According to a new University of Washington study, there may be a scientific reason why people return again and again to megachurches: a religious high. Put differently, the hi-tech high energy megachurch worship service experience is thought to “trigger feelings of transcendence and changes in brain chemistry – a spiritual “high” that keeps congregants coming back for more.”
So What?
While megachurches comprise a very small percentage of churches in America, they are home to “an estimated 10 percent of American Protestants — 6 million worshippers.” I have attended a megachurch service that fits within the description this study assigns as normative in that environment. Based on that experience and what I know about this style, I believe it is certainly possible it produces a religious high for many participants.
If a specific style of worship used primarily by megachurches were proven to trigger a chemical reaction that gave participants a “high” what do you believe the appropriate course of action by leaders in those congregations? More specifically, do they have an obligation to inform those in attendance?