Here it is, I thought could we have a topic dedicated to the news that follows the decline of religion.
South Dakota churches suffering decline in affiliation, attendance
Anyone who attends church in South Dakota is probably already aware of a troubling trend afflicting religious organizations and churches across the state and nation: the slow but steady decline in church membership and attendance.
It may be fewer cars in the parking lot, fewer people in the pews or fewer volunteers at charitable outings. It might be a pastor or priest who serves more than one congregation or is in a temporary post as a fill-in. It could also be the closure of a local church or growing concerns that closure could be imminent.
Those are some of the outward signs of what religious leaders and experts say is a dramatic decline in religious affiliation and church attendance that began in the late 20th century, picked up pace during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains a growing cause for concern in the post-pandemic era.
Membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the largest churches in South Dakota, is down 40% over the past 30 years nationally and has fallen by almost 10% in South Dakota over roughly the past decade. Attendance at Lutheran churches in South Dakota is down about 14% since 2013, and the ELCA recently closed churches in Newell and Bradley.
Catholic and Methodist churches are also seeing declines.
In the Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese, which serves all of East River South Dakota, records indicate that church attendance in 2022 is down 26% compared with 2010 and that membership has also fallen.
The decrease in church affiliation and attendance follows other patterns that show Americans are turning away from organized religion and many of its tenets. Surveys show that among Americans, belief in God is lower than ever; that trust in religion is way down; and that fewer people believe the Bible to be the true word of God and instead see it as a book of only fables or legends.
Perhaps most worrisome for church leaders in America and South Dakota is that in recent surveys, the people who do not affiliate with any religion, the so-called “nones,” are the fastest-growing segment of the national population as indicated in surveys about religion, faith and beliefs.
Religious scholars and church leaders say the decline in church membership and attendance is being fueled by many factors, most of them cultural shifts within society at large. They include demographic changes that are reducing rural populations where churches are a cornerstone; greater political and cultural divisions within modern society that are driving people apart; generational changes that have made young people less willing to join groups; and self-inflicted wounds within organized religion in the form of sexual and financial crimes and scandals.
https://brookingsregister.com/article/so...attendance
Catholic Church in ‘Profound Crisis’ in Germany
The number of Catholics leaving their religion rose to a record high last year. Around 360,000 Catholics left the church, almost a third more than in the previous record year of 2019, according to numbers published June 27.
“The figures for 2021 show the profound crisis in which we find ourselves as the Catholic Church in Germany. There is no way to sugarcoat it,” said the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing.
Protestant churches in Germany are experiencing a similar trend. In March, Evangelical Church in Germany noted that the number of people leaving increased by 60,000, totaling around 280,000. Approximately 19.7 million Germans belong to a Protestant church; 21.6 million belong to the Catholic Church. “For the first time, less than half of Germany’s citizens belong to one of the major churches,” Tagesspiegel reported
Sociologist Petra-Angela Ahrens from the Sozialwissenschaftliche Institut, who conducted the study, noted that scandals in the Catholic Church in particular were likely responsible for exit spikes in 2019. Recent events seems to confirm the observation. In January, a clerical abuse report resulted in another spike in exits. “We had more church departures than ever before,” Johannes Mayer, spokesman for the Munich district administration department, told the German Press Agency.
Last year, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich offered his resignation amid a clerical abuse crisis in Germany. On March 2, he was followed by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, leader of the Catholic archdiocese of Cologne.
Historically, the Catholic Church has weathered many crises. In the 16th century, it faced a somewhat similar crisis. Martin Luther was so successful in leading the Protestant Reformation largely because so many people were fed up with the corruption of the Catholic Church. This led to many disputes over doctrinal issues and opened the door for a complete separation. The split led to centuries of religious conflict in the heart of Europe.
