Thoughts and Prayers: The Religion Thread

St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists - and the deaf.

 

If also was patron saint of the blind, he'd be a perfect fit for newspaper publishers.

 

Stunned I tell ya.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/ne...s-mostly-white-southern-male-led/70596971007/

The new report shows that of the 6,000-plus churches that have left the UMC, through a process called disaffiliation, 70% of are in the denomination’s two Southern jurisdictions and 98% are majority white.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/21/leaving-christianity-religion-church-community/

 

From that post story: I was never totally confident that there is one God who created the Earth or that Jesus Christ was resurrected after he was killed. But belonging to a congregation seemed essential. I thought religion, not just Christianity but also other faiths such as Judaism and Islam, pushed people toward better values. Most of the people I admired — from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to my parents — were religious. And I figured I might as well stick with Christianity, the creed I was raised in.

I think a lot of churchgoers have historically thought this way. They don't really accept the myth as fact, but they suspend their disbelief to fit in with the group.

 

I agree. (And I accept the myth as fact.)

Through and after COVID, we lost perhaps 25% of our previous congregants to other churches, gained that number back in folks who left the churches we lost people to, gained another "new" 10% - some of whom stumbled upon on YouTube during the pandemic and thought "I'd like that" - and lost 10% to "we're done with the church at large." Usually married couples, usually because one of the two spouses is tired of it - and not always for the wrong reasons, either.

But those folks have spiraled, in part because they were deeply embedded within the social fabric of the church, and now they're not at all - how could they be, they're not around - and they're (somewhat reasonably) mad the friendships didn't stay the same.

 

and yet

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/...o-the-growing-christian-nationalism-movement/

A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture | PRRI

https://religiondispatches.org/shou...-in-christian-nationalist-violence-in-the-us/

https://theconversation.com/after-t...instream-despite-a-history-of-violence-188055

An 'imposter Christianity' is threatening American democracy | CNN

https://faith.yale.edu/media/violence-fascism-and-christian-nationalism

"Pray for America" and so forth

US businessman is wannabe ‘warlord’ of secretive far-right men’s network

 

What is this in response to? What I posted? What Perry Bacon wrote?

 

Nothing in particular.

But it's interesting to me that even as participation in US churches declines, the American umbrella of violent "Christian Nationalism" grows and grows.

 

I think there's a connection. The millions who have left over the last 10-15 years helped tone down the anarchic, conspiratorial aspect of the catholic/universal church.

But it's absolutely concerning, this growing movement. There are strong voices - the Russell Moores and others - speaking against it, but it certainly has a grip on some denominations. It hurts the Christian witness...

 

The Christian label is a popular identity in red states. Actual observance and study, not so much. It’s like somebody in Paducah rocking a Salt Life sticker on the back window of their pickup.

 

What's the position of your church on whether it's OK to kill another person to advance the interest of the state?

I ask because my wife has a family history with the Friends. AFAIK they still support conscientious objection. I respect them for that.