Secular creeds cannot replace religious community
Ericka Andersen
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As more Americans begin to exit the local church, the West’s religious departure results in an exceptionally isolated population, starved both emotionally and spiritually for the necessities a strong community brings. In the wake of the social disintegration that accompanies the death of religious life, is there hope for revival or, perhaps, a pivot to another option?
In a five-part series for the New York Times, Jessica Grose writes about the devastating, nationwide loss of faith across the country, noting well-traced statistics of closing church buildings (6,000-10,000 per year), the rise of those who identify as religious “nones” (30% of Americans), and less importance placed on faith (only 39% of Americans say it is “very important” to them in 2023, versus 62% in 1998).
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This loss of religious identity may seem abrupt, but it’s been mounting for decades, as the West began to untangle itself from what’s known as Christendom. Since our nation’s founding, the U.S. has prevailed and thrived under Christendom, meaning we’ve lived and been governed by a set of Christian morals, principles, and values.
As people reject Christian values such as fidelity, virtue, and religious freedom en masse, the natural progression away from the source (God and church) of these ideas is inevitable. This shift is bad news for the most vulnerable among us. Like it or not, churches have always provided the strongest, most viable, and most supportive social and financial structures for members of society — no matter color, class, or creed.
Consider that churchgoers have the most positive rates of mental health, including less depression and anxiety, better relationships, and decreased risk of suicide, substance abuse, and crime. They have better health, live longer, and are far more generous than non-churchgoing counterparts.
Grose admits there’s nothing else like the “ready-made supportive community that churchgoers can access.” But, as a non-practicing Jew who balks at “organized religion,” she wishes there was another option. Wishing, however, won’t manifest a magical alternative to the proven benefits of the church community.
Those most likely to suffer from secular drift and stop attending church are poor, uneducated folks with little time, resources, or space in their lives to create any kind of alternative community. This lack could ultimately be a death knell — and has been proven in the “deaths of despair” rising across the nation.
Creating community outside of church costs money; memberships, continuing education, even access to mental healthcare to better position oneself for relationships aren’t on the table for many. Church, on the other hand, is a built-in, no-cost, barrier-free opportunity for acceptance — available on most street corners in the U.S. — to share life with others who believe in God, grace, and fighting the good fight together.
To this point, sociologists interviewed for the New York Times series agreed that secular communities cannot cultivate the same comprehensive levels of support found within religious institutions.
Here’s the good news: Though people are leaving churches, most still believe in God. Most people still identify with sacred aspects of the faith. Most are still seeking spiritual fulfillment, but it’s unlikely they’ll find that without rediscovering space within a compatible religious community.
The more we resist the idea of the faith community as a vital part of one’s holistic spiritual health, the more we harm those who might find the solace, support, and hope they need there. There are most certainly systemic issues to grapple with inside religious institutions, but the rot doesn’t define the root.
The reason a church community works better than anything else on earth is because of its supernatural nature. Faith family is a natural extension of God’s plan for human beings to gather and glorify him together. Looking for meaning inward, in solitude, is toxic. Looking upward, in fellowship, is vibrant.
When Jesus walked the earth, he spoke of his mother and brothers as “anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven,” rather than first pointing toward his biological kin. The church is God’s holy remedy to the brokenness of this world, where the foreigner, the sinner, the poor, the widow, and the orphan can come without shame for love, provision, and truth.
Grose ends her last essay hopefully writing that we can create these, meaningful, yet-to-be-realized communities that “have nothing to do with organized religion.” Given the track record of humans operating without God, I don’t see her hope being fulfilled.
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Ericka Andersen is a freelance writer living in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the author of Reason to Return: Why Women Need the Church & the Church Needs Women.