What is going on in the Church?

Many men are falling away from the faith:

Several new survey results show that church attendance in the United States continues to decline in troubling ways:

• Before the pandemic, 75 percent of Americans reported attending church at least once a year. In spring of 2022, only 67 percent said they had gone to church.
• Typical church attendance, reported by Protestant pastors, is only 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
• In 2019, 4,500 Protestant churches closed, compared to 3,000 new churches opening. That’s a net loss of 1,500 American churches—and that’s before COVID.
• A 2017 Lifeway survey of young adults found that 7 out of 10 who had attended church regularly in high school stopped attending during their college years.
• A quarter of the young adults who dropped out of church have said they disagree with their church’s stance on political and social issues.
• A 2020 Pew Research study found that 30 percent of the U.S. population now describe themselves as “religiously unaffiliated.”

There are a lot of surveys telling us that church attendance is declining, young people are leaving the Christian faith of their upbringing, and large sections of society no longer trust the Church because of social and political issues.

Many men are still believers but have stopped attending for various reasons:

1. Many men feel like they "don't fit in".

2. After moving to a new area they do not find a new church.

3. They no longer believe what the congregations does.

4. Church is not a priority.

5. Their faith "just isn't working for them".

6. Misogyny in their church.

7. Disagreement with politics of the congregation.

8. Covid-19 lockdowns got them out of the habit.

9. Doubted God's existence.

10. Disagreed with politics of the clergy.

11. Messages not relevant.

12. Suffering changed their view of God.

13. Attendance was inconvenient.

14. Disagreed with actions by denomination.

15. Doubted God's goodness,

16. Lack of love or acceptance from congregation.

17. Congregations doesn't do enough good.

18. Too restrictive on sexual freedom.

19. Broader clergy scandal.

20 Church clergy scandal.

21. Divorce or other family changes.

22. Instance of racism.

23. Friends not attending

24. Online worship,

25. To express gender identity.

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