Warren Bird, research director at Leadership Network, recently shared some incredible statistics about megachurches (those congregations with an average weekly worship attendance of at least 2,000) in the United States. 5 million - the number of people who worship at a megachurch during a typical week. 1,650 - the current number of megachurches in the United States. 0.5% - While almost 10% of Protestant churchgoers attend a megachurch, these churches represent only about Read More …
Trends
Christmas: Cultural or Religious? (#1276)
Just in time for Christmas, the Pew Research Center released information about how Americans view the holiday. While 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas, there is considerable diversity when it comes to the basis of such celebrations: 51% - more of a religious holiday, 32% - more of a cultural holiday, and 9% - both/other (which includes those who celebrate but did not comment on whether they felt it was more religious or cultural). So What? Notably there is a generational divide. Read More …
Religion in America: A Map (#1275)
This map, based on the 2010 census data, shows the largest religious groups in each county of the U.S. So What? While the Catholic Church is the largest religious tradition in more counties than any other group, the Southern Baptists are a close second and are a majority in the vast majority of counties in the s0-called Bible belt. Take a moment to review Read More …
The Decade of Christian Decline (#1268)
2000-2010 can best be labeled as a decade of decline for American Christianity. David Roozen's recent piece in the Christian Century provides an important look at just how rapid the decline was for conservative/evangelical Protestants, mainline/oldline Protestants, and Roman Catholics. As a percentage, the declines were oldline/mainline: 13% Catholic: 5% conservative/evangelical: 1% So What? After decades of progressive Christianity, it should not be surprising to see Read More …
70%+ Favor Higher Minimum Wage (#1266)
Recently, the Public Religion Institute shared the following graphic of the week: So What? Minimum wage is one topic that is talked about with some regularity in certain circles. It has, however, become a far more common conversation topic of late for an expanding group of people. Rarely do the majority Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all agree on changing anything, much less increasing minimum wage by at least 50%. The same can be said for a majority of Read More …
Get Off the Phone (#1265)
Rhett and Link, morning talk show hosts and self-proclaimed Internetainers, recently created a thought provoking music video: Get Off the Phone. To date, it has received almost 1 million views. So What? The type and number of tasks for which people rely on phones continues to increase. Given this trend, it is important that smart phone users occasionally consider the ways in which they use their devices to determine if such is appropriate. Are you pleased with the Read More …
Pope = Person of the Year (#1264)
Earlier this week, TIME named Pope Francis as the 2013 Person of the Year. I encourage you to read their article and watch the brief video explanation of why he was selected. So What? Pope Francis is a change agent. In his talking and in his doing, he continues to clearly communicate what he understands the role of pope to be as well as how the church should be participating in and caring for the world. I have blogged more about Pope Francis in 2013 than I have about all Read More …
Trust is Waning (#1262)
People are less trusting than they used to be. Research shows a dramatic decline in trust in recent decades. More specifically, over the last 40 years the percentage of Americans who say that most people can be trusted has declined from 50% to 33%. So What? Only 1 out of every 3 Americans thinks most people are trustworthy. Our churches must be and become communities where trust in one another is normative rather than something that is present just 1/3 of the time. Do you think Read More …
Hispanic Americans Leaving Catholicism (#1261)
I often hear that the Catholic church in America will remain a power for years to come primarily because of Hispanics. The assumption that Hispanic Americans are and will remain Catholic is one that is challenged by recent data from the Public Religion Research Institute. Current Affiliation A majority of Hispanics identify as Catholic (53%), one-quarter (25%) identify as Protestant—nearly evenly divided between evangelical Protestant (13%) and mainline Protestant (12%)—and 12% of Read More …
Remembering My First Call (#1256)
My first call after graduating seminary was to serve as Associate Pastor at Central Christian Church: the longest continually meeting Protestant congregation in Dallas, Texas. This year, the congregation is celebrating its first 150 years of ministry. That celebration included numerous events. So What? Take a few minutes to remember your first experience of church - whether you were a child, a teen, or an adult. How did that congregation help you on your journey of faith? What people and Read More …