Re: Are mega-churches the ecit door from organized
I think it rather interesting that a Forbes contributer would write-
"What is emerging in the wake of this decline is a uniquely American brand of post-religious spirituality. America’s smaller, community-driven Little Rectangular Churches are being steadily replaced by her entrepreneurial, consumer-oriented Big Round Churches. Authority once wielded by religious denominations is being replaced by the entertaining magnetism of a charismatic pastor, attracting a hardened remnant of fundamentalist believers unconcerned about the moral implications of commercialized faith. As community ties and social capital steadily weaken, Organized Religion is losing ground to Disorganized Religion.
It’s not hard to appreciate the appeal of the Big Round Church compared to the older, community-driven models. How convenient would it be to visit for a church service, be entertained by elite professionals, pay your fee for spiritual services rendered, and just leave? Disorganized Religion replaces traditional religious identities and their accompanying entanglements and authority structures with a model in which the customer is always right. Paid employees handle all the details from parking to teaching classes. No need to serve on committees. None of the hassles of maintenance or governance disturb the workweek. No one expects to have to contribute their time to maintain the facilities at Starbucks or McDonalds, so why shouldn’t we expect a similar consumer experience from a church?
This isn’t strictly speaking a religious problem, but a social trend. Our steady slide toward disorganization is a fully global phenomenon that extends beyond religion into every aspect of social organization. A freer world marked by global capitalism presses consumer values into every institution, from family to politics. Decades of growing disengagement from the messy, time-consuming groundwork of social engagement helps explain situations as seemingly unconnected as the decline of PTA’s and the rise of Donald Trump. As we reap the benefits of global markets, growing personal freedom, and the technical wonders of the innovation age, we are shedding any sense of connectedness. We rarely experience the local community accountability that was an assumed feature of life in previous generations.
In countries with thinner social capital institutions the declining power of organized religion has posed an existential threat. As accountable and reasonable religious figures lose influence, they have been replaced by extremist entertainers and fundamentalist revolutionaries. Devolution of power away from traditional institutions creates anxiety for many, anxiety that’s often displayed in the shape of fanatical extremism and desperate efforts to shore up a disintegrating religious culture by political mandate. It is not religious enthusiasm, but religious decline, that feeds fundamentalism. We are not immune.
America seems unlikely to suffer as much pain from the decline of organized religion as Middle Eastern countries, but we seem unwilling to give up that “olde tyme religion” as gracefully as the Europeans. One day the dominant branches of Christianity in America may be as philosophical in outlook and unsuperstitious in belief as the bulk of Western Judaism. Mainline Protestant denominations are, for the most part, already on their way toward this end. Catholicism may not be far behind.
Religion will not simply fade away. It seems to be wired into the fabric of our existence. In the absence of some organized form, we will construct it out of whatever spare parts we can find.
Regardless of what else happens to our culture, Christians will continue to gather to discuss the meaning of their faith and build their communities. They still do this in Europe, though on a much smaller scale than in the past. In its late stages, mature disorganized Christianity might grow less enthralled by the fantastic while remaining a significant cultural force. We’ll see.
Perhaps one day tourists will quietly marvel at our great glass megachurches while token services are carried on in the background for atmosphere. These churches will make much better sight-seeing stops than European cathedrals since they are already equipped with coffee houses, restaurants, and book stores.
Be sure to stop by the gift shop on the way out.
Chris Ladd, former GOP Precinct Committeeman, author of The Politics of Crazy and creator of PoliticalOrphans.
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