Church attendance up for atheists, down for Christians
Jul 16, 2018 18:30:25 GMT -5
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Post by Daniel on Jul 16, 2018 18:30:25 GMT -5
Church attendance up for atheists, down for Christians
WND Exclusive
While fewer Americans and Europeans are attending church regularly, more non-believers, including atheists, are showing up for services, according to a cold-case detective who has been investigating the weird trend.
The detective, J. Warner Wallace, who is also a senior fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and the author of “Cold-Case Christianity,” says fewer Americans claim Christian affiliation than ever before, and those who don’t are the fastest growing group in the country.
Wallace says he has been collecting data on this trend for more than 10 years.
Perhaps the most surprising trend he has spotted is the one that has Christians leaving churches and atheists starting them.
“‘Atheist churches’ have been formed across the country,” he says, apparently aiming to offer some features of a religious congregation (fellowship, collective enjoyment, a stimulus to moral behavior). These congregations often meet on Sundays and some “include ‘Sunday School,’ where children go while parents attend ‘services.’”
The detective, J. Warner Wallace, who is also a senior fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and the author of “Cold-Case Christianity,” says fewer Americans claim Christian affiliation than ever before, and those who don’t are the fastest growing group in the country.
Wallace says he has been collecting data on this trend for more than 10 years.
Perhaps the most surprising trend he has spotted is the one that has Christians leaving churches and atheists starting them.
“‘Atheist churches’ have been formed across the country,” he says, apparently aiming to offer some features of a religious congregation (fellowship, collective enjoyment, a stimulus to moral behavior). These congregations often meet on Sundays and some “include ‘Sunday School,’ where children go while parents attend ‘services.’”
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Sunday Assembly’s motto is “Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More” and taps into the growing universe of people who left their faith but now miss the community church provided, said Phil Zuckerman, a professor of secular studies at Pitzer College in Claremont.
“In the U.S., there’s a little bit of a feeling that if you’re not religious, you’re not patriotic,” Zuckerman said. “I think a lot of secular people say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. We are charitable, we are good people, we’re good parents and we are just as good citizens as you and we’re going to start a church to prove it. It’s still a minority, but there’s enough of them now.”
“In the U.S., there’s a little bit of a feeling that if you’re not religious, you’re not patriotic,” Zuckerman said. “I think a lot of secular people say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. We are charitable, we are good people, we’re good parents and we are just as good citizens as you and we’re going to start a church to prove it. It’s still a minority, but there’s enough of them now.”
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