Statement to the Churches on Nominality

from the Lausanne International Consultation on Nominalism (High Leigh, Hoddesdon,
U.K., December 1998)

1. The Consultation

1.1 In December 1998 65 men and women from 15 countries and all six continents met to
discuss ministry in relation to nominality among people who identify themselves as
Christians. Those gathered represented a wide range of denominations and traditions. They
shared a common concern about the challenges in pastoral care and evangelisation posed by
nominal Christianity.

1.2. The Consultation was organised by Christian Research of the UK under the auspices
of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. The process involved Bible study and
discussion as well as input from church leaders, theologians, leaders of Christian
organisations and researchers from many places. A central feature of the Consultation was
discussion with five people who agreed to be identified as nominal Christians.

2. Nominality

2.0 The Consultation considered nominality from various viewpoints: theological,
sociological, historical, statistical and pastoral. The definition used in the Studies of
Biblical characters was those who appear to belong to the people of God but by their
behaviour and attitudes cast doubts on that identification (Luke 6:46; 2 Timothy 3:5; and
Revelation 3:1). Nominality takes a variety of forms throughout the world, depending on
the relationship between church and society. For the ease of discussing nominality, the
following three headings were used.

2.1 Nominality among those who have never attended church

2.1.1 Several researchers spoke of people who identify themselves as Christians, for
example in surveys or censuses, but who are not actively involved in the life of churches.
There are no accurate figures on church attendance around the world. However, it has been
estimated that in 1995 there were 1,614 million people who would identify themselves as
Christians. Only 909 million of these were members of churches or frequent Mass attenders.
This means there were 705 million people who were not in these categories, 44% of the
whole.

2.1.2 The proportion of people who identify themselves as Christians but do not attend
a church is probably larger than that. For example, in Australia, 70% of the population
identified themselves with a Christian denomination in the 1996 government census, but
church surveys showed that on a typical Sunday only 10% attend a church.

2.1.3 There are many reasons why people describe themselves as Christians but do not
attend churches. Some feel that Christian values and principles are important, but church
attendance is not. Some want the rites of passage but are not interested in further
involvement. Others are uncomfortable in the churches, either because they feel socially
or culturally different, because they have other priorities, or because they sense their
morals or lifestyles are unacceptable to those who attend.

2.1.4 Others do not attend because they have never been invited, or their friends and
family do not attend, or because they have never felt attracted to a church.

2.2 Nominality among those who have ceased to attend church

2.2.1 In many countries, large numbers are leaving the churches. While some leave
because faith is no longer meaningful, others are disillusioned. Some are put off by the
style of church life, or problems such as poor leadership or inappropriate handling of
church finances. Many leave because they feel burned out and no longer capable of giving
of themselves personally.

2.2.2 For example, a survey in 1994 in Costa Rica showed that 81% of people who joined
a Protestant church left within five years. While many of these returned to Catholic
churches, about half cut their links with all religious groups. One British study showed
that 62% of those who left church did so because they found it lacked relevance. Another
British study showed that 40% of those who left returned to church after an average of 8
years away.

2.3 Nominality among those who do attend church

2.3.1 The consultation recognised that faith is more complex than statistics can
explore. Many people attend church whose faith may be described as nominal in that it has
little influence on their daily lives, habits or personal devotion. Others attend but
their conviction or commitment is weak. In this context, it was acknowledged that no
community of faith, or individual, whether ordained or lay, demonstrates fully the life
that God desires for the People of God.

2.3.2 Nominality, in some instances is demonstrated when church attendance is combined
with worldviews, moral values and spiritualities, or with practices and attitudes which
are antithetical to the Christian faith. For example, while 92% of youth in Nairobi attend
church, 40% admit holding ethical views contrary to the Biblical teaching in their
churches and thus are in danger of becoming nominal.

2.3.3 Many people attend church merely because it is seen either as socially
appropriate or is tied to their ethnic, class, national or other group identity. Some
people attend only to conform to the desires of their parents, families, or peer group.

3. Issues Raised by Nominality

3.1 At the Consultation several people who agreed to be identified as nominal
Christians were interviewed. It was evident that many consider churches and their
spokespersons as judgmental and lacking care and understanding, for example, in relation
to sexuality. Churches are sometimes seen as insensitive to the complexity of life and as
being simplistic, rigid, arrogant and exclusive. Churches which have no place for doubt
make other people suspicious. Some churches appear more concerned with internal issues
such as theological agendas, power structures and bureaucracy, rather than with the issues
of life outside.

3.2 Those who do not attend may be open to spirituality and Christian values yet be
suspicious of institutional religion. Many stereotypes about the Christian faith and
churches have been fed by the media and traditions. However, the churches need to
appreciate the perspectives of those who do not attend, and recognise their doubts about
the value of church structures and the relevance of Christian beliefs.

3.3 It was recognised that the churches themselves must accept some responsibility for
those who have left. They may need to reappraise forms of government and administration
and use of facilities to avoid burn-out and disillusionment. Ways must also be found to
develop gifts and involve lay people in ministry while recognising the variety of
pressures in life.

3.4 In ministry to those who attend churches, the Consultation affirmed the importance
of helping people to work through the implications of faith in their daily lives. Churches
should be encouraged to help Christians discern and resist the relentless pressures of the
modern world, consumer cultures, mass media and self-centred values. Christians should be
encouraged to review their use of time and money, attitudes to relationships in family and
community life, and their service of others, particularly those with special needs. Those
in ministry in churches should model and encourage Christians to take seriously personal
devotional life, prayer, Bible study and meditation, to value the presence of God and to
seek a deeper understanding of the Bible.

