Published on August 12, 2024, 12:30 am

Image source: Fox News

According to a recent survey conducted by the American Bible Society, ‘cliques’ or exclusion is a leading factor that prevents Americans from participating more actively in their houses of worship. This observation stands despite numerous respondents claiming they had no negative experiences with their congregations.

The enlightening findings are part of the “State of the Bible USA 2024” report’s fifth chapter, emphasizing the level of engagement Christians have with their churches and factors influencing an increase or decrease in this involvement. The data was compiled from 2,506 adult responses collected throughout January 2024.

Interest among participants to boost their involvement within their faith communities was driven notably by a sense of belonging (55%), shared spiritual beliefs (53%), and pursuit of meaning and purpose (51%). Less significant reasons drew attendance towards religious education (38%), cultural traditions (29%), community service (27%) and personal religious experiences (24%).

Despite having no participation in any faith community, about 42% represent a ‘nominal’ demographic identifiably religious but disengaged from it. Nonetheless, impressionable negative attributes decreasing church participation were reported as being judgmental or discriminatory beliefs against lifestyle choices (19%), disagreement with church teachings (18%) and financial exploitations within churches (14%). Spiritual manipulation, unresolved conflicts, inadequate care when needed and safety concerns were other contributing factors noted by the survey.

Generation X has reportedly experienced frequent exclusions or instances of cliques in their faith community compared to other generations like millennials. Interestingly though, such experiences didn’t significantly vary based on geographical location sizes or levels of scripture immersion.

Volunteers seemed more inclined to appreciating positive attributes of their place of worship yet expressed concerns pertaining to exclusionary cliques within church communities similar to non-volunteer members.

In his statement regarding these insights allegedly representing around 50 million Americans who participate less due to such reasons, John Farquhar Plake chief innovation officer at the American Bible Society, suggested that making churchgoers feel they belong can encourage greater participation. Otherwise, exclusionary tendencies like cliques risk alienating attendees and contributing to religious drift.

This insightful research study forms one component of a report scheduled for complete publication at year’s end with new chapters released every remaining month. By understanding what drives engagement or deters it, churches can reevaluate their environment and adopt beneficial changes.

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