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Showing posts from August, 2013

Why young (and many older) people don't go to church, Part II

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In last week’s blog, I passed along some survey data and opinions I’ve recently read about why young people don’t go to church. In general, the survey results and the opinions agree that it’s principally a matter of relevancy. Many young people believe religion has little to do with their lives. A 32-year-old evangelical, Rachel Held Evans, wrote that ministers often misunderstand her message, thinking that “edgier music, more casual services, a coffee shop in the fellowship hall” are what’s needed to make the message relevant. But they miss the point, she says. “We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers….We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there.” So, you don’t become relevant by trying to be r

Why don't young (and many older) people go to church?

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Obviously, there are as many answers as there are people. But I’ve recently read several interesting perspectives. One is from a book I’ve been reading for some time called, “Young Adult Catholics, Religion in the Culture of Choice” by Dean Hoge and three other authors. It’s a compilation of surveys of young Catholics conducted in the late 1990s. Another is a blog by a 32-year-old evangelical Christian. A third is in the current issue of the National Catholic Reporter, which provides comments by Pope Francis to Catholic bishops during his recent visit to Brazil for the World Youth Conference. Regarding the book, among its predictable results is that only 31 percent of Catholics between the ages of 20 and 39 attend church weekly. (That number is probably even lower now.) A surprising finding is that among the non-Latinos in that age group who attend church at least once a year, 61 percent are satisfied or more than satisfied with their parishes. So, they don’t

Can you really call God "good?"

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I recently read in the newspaper a short article about an incident in Pakistan in which 16 children between the ages of 6 and 12 and a teacher were burned to death when the minibus in which they were riding burst into flames. It seems that a leaking gas tank and an electrical short circuit caused the disaster. Such news is an almost daily occurrence and seems to occur most frequently in the poorest countries. And God is said to love the poor. How could God, whom Christians say is all-loving, allow these catastrophes? How could he/she design a world that is so unfair? How could he/she allow those he/she supposedly loves to undergo such anguish? How could a "perfect" God be the maker of such an imperfect world? These are among the most repeated questions about God and among the top reasons people give for not believing in God and religion. Bad things, good people Answers don't come easily, and are not altogether satisfying, but the best I've read

Religion: the world's greatest evil?

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, "Religion ruled the dark ages." It reminded me of one of the most often-repeated accusations against organized religions: that they are at the root of the most violent and detestable acts of human history I understand the accusation. People look at the spate of terrorist attacks occurring in the last dozen years - including the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the Boston bombing - and conclude that Islam is the principal culprit. People consider the current civil unrest and killings in Africa, India and Pakistan , the relatively recent "troubles" in Northern Ireland and in the past, the Inquisition, the retribution executions after the Reformation and the conquest of native peoples in the  Americas and conclude that religion is to blame. An objective look, however, shows that it's another of the myths about religion that have continued to be fashionable. "Popular" religion vs. the real thing  What a

God and Sex

Say what? Can you place God and sex in the same line? Some religious people seem to think not. Many of them are silent on sex, as if ignoring it will make it go away. Others refer to it only in the context of abortion or contraception. It’s my view that this aversion to the subject is one reason the sexual revolution that began in the 1990s – one of many over the past century – occurred without religion firing a shot, not even to defend its dogma. But if God made us, albeit through an evolutionary process we don’t yet fully understand, he/she made every part of us, including our sexuality. So the first thing religion should teach about the subject is that sexuality is a normal, natural part of being human, and that goes for its biological and emotional components. If we should thank God for all he has given us, we should regularly thank him/her for our sexuality. Practically, that means being positive about the subject and about our own sexuality. It means accepting our humanit