Basic HTML Version
30
churcb as an institution was iar from
perfect. Eveo as a youngster 1 had been
appalled by the unchristian activities of
many who were pillars of the church."
But this minister decided he still
wanted to represent his denomination.
The ioitial and only congregation of
this young minister was well above
the natiooal average in income and
intellect. That, combined with the
imposing stone church buildings, large
parsonage aod good salary, made it the
prestige church of the town.
In
the way
sorne might look at it, what more could
a budding young minister ask for?
Yet, in a short time, this minister
became disillusioned, frustrated, con–
fused. He .fi.nally quit.
BuT he was merely one individual of
the 25 percent of Roman Catholic
priests and 12 percent of Protestant
clergymen who said they were thinking
of quitting the ministry.
Religious Nations?
The United States is nominally the
most religious country in the world. In
1966, almost three fourths of those
interviewed by
The Cathoiic DigeJt
said
that religion was "very important" to
them. Yet in a given week, a recent
Gallup poli shows that only a little over
one third of Protestants, hardly more
than ooe half of Roman Catholics, and
less than one fifth of Jews will attend
church or synagogue services.
Professor
C. C.
Goen of the Wesley
Theological Seminary highlighted the
problem
in
a recent speech: eveo though
70 out of 100 Americans beloog to a
religious body, "we are not at all the
'Christian' nation we like to think we
are but essentially a secular ooe."
The situation is even more obvious in
other countries.
England:
Less than one Church of
England member in 10 will dacken the
parish church door
on EaJter,
not to
mention regular weekly services. The
Congregational churches in Britain took
a survey a few months ago and found
that 60 percent of their worshippers
were women aod 68 percent over age
45.
Canada:
A national magazine,
Madean'J,
conducted in the 60's a reli–
gious survey of a typical Canadian town.
Sorne 70 percent of Protestants ínter-
The
PLAIN TRUTH
viewed said they attended church at
least once a month. Yet only one in five
"could remember having done anything
within the last year as a direct result
of church infiuence." Catholics were
ostensibly more fervent, nine out of 10
going to mass each week. Yet only one
in five admitted to foHowing church
teachings on birth control.
France:
Something like 18,000
churches have been
abandoned
or are in
danger of being abandoned. This means
" The sanctions of Sinai
have lost their terror,
and people no longer
accept the authority of
Jesus even as a great
moral teacher."
Bishop
of
Woolwich
that every second church or chape! is
facing decay or "death" in the near
future unless drastic action is taken.
German)': Der Spiegel
found in a
detailed analysis that every third Wcst
German believes "God is dead." Only
one half feel there is a life after death.
This in a country in which almost
everyone
(94%)
has sorne connection
with a church.
As one hcadline put it, West Ger·
mans as a whole find the church
"merely useless." About seven out of
1O
are coovinced they "can be a Christian
without a church."
Complete indiffer–
ence
is the way to describe tbe feelings
of most.
Srandinavia:
Most Scandinavians are
nonchurchgocrs. Approximately 90 per–
cent staying home on an average Sunday
morning.
So111h Africa:
A
leading magazine,
Personality,
wrote that religion is losing
its hold. Many of those who still attend
churches do so only out of habit rather
than real conviction.
Madison
A
venue
Hits
Religion
This real decline in religious interest,
whatever the
fa~ade
of religiosity, is
highlighted on the church
pag~s
of
most large ncwspapers. Witness such
}une
1971
appeals as "Discover the Difference
at ..." or "Begin the Day at the
Top ... Chape!, Words and Music in a
Casual Atmosphere, 2
3
Floors
above ..." or "Five Great Orive-In
Walk-In Services Every Sunday."
Tbese are not tongue-in-cheek spoofs.
They are real examples from the church
page of a large daily American news–
paper.
This is not far off from the satírica!
prediction of Methodist minister Nor–
man Deming of Seneca, New York.
He sardonically suggested by the year
2040 : "Advertising agencies will be
employed by churches as they are now
by business firms. Technivision ads
will
be obnoxious to gain attention...."
These might include such themes as:
"Baptists fecl good, like a Christ-i-an
should
!"
"You can be sure - if it's
Catholicism
!"
"Presbyterianism keeps
your soul on the go
!"
Perhaps you
would hear that "Christianity will
relieve your anxieties and distresses and
will not upset your conscience."
lt's not the year 2040, but Pastor
Deming's mock prophecies seem already
to be coming to pass!
Crisis Is Here
!
Religious lip service is easy to find.
There seems to be little root or deep
feeling in the avowed faith of the
majority. Theologians and laymen alike
point out the superficiality in it aH.
Dr. Eugene Nida, a foremost Ameri–
can Jinguist, told a Mennonite board of
missions: "Of course
93
percent of the
people in sorne areas will say they
believe in God, but
1
doubt if 20 per–
cent of those regulate their lives on the
basis of believing in God...."
Dr. Nida pointed out that North
Americans are really practica! "atheists"
on the whole, regardless of their profes–
sion of religious beliefs.
Professor Will Herberg of Drew
University told an audience that reli–
gion, despite its outward boom, is mak–
ing little impact: "Those who think
religion is important also state that reli–
gious beliefs have little relation to their
ecooomic and political opinions."
The chief importance of religion to
most is giving them identification,
something they can say they belong to.
A Harvard University study of Amer-