American habits are changing faster than most people realize. For example: the percentage of American adults who are single has risen from 22% to more than 50%. Today singletons comprise 28% of all households, and are the most common type of domestic unit. Most of the roughly 1 in 7 American adults currently living alone have chosen to do so, and view it as a preference (for more on this view my review of Going Solo by Eric Klinenberg - one of my top books of 2012). Given Read More …
Trends
Shifts in Religious Affiliation (1972-2012) (#1464)
The changing role of religion in American culture is a popular topic of conversation among religious leaders. Those leaders situated within Mainline Protestantism (a tradition I claim as my own) are talking more openly than ever before about decline. Even the names used to describe the tradition increasingly recognize that the decline is both about diminishing numbers of adherents (Oldline) and a more marginalized role (Sideline). While I am encouraged by increased attention Read More …
College Education = More Religious? (#1463)
I can't tell you how many times I have heard that young adults often go off to college and lose their religion. Of course those offering such laments are often two (or more) generations older than today's college students. I suspect that most who advance the argument base it on an absence of 20- and 30-somethings in the pews on Sunday mornings and because they have heard others assert it with such regularity that they assume it simply must be true. A few years ago I shared what was Read More …
Popular Presbyterians (#1462)
Last week I happened upon a chart showing how common certain words related to mainline Protestantism appeared in the New York Times. I was immediately intrigued to see that Presbyterians have received better coverage than others since 1860 and that the use of the term peaked in 1937, appearing that year in 2,149 articles. After determining how to create my own charts, I made one reflecting the names of the four traditions with which I have had formal affiliation: Christian Church Read More …
The Great American Religious Decline (#1460)
Tobin Grant, political science professor at Southern Illinois University and associate editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, recently blogged about what he calls "The Great Decline" of American religion over the last two decades. From 1994-2014 Gallup surveys show significant declines in religious identity, worship attendance, membership in churches or other religious communities, religion's importance in life, and religion's relevance for today. When these Read More …
The Day the Mainline Disappeared (#1457)
According to a new Pew Research Survey: People think more positively about their own religious groups, or about groups that their friends belong to, and On a scale of warmest/most positive feelings to coolest/least positive feelings, Americans have warm feelings toward Jews, Catholics and Evangelical Christians, neutral feelings about Buddhists, Hindus and Mormons, and cooler feelings toward Muslims and atheists. While this data is interesting, it is also troubling. As a Read More …
Living the American Dream? (#1456)
Price tag for the American dream: $130K a year. The first few times I encountered that statement on social media, I dismissed it. Finally, I decided to check out the story or, more precisely, read Howard R. Gold's July 4, 2014, USA TODAY article with that title. While I hesitate to define the American dream solely in economic terms, I recognize it is the simplest place to begin. Household finances have become an area of greater concern and awareness thanks to the Great Read More …
End of the White Majority (#1454)
I have always been (and will always be) a non-Hispanic white person. I am well aware of the shifts in the American culture. Even so, I only recently learned that the next school year will be the first year when non-Hispanic white people will no longer be the majority in the public schools in the United States. So What? The chart at right offers a visual representation of what has happened as well as what is projected to happen according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Read More …
Pulpit Plagiarism (#1447)
Plagiarism is a word I hear far more often on the university campus than on the church campus. It is, however, one that deserves attention in both arenas. Sarah Pulliam Bailey recently asked the question, "Is pulpit plagiarism on the rise?" in response to several recent incidents in which well-known pastors were caught plagiarizing content for sermons, radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, and/or books. Some of the pastors attracting attention of their plagiarism include Mark Read More …
The End of Interim Ministry? (#1444)
Later this month I will conclude a 10 month interim role as the Senior Minister of United Church (Marco Island, FL): a congregation affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and the United Church of Christ. This year long journey has afforded the congregation an opportunity to process the past, understand the present, and prepare for the future. I firmly believe it will enable the new settled minister to begin well from day one knowing that folks Read More …