DeChurching: Who is leaving?
Published: Mon, 11/27/23
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No group of people is immune from the Great Dechurching. The dechurched are almost evenly split between men and women (52 percent and 48 percent respectively). According to our study, Roman Catholics, Protestants, and those who identify as “other Christian” have all dechurched equally at 32 percent. In the Protestant tradition, Presbyterians lead the dechurching, losing about 45 percent of their attenders over the last twenty-five years. This is largely due to dechurching in the mainline Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). Methodists follow at 37 percent, Baptists at 29 percent, and Pentecostals at 26 percent. By generation, the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are dechurching in larger numbers as more than 35 percent of the boomers living today have stopped attending church. This is about twice the size of millennials (between 17% and 25%), which is not a surprise as more baby boomers went to church in the first place, which gives them more opportunity to make this shift. Black and white Americans are dechurching in comparable numbers (26% and 27% respectively). Hispanic Americans are experiencing the least dechurching at 14 percent, and somewhat perplexingly, 34 percent of Asian Americans have dechurched. Unsurprisingly, sexual orientation is a strong indicator of church attendance. According to the 2020 Cooperative Election Study at Harvard University, a heterosexual man is almost three times as likely to attend church at least once a year than a gay man. A heterosexual woman is one and a half times more likely to attend church at least once a year than a gay woman or anyone who identifies as bisexual. While our study did not focus on dechurched LGBTQ+ people, they were included in the study, and we can at least say that they left for different reasons. Some left because they felt the church was too restrictive of their sexual freedom, but others left because they didn’t feel like they were welcome, often because their churches either didn’t adequately address the issue or addressed it in a harsh and insensitive manner. Figure 2.1. Religious Service Attendance by Sexual Orientation
Neither the political left nor the right is immune to the religious shifts of our day. Twenty-one percent of those who identify as Republican, 23 percent of those who identify as Independent, and 29 percent of those who identify as Democrat and used to go to church have stopped. Americans at every income level, educational status, and area of the country are deciding to forgo their in-person worship for other activities on Sunday morning. Davis, Jim, Michael Graham, Ryan P. Burge, and Collin Hansen. 2023. The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. What will it take to bring them back?I suggest a long-term perspective. We didn’t get here in a day and it will take more than a day to get out. I’d suggest a three-year approach. It took roughly three years for Jesus to make his followers into fishers of men. It may take us at least that.
The planSimple as this is, I think it will take a while to get there. Here is what I suggest. Every year, starting in January or August, do a church-wide study of evangelism. (You might consider a sermon series to go along with the study.)
Each of these studies is about six weeks and are available on Amazon or as part of Good Questions Have Groups Talking subscription system. www.MyBibleStudyLessons.com During the rest of the year, I recommend you spend five or ten minutes each week in each group talking about such questions as:
In addition, I'd encourage each group to host a fellowship every month and invite every member and every prospect. For more on this, see https://www.YouCanDouble.com/ I close with a quote from the last book above:
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