33 Reasons Organized Religion is Declining

Written by George Bullard. Inspired by Bob Smietana's book on Reorganized Religion

In his book, Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters, author Bob Smietana says the following: “There’s no simple explanation for why organized religion is on the decline in America, and as a result, there’s no simple solution to the problems churches face.” (pp. 65-66) He then offers about ten pressures – some external and some internal – which organized religion and its congregations are facing. (See Bob’s book HERE.)

When I read this statement, I paused my reading of the book. I found two blank pages and immediately wrote down everything I could think of that might be pressuring organized religion and creating what appears to be a tough-to-stop decline.

Here are my 33 reasons organized religion is declining. Some are general. Others specific. Some big things. Others small things. Some religious. Others secular. Some cultural which impact political polarization. Some factual. Others my perception.

My reference point was things happening following the end of World War II. It seemed like a good starting point. I was born five years after the end of the war. The time since then represents my personal understanding of the transitions and changes in our religious and secular culture.

Read the list. Provide feedback. Add to the list. Say what you would delete. Use the list in conversations with others. Indicate where they are correct or incorrect from your perspective.

The List

1.     The 1960s happened. Enough said. It covers a multitude of reasons.

2.     Sunday night February 9, 1964 happened. That night millions of Christians stayed home from Sunday night church activities and never went back again. Sunday night church died that night – it just took decades for some churches to realize it. If you do not know what happened that night, ask a parent or grandparent. Or, we now have this thing called the Internet.

3.     Canada. The secularization of Canada – including the movement away from organized religion – is a decade or more ahead of the United States. Patterns and movements away from organized religion that begin in Canada ultimately make their way to the “Lower 48”.

4.     The God is Dead Movement: In the 1950s and 1960s was a period which gave a certain amount of emphasis on the possibility that God was dead. God was viewed as not engaging in the world in proactive ways. Therefore, God must be dead. Theology (or perhaps theologians developing a new theology). Wars. Nuclear weapons. Scientific discoveries. Space travel. Secularization of society. And many other factors suggested that God was no longer an active force in the world so why participate in organized religion. The April 8, 1966 cover of Time magazine simply asked the question in red letters --- Is God Dead?

5.     Post-World War II Singles: Churches had a lot of trouble figuring out how to include singles in church life. Women were widowed from war. The men some women would have married got killed in war. Men came home to marriages where they no longer fit because of what changed while they were gone, or how the war changed them.

6.     Divorce: More people figured out how – or got the courage – to get a divorce to leave a bad marriage or to pursue a different life. Few churches had a place for them either because they did not know how to minister to them, or they did not accept them as the stigma of divorce was strong through the mid-1960s. If the couple participated in organized religion while married, following their divorce at least one spouse may have dropped out.

7.     Blue Laws: These began to go away during the 1950s and 1960s. People figured out more things to do on Sundays than to go to church. More people began working on Sundays. Many Christians started going to restaurants, the grocery store, department and other big box stores, and recreation locations instead of or after church worship. This significantly contributed to the disappearance of Blue Laws.

8.     Churches Waned: Many churches planted or renewed in the years following the end of World War II began waning in vitality and participation by the mid-1950s. My personal research as I began church consulting in the mid-1970s showed a high percentage of congregations began declining between 1955 and 1959.  Many never recovered or refused to change. Although they began dying, some still exist almost 70 years later as a remnant of their former selves but without the resources for vital and vibrant ministry.

9.     Football: Televised National Football League and college games multiplied like rabbits. Televised games on Saturdays and Sundays on these new things – color television sets – drew millions. Long weekend trips to college games and where people partied hard took priority over church participation. Later the Internet multiplied attention given to these games. Amazon Prime is now livestreaming Thursday night NFL games.

10.  Expectations: What is expected regarding church participation shifted. For a generation after World War II, it was obedience to God, cultural tradition, or seeking the perfect attendance award that kept people involved. In the second generation it was about understanding the benefits people sought out of church participation which meant less attended church as they could not see the benefits. In the first generation it was about offering people the perceived one right way to do church. In the second it was about offering choices which caused people to realize there may be choices outside of organized religion.

11.  Insufficient Leaders: Many congregations suffer from a lack of leaders to provide the programs, ministries, and activities that once drew and kept people connected. The diversification of ages and stages of life call for more volunteer leadership. In the 1950s there were six to eight age and life stages on which congregations could focus. With family and household diversification, this number has doubled.

12.  Less Frequent Attendance: Since World War II, active participation in organized religion has decreased in frequency. Many households and individuals who once attended or participated three to four weeks per month at some point backed off to two to three times per month. Some prognosticators now see anyone who attends one to two times per month as active participants.

13.  Interfaith Marriages: An increase in interfaith marriages can result in choosing to withdraw from organized religion rather than be a religiously divided household. This is particularly true when one of the two religions has a significantly different theology and pattern of spiritual practice. Half a century ago interfaith marriage meant a Catholic and Protestant marrying. Now it is a much more diverse situation.

14.  Both Spouses Working: I affirm the freedom and right for both spouses to pursue careers as they feel the call of God upon their lives. I acknowledge that societal and self-imposed economic realities make it necessary for both spouses to work. The reality of both spouses working should be accepted. This places time crunches on life, rest, relationships, etc. that lead many families to not see participation in organized religion as a high priority.