The situation today, however, is different. While the Catholic Church’s membership is declining at a faster rate, Protestant churches face a similar crisis. This crisis might actually bring the two churches together to improve their public image.
https://www.thetrumpet.com/25873-catholi...in-germany
South Dakota churches suffering decline in affiliation, attendance
Anyone who attends church in South Dakota is probably already aware of a troubling trend afflicting religious organizations and churches across the state and nation: the slow but steady decline in church membership and attendance.
It may be fewer cars in the parking lot, fewer people in the pews or fewer volunteers at charitable outings. It might be a pastor or priest who serves more than one congregation or is in a temporary post as a fill-in. It could also be the closure of a local church or growing concerns that closure could be imminent.
Those are some of the outward signs of what religious leaders and experts say is a dramatic decline in religious affiliation and church attendance that began in the late 20th century, picked up pace during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains a growing cause for concern in the post-pandemic era.
Membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the largest churches in South Dakota, is down 40% over the past 30 years nationally and has fallen by almost 10% in South Dakota over roughly the past decade. Attendance at Lutheran churches in South Dakota is down about 14% since 2013, and the ELCA recently closed churches in Newell and Bradley.
Catholic and Methodist churches are also seeing declines.
In the Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese, which serves all of East River South Dakota, records indicate that church attendance in 2022 is down 26% compared with 2010 and that membership has also fallen.
The decrease in church affiliation and attendance follows other patterns that show Americans are turning away from organized religion and many of its tenets. Surveys show that among Americans, belief in God is lower than ever; that trust in religion is way down; and that fewer people believe the Bible to be the true word of God and instead see it as a book of only fables or legends.
Perhaps most worrisome for church leaders in America and South Dakota is that in recent surveys, the people who do not affiliate with any religion, the so-called “nones,” are the fastest-growing segment of the national population as indicated in surveys about religion, faith and beliefs.
Religious scholars and church leaders say the decline in church membership and attendance is being fueled by many factors, most of them cultural shifts within society at large. They include demographic changes that are reducing rural populations where churches are a cornerstone; greater political and cultural divisions within modern society that are driving people apart; generational changes that have made young people less willing to join groups; and self-inflicted wounds within organized religion in the form of sexual and financial crimes and scandals.
https://brookingsregister.com/article/so...attendance
Catholic Church in ‘Profound Crisis’ in Germany
The number of Catholics leaving their religion rose to a record high last year. Around 360,000 Catholics left the church, almost a third more than in the previous record year of 2019, according to numbers published June 27.
“The figures for 2021 show the profound crisis in which we find ourselves as the Catholic Church in Germany. There is no way to sugarcoat it,” said the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing.
Protestant churches in Germany are experiencing a similar trend. In March, Evangelical Church in Germany noted that the number of people leaving increased by 60,000, totaling around 280,000. Approximately 19.7 million Germans belong to a Protestant church; 21.6 million belong to the Catholic Church. “For the first time, less than half of Germany’s citizens belong to one of the major churches,” Tagesspiegel reported
Sociologist Petra-Angela Ahrens from the Sozialwissenschaftliche Institut, who conducted the study, noted that scandals in the Catholic Church in particular were likely responsible for exit spikes in 2019. Recent events seems to confirm the observation. In January, a clerical abuse report resulted in another spike in exits. “We had more church departures than ever before,” Johannes Mayer, spokesman for the Munich district administration department, told the German Press Agency.
Last year, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich offered his resignation amid a clerical abuse crisis in Germany. On March 2, he was followed by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, leader of the Catholic archdiocese of Cologne.
Historically, the Catholic Church has weathered many crises. In the 16th century, it faced a somewhat similar crisis. Martin Luther was so successful in leading the Protestant Reformation largely because so many people were fed up with the corruption of the Catholic Church. This led to many disputes over doctrinal issues and opened the door for a complete separation. The split led to centuries of religious conflict in the heart of Europe.
The situation today, however, is different. While the Catholic Church’s membership is declining at a faster rate, Protestant churches face a similar crisis. This crisis might actually bring the two churches together to improve their public image.
https://www.thetrumpet.com/25873-catholi...in-germany
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
