“The Future of a Liberal Church”

    Clint Cooper, The Religion Editor of the Times Free Press, had an interesting front-page article in last Sunday’s paper:  “The State of Faith — Places of Worship Move Beyond Steeples, Stained Glass.”  It sounds like changes are happening in churches around here, doesn’t it?

Not so fast.

    The change that the article describes seems (to me) to be more in terms of  “packaging” than in content.  In this part of the world, “that old time religion” would seem to be alive and well. But clearly, all is not well.  Conservative, evangelical, charismatic, and Pentecostal congregations are doing everything they can to persuade a new generation that an archaic religion with all its ignorance and prejudice is still the way to the future.  I don’t think so.

    The best evidence for this that I see is the growing number of people around the country who are “none of the above” when it comes to religion.  A new study found that 34 million Americans  —  about 15% of the population  — have no religious affiliation.  This number has been growing for the past twenty years and there are no signs that it is diminishing.  In fact, I believe it will grow.

    Why?  The reasons the “none of the aboves” give are clear:

    -  They are tired of churches that place more emphasis on the institutional church than on faith.
    -  They are very tired of the culture wars led by some churches over abortion, gay rights, school prayer, and evolution.
    -  They are also tired of denominational fights in places like the Southern Baptist and Episcopal churches.
    -  Most important, they no longer believe that organized religion can answer some or all of life’s problems.

    It also seems they are perplexed and disappointed with God (!)  I would be, too, if I believed the nonsense some churches teach about God.

    The good news is that many of these disaffected ones share the same liberal values and faith we do here at Pilgrim!  If we find ways to let them know we share their concerns and perspectives, maybe they would be interested in joining us in proclaiming a truly new faith for a new day.

Love,
Dave