15.  Mores: Changing and unchanging mores make participation in organized religion less likely for some people. They see a mores mismatch. Drinking alcohol to the point of drunkenness and alcoholism. Taking prescription or non-prescription drugs to the point of addiction. Sexual intimacy outside of a marriage commitment by a woman and a man. Gambling in various forms including playing the lottery or betting on sports. Abortion even when rape or incest are involved. All of these in many places raise debate, disagreement, and ecclesiastical discipline.        

16.  Counting: We lost our ability to count participants in organized religion. Denominational reporting systems lost their effectiveness. Non-denominational congregations may not have a reliable counting system for sharing externally. The answers of people to social surveys may be misleading or confusing or lies. It is tougher to get information about membership and attendance from congregations who have no consistent form of administration.

17.  Gender Identification: People who do not identify in a binary way as male or female – with the traditional lifestyles implied – often choose not to participate in organized religion as a protest, due to the desire to hide their identity, because of how they are viewed and treated, or because they cannot find an acceptable alternative congregation.

18.  Theological Shifts: Theological divides within denominational families – as American church practice moves toward a half dozen or so generic Christian traditions – cause people to leave organized religion. They are often unable to find another tradition with which they are comfortable.

19.  Church Planting Decrease: Despite a lot of noise and activity around planting new congregations, the number needed to provide a congregation strategically situated for the full spectrum of people attracted to Christianity is lacking. Church planting is not about how many are planted but are enough planted to keep up with population growth and diversity.

20.  Anonymous Participants: Numerous people participate around the edges of Christianity but have not joined or clearly identified themselves with organized Christian religion. The larger the congregation with which they connect the more anonymous they can remain.

21.  Affluence: As a growing number of people become more affluent, they replace organized religion in their life patterns with other activities they can now afford to enjoy. They pursue other passions – especially on weekends – which their economic capacities empower. Their self-sufficiency edges out their spiritual dependence on God.

22.  Homelessness: Seldom do people who are homeless connect with organized religion. The official count of homeless people in America is way under one million. Anecdotal evidence indicates that homelessness is much higher than official counts indicate. My observation is that homelessness is growing rather than declining. Some experts suggest that current, long-term economic factors, and the escalation in the cost of housing is increasing homelessness.

23.  Dysfunctional Families: People in dysfunctional home situations seldom find time and places for organized religion in their lives. In these family situations, the number of adult role models transferring their faith practice to the next generation is low.

24.  Aging Parents: Parents of adult children are living longer. Insufficient ways to care for these parents exist other than direct care by their adult children or other relatives and friends. Much of this care focuses on the weekend. The economics of caring for aging parents places a stress on many adult children. Also, these aging parents are no longer participating in organized religion.

25.  Incarceration: The increase in incarceration in the USA shows that there has been a 500 percent increase over the past four decades to around two million. (According to www.sentencingproject.org). Incarcerated people may participate in religious services in their facilities. They would not typically be counted in organized religion.

26.  Lack of Community: As Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope indicated in their book Church Refugees, people are done with church for various reasons. One key reason is that they could not find meaningful, authentic community in a congregation. Program-centric congregations where the average participants have been a member for more than a decade have trouble assimilating new people into their fellowship.

27.  Alternative Spirituality: More unorganized, less institutional, and emotionally appealing spirituality alternatives attract a certain percentage of people. Yet not a huge number. They may find in various spirituality movements a sense of community they miss in organized religion.

28.  Disappearance of the Political Middle: As American politics continues to polarize, people who hold conflicting political positions become alienated from the organized religion of their heritage. People considering participation in organized religion take longer to show up in someone’s count as they hesitate to connect until they know it is a politically safe place.

29.  Transitions in Life: At any given time, a certain number of people are in transition from one place of residence to another. When this is 30 minutes travel time or more from where they previously lived, they may be re-establishing many life and social relationships. They may be between times of participation in organized religion. Is this number growing? Likely.

30.  Church Conflict: When congregations have internal conflicts, people on each side of the conflict withdraw from participation for a while. Some move on to other connections. Others totally withdraw. As theological, lifestyle, control of governance and other factors increase, the number of dechurched people due to conflict increases.

31.  Television, Internet and Metaverse Church: These mediums are becoming a substitute for personal, on-site participation in organized religion. During the recent pandemic, congregations began learning how to count the engagement of people. For a while it represents a decrease in participation in organized religion. Temporary? Permanent? Unknown.

32.  Drift from Generation to Generation: While some subsequent generations in families increase their participation in organized religion, a certain percentage decrease or delete their participation in organized religion. This is a factor addressed in the recent Pew Research Center report entitled Modeling the Future of Religion in America.

33.  Parachurch Organizations: We should not leave this list without mentioning that something that often engages in very positive ministry in and from the base of America – parachurch organizations – may also become a substitute for organized congregational ministry. By doing so they intentionally or unintentionally undercut or become a substitute for participation in traditional organized religion.

None of these alone are the sole reasons for the decline of organized religion. Together these speak to long-term trends which are not likely to be reversed in the short-term.

Copyright 2022 by George W. Bullard Jr.