A rough decade for American congregations
A new decade-long survey of American congregations shows religious health and vitality are weaker than they were 10 years ago. While the survey showed that many congregations are adopting new technologies and innovative worship, there were steep drops in financial health and attendance at weekly worship services.
The Hartford Institute for Religion Research released the study's findings Saturday in a report titled "A Decade of Change in American Congregations, 2000 – 2010" authored by David A. Roozen.
In the measured decade, churches, temples and synagogues told surveyors that congregations that were innovative and contemporary showed the highest amount of "high spiritual vitality."
Forty-seven percent of congregations that said their worship experience was "innovative and contemporary" reported high spiritual vitality, versus 17% that said their congregations were "neither innovative nor contemporary."
Read more: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/20/a-rough-decade-for-america...
Which begs the question, what does it mean to be "innovative" and "contemporary"? And how do people define "high spiritual vitality"? Thoughts?
Tags: Hartford, Institute, innovation, study, survey, worship
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John E. Smith on -
Hi, Steve - interesting study and not at all surprising.
The link does not provide much additional information and the survey appears to have used a self-identification by congregations whether they were "innovative and contemporary". Self-reported identifications in research are always a tad "iffy".
I found the observation that mega-churches , while growing, represent a very small slice of worshippers overall and the comment that they are getting a bigger chunk of a shrinking pie tells me that this is not a shift toward workshop as entertainment or some type of change in worship dynamics towards larger groups particularly.
My experience has always been that people seek two conflicting things in a worship experience: stability and transcendence. We want to be moved by the spirit, but we also want to sit in the same spot in the same pew every Sunday. We desire to live out Jesus's great commandment, but do not welcome disruptions to our lives. We are dying for spiritual intimacy, but cannot find it in the traditional "church" model.
As to "high spiritual vitality", I guess I have to fall back on the old wisdom about pornograpy - I can'd define it, but I know it when I see it:). You can feel vitality in a worship community and I do not believe that this vitality exists only in the newer and more innovative communities. I have sat through high energy and sense-stimulating electronically-driven worship services that left me cold, but sometimes I am comforted beyond words by some old traditional hymn sung in the same old tradition way.
Not sure what all this means for the life of the church, but I am willing to bet that people will continue to worship together. They just may not be doing it in surburban buildings with high overhead, failing mechanical systems, and aging congregations.
People want connection and meaning in their spiritual life. Communal worship has and always will provide this.
John
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