WHY PEOPLE DON’T GO TO CHURCH”

Notes for the Mission Studies Network book discussion, 10 November 2005

Ross Langmead> John Bellamy, Alan Black, Keith Castle, Philip Hughes and Peter Kaldor, Why people don’t go to church (Adelaide: Openbook, 2002) This book is written by a team from the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) and Edith Cowan University, based on the 1998 Australian Community Survey. It interprets the statistics gathered in that survey about Australians’ attitudes to church.

A lot of it lays out in figures what most of us already know: Church attendance is in decline; younger people are less connected than older people; most Australians are more interested in family, friends and recreation than in God and church. What we will find interesting or surprising here depends on what is new to us.

The first part of the book, more than half of it, analyses the factors people give for not going to church. The second part reports how newcomers to church find it and why many don’t stay. The third part suggests a few ways forward for the church.

Although it’s easy for the eyes to glaze over a bit after a few pages of statistical analysis the authors write clearly and in plain English. There are also very clear summaries at the end of each chapter.

Some findings that stood out for me:

1 Only 11% of Australians were in church on any Sunday in 1995 (using the headcount method [p. 132]), though 20% say they go at least once a month and another 20% less frequently but more than once a year [5]. This is the lowest since counting began after WW2.

2 “The most commonly stated reason for non-attendance is that church worship services are too boring or unfulfilling.” [13] 42% say this.

3 The next three most popular reasons are

a The beliefs of the churches (35% say this) b Churches’ moral views (34%) c Seeing no need to go to church (34%) [14]

4 On demographics: Under-represented in churches are employers, blue-collar workers, those in de facto relationships, divorcees and young adults [24].

5 On religious upbringing: Although 44% have at least one parent active in church [12], these connections are decreasing steadily [33]. Growing up in church no longer means that kids will stay [31]. “Children are now growing up with little contact with the churches” [30].

6 On friends: Churchgoers seldom have many non-churchgoing friends, so the most common path into the church—invitation by friends— is very limited [39-40].

7 It’s a myth that leisure activities compete directly with church or that our busyness makes much of a difference [46].

8 There are many who ‘believe but don’t belong’. About half of Australians believe in heaven, the resurrection and Jesus’ divinity [48].

9 Younger people see less of a link between faith and daily life than do older people, so Christians will need to discuss this dimension more with young people if they are to even consider belonging to a church [50].

10 A quarter of Australians are pragmatic and relativist—tolerant, neutral, uncertain and noncommittal [51].

11 There is a divide between churchgoers and non-churchgoing Australians on moral issues, especially sexual morality [56].

12 Confidence in the churches is in decline, though not as badly as confidence in governments [66]. Sexual abuse by clergy is one of the big reasons [65].

13 Most (77%) think you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian [68].

14 Funerals and weddings are likely to be the type of service last attended by infrequent churchgoers or non-attenders [80].

15 “Most Australians place a high degree of importance on church services being short” [86].

16 Quite a few (16% of infrequent attenders and non-attenders) would go to a regular church service if invited. This means that it’s worth inviting people often, and, at the same time, that only a minority will accept [88].

17 Many more try to become part of churches than succeed—churches can be hard to join and most lack follow-up when people drop out [93-95].

18 Only a third of those who leave churches do so due to a loss of faith or problem with the church; for most it is due to life changes. So more attention to keeping people through life-transitions is important for churches [105].

19 Some ways to make churches more attractive and welcoming [109-116]:

a New approaches to worship b Intentional engagement with non-attenders and Australian culture c Seek to understand the spirituality of Australians d Recognise social connections, hospitality, relationships, discussions e Pay attention to infrequent attenders f See the importance of baptisms, weddings, funerals, festivals g Connect with children, through RE, faith development, parenting help h Stem the flow out the back door, with follow up and care i Ditch unnecessary baggage—many of our habits are negotiable

20 Some bolder ways to reach those further from the church [118-125]:

a Experimental forms of church b Creating community c Discussing faith and values d Responding to new forms of spirituality

A few questions:

1 Most findings above simply describe what’s going on. How do we respond to some of them? In other words, if this is what is going on, what is an appropriate response by the church?

2 The Census statistics show that the churches that are growing numerically are those which are theologically conservative, confident and outgoing (particularly Pentecostal and charismatic churches). How does this relate to the dominant views of Australians summarised in this book?

3 The book consciously addresses ‘involvement in churches’. It predicts further decline in denominational strength. Should we be exploring ways of being Christian outside the traditional paradigm of the local church, such as house churches, pub churches and so on?

Ross Langmead, 10-11-05