Well Doc, funny you should mention that. The change in culture between church and expectations of the people and the interaction with the state was in our sermon this past week.
Jumping back a generation to my childhood, practically everyone went to some sort of weekly religious service. Where I grew up in Appalachia, there weren't many non-denominational churches because most of the churches there were getting subsidized from the organization that had surpluses in the wealthier areas. There just wasn't enough money in donations to keep a non-denominational church afloat in that area. Not because people didn't give, but because even if they gave generously from their income, the average income was too slight.
Now, Roman Catholic, Judaism, and various mainstream Protestant (United Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, etc.) religions were what we had. Regardless of where one went, most fathers took their whole families every week. Often there were mid-week services as well. The Roman Catholics had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday services.
Store were closed on Sunday as a matter of law, but also culture. Every once in a while, someone would challange the blue laws and open on Sunday daring the authorities to come and fine them. It wasn't necessary. No one shopped. It took care of itself. The church family was a part of one's extended family. I was in part raised by the ladies of the church. The older boys had their clothes passed down to me, and my clothes were passed down to younger boys. There was a whole network of moms who babysat for one another. If I disobeyed Mrs. Coole for example, I was punished by Mrs. Coole without her worried about whether my Mom would approve, and then I was punished again by Mom. Church family, church services, and time / monetary commitments to church were ingrained parts of the culture. For a time, my father (not a professional pastor) preached at three churches a week because the congregations were so broke that they couldn't pay their pastors, who moved on to find jobs to feed their families. Dad did this voluntarily. He knew how to preach, he was known in the community as a God-fearing man, and they were glad to have him come and help. I honestly cannot think of one family in my neighborhood that did not go to church regularly, and that everyone in the neighborhood knew where the others went.
Today, things are different. There is no concept of a communal "Sabbath." My wife and I attend a non-denominational church, of which there are many in this area. Granted, we live in what has been labled as the nation's wealthiest county. While I'm not sure how that was calculated, where we live now is a far cry from the county I grew up in where the median income was well below the poverty level. So there's room in people's budgets for supporting non-denominational churches. But by and large, folks don't go to church. Any service, regardless of religion or denomination. My next door neighbors go to the Roman Catholic church, and on the other side they go to the Presbyterian church. Of the other nine houses on our street, none of the people attend any kind of service. Church attendance in the U.S., based on my EXTREMELY limited viewpoint is down overall. Spiritual considerations are generally not given merit. I recently turned down a large promotion at work. It was because I felt that the job (I had been doing the job for about ten weeks "acting" in the position) interfered with my spiritual well-being. Folks thought I was crazy. It meant more money, so why didn't I take it? My father's volunteerism, doing what he thought was the right thing to do, not gone entirely but surely no longer common. But the idea of doing it to thank God for the blessing that he still had a job and to minister to all the folks that didn't (unemployment exceeded 25% in that place and time). Well, I don't think that would be generally understood today.
Now the thing that perplexes me is whether this is a bad thing. Do I think that all those folks attending church in my youth were faithful? No way. Too many of my friends getting beaten or having to clean up drunken parents or bailing them out of jail. Their behavior didn't match their professions of faith as demonstrated by going to church. Today, those folks wouldn't bother going to church. Somehow, I can't help but think that that's not necessarily a bad thing. But what it does do is give cause for those who are faithful and the beneficiary of some sort of faith instruction to be evangelical and compassionate in nature to those who may not have the experience. The church I attend now is mostly comprised of "new" Christians. People who have come to the Christian faith as adults. There are tattoos, shaved heads, and Harleys in the lot (even in the pulpit on occaission), former addicts, prostitutes, and felons. This is a church that has taken advantage of the fact that not everyone is in church, and has brought church to the ones who need it and are open to its teachings. The music is Pop or Alternative Rock in style. It's very non-traditional. And the teaching consists not of esoteric explorations of oblique Scripture, but down-to-Earth basic instruction in how to apply Scriptural principles to day-to-day living. I think this is better somehow than using peer pressure to fill churches. The folks sitting in our services want to be there. They found a need fulfilled. They're still learning what it means to be a Christian. I don't know, but I somehow expect that there are a number of other churches in our area where the same story would apply.
Anyway. I think I got off topic, but that's the progression of religion in the U.S. from the eyes of an Appalachian hillbilly kid wondering whether he was going to eat that day grown to be a middle aged desk jockey with a paunch living in wealth compared when compared to his youth.
Oh, as a kid it was the Methodist Hymnal and nothing else in church. Now it's pop or alternative rock with Christian lyrics.
- Zurf