3.5 The Consultation acknowledged that the ways in which worship is expressed and
Christian education is conducted may sometimes discourage people from involvement. It
stresses the importance of providing worship and Christian education in forms which are
culturally comprehensible and relevant to the lives of those involved.

4. Ministry in relation to nominality

4.0 Those at the Consultation recognised the need to present practical implications to
the churches. The following issues seemed to be of particular, wide-spread relevance for
ministry.

4.1 Culture

4.1.1 Around the world, most cultures are being impacted by globalization and are
experiencing unprecedented change. The Consultation affirmed strongly that the churches
need to grapple with the changes taking place in their context, and find both appropriate
Christian responses to the ways of life and appropriate cultural forms for Christian
education and worship. It must consider issues such as the breakdown of traditional family
structures, and the ways in which people increasingly identify with a range of relational
networks other than the community where they live.

4.1.2 As part of the process of responding to cultural change, the Consultation
affirmed the need to discern the nature and consequences of these changes and to think
through the appropriate responses. Further work is needed in many places to identify those
groups in the population who feel alienated from the church and its structures by reason
of culture, age, gender, race, physical, mental or economic disadvantage, or levels of
formal education. It is important to identify ways of being the church which are inclusive
and which express faith relevantly to every group within the population.

4.2 Children and Young People

4.2.1 It was noted that in most places these cultural changes are having the greatest
impact upon children and young people resulting in a growing distance between the lives of
young people and the churches. In Costa Rica, 65% of children in Protestant churches leave
before they reach adulthood. Similar problems exist in many parts of the world. Urgent
attention needs to be given not only to evangelising children without church connections
but also to supporting parents and churches in the passing on of faith to their children.
Traditional forms of ministry among children are proving totally inadequate in a mass
media age. Churches must develop new and appropriate forms of church life and support for
Christian nurture of children and young people within not only the church context but also
the family environment so that children grow into mature adult Christians.

4.3 Communication

4.3.1 Churches should encourage openness and dialogue in communication, by urging those
who attend to be vulnerable, to admit to struggles and doubts, and to seek intellectual
honesty in open engagement with those who have other points of view. Churches should also
encourage the demonstration of faith in unconditional love, non-manipulative friendships,
and unselfish care. At the same time, there is great value in ordered, structured and
intentional teaching programs through which the Christian Gospel is communicated. Various
examples of fresh ways to effectively communicate the Gospel were shared at the
Consultation.

4.3.2 Churches need to ensure that their forms of communication keep pace with cultural
and technological changes, while remaining faithful to the Gospel of Christ.

4.4 Leadership

4.4.1 During this period of change innovative leadership is sorely needed in every part
of the world. The churches must identify people called of God who understand the culture
and can proclaim Christ and live out their faith relevantly within it. In many places,
theological education is doing little to equip future ministers to struggle with the
issues of life and society. In-service training is needed to convey new insights and
skills to meet contemporary challenges. The Consultation affirmed the need to facilitate
leaders at every level within the churches, both clergy and lay, to equip the whole people
of God to function effectively in their contexts.

5. Conclusion

5.1 The Consultation recognised that there is no sharp distinction between ministry in
relation to nominality and all other ministry. God continually invites all people to a
deeper faith in Christ and a growing commitment to follow Him, responding to and being
sustained by the grace which has been shown in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and
inspired by the indwelling Spirit. The prayer of the Consultation was that God would
revitalise the whole Church, transforming the cultures and societies of the world, placing
the Good News of the faith before all people, and drawing nominal Christians to a
life-transforming faith in Christ.

5.2 This statement is an agreed summary of the findings of the Consultation.

End of Statement

Addendum

The following papers written for the Consultation are currently available from
Christian Research. It is likely that during 1999 they will be published in one volume.

1. Brierley, Peter, "Numbering the Nominals"

2. Chandran, Emil, "Nominalism and City Youth: A Case Study of Nairobi,
Kenya"

3. Finney, John, "Evangelism in the 21st Century"

4. Gibbs, Eddie, "Introduction & Literature Review"

5. Gibbs, Eddie, "Nominalism in the West"

6. Gomez, Jorge, "The Costa Rican Experience"

7. Hille, Rolf, "German Nominalism"

8. Houston, Tom, "Biblical character studies of Lot, Esau, Saul, Judas and Simon
Magus"

9. Hughes, Philip, "Nominalism in Australia"

10. Macdonald, Fergus, "The Challenge of Nominalism"

11. Osei-Mensah, Gottfried, "Nominalism in Africa"

12. Morris, Doug, "The Roman Catholic Lapsed"

13. Sine, Tom, "Why are the Nominals Nominal?"

14. Skaaheim, Anfin, "Nominalism: An Historical Perspective"

During the Consultation five people willing to be identified as nominal Christians were
interviewed. These interviews were video taped. Contact Christian Research for information
about their availability.

Further information: Christian Research, Vision Building, 4 Footscray Road,

Eltham, London, SE9 2TZ UK.

Tel: +44 (0)181 294 1989. Fax: +44 (0)181 294 0014. E-mail:

One copy of any translation of this statement must be lodged with Christian Research.

Copyright  © 1998 Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and Christian Research.