I’ve seen this article talking about how churches need to adapt to Millennial needs floating around my feed and I think it’s worth addressing.
A point the author entirely misses is that many people simply don’t buy the worldview that church is selling. To many, it stretches credibility at best or is wholly absurd at worst. A majority of Millennials polled believe in God, but are unwilling to tie themselves to a particular theological label. Of course, maybe I’m wrong, too, since UU and Quakers are seeing similar membership declines.
I wonder if the primary factors influencing church membership are economics and time. More young people are working longer hours, have multiple jobs to make ends meet, and feel tied down to a tighter daily schedule. TV church, live streams, and podcasts are available on our own schedule, not needing to block off half of a day religiously.
A lot of the comments I see on this are from Baby Boomer parents probably frustrated by their own adult children’s lack of attendance. I see lines like “just show up and WORSHIP” which might as well just be saying “STOP WHINING.” But that misses the point. If you feel alienated from your social surroundings, where the institution itself seems hostile to your values and way of being, it’s hard to focus on being self-reflective. And why support something that doesn’t share your values? Blind tradition?
…Or maybe this is all the death throes of an ultimately self-destructive ideology. Or just more cataclysmic prophecy from a group who like to make cataclysmic prophecies; that definitely seems to be part of the M.O.