers-Saints (20.4) was down 21 percent...