U.S. Religious Landscape Survey

Since reading Danny's post on this survey last week, I haven't been able to let it go. If you've got a del.icio.us account, I have bookmarked several of the news articles and blogs that I have come across regarding this survey at mine.

Here are some ideas that come from what I've been reading:

Fluidity. This is a keyword into what is going on. People are constantly moving from church to church and churches are losing and gaining at the same time. This helps me understand what I've been seeing on a very local level. People leave and new people come and the net effect is basically even.

Competitive Marketplace. That is what Luis Lugo of the Pew Institute calls what we have in America right now. I initially cringe at this idea of feeding the consumerism in our country, but I want to explore this metaphor (that's what it is) more fully. It may not be all bad. He also makes the point that people are shopping and churches are recruiting. I'm not sure how to see this in light of Jesus' ministry.

From teachings to programs. The point is made that what people are looking for is less about the churches particular teachings and more about the programs offered. Again, the consumer is dictating.

Unaffiliated Youth. Among Christian college students, we've been seeing this for a while. "Give me Jesus but not the church" has been a cry of young people for a while.

Religious Intentionality. Some are suggesting that the survey indicates a pretty high level of religious intentionality in American. This is further bolstered by the fairly small number of Atheists and Agnostics compared to the other categories. I think this means that in general people are looking for something, which presents a great opportunity.

One initial thought I have about all of this is that my congregation is going to have to invest some "soul searching" time. What is it we are really offering? What value do we add to those who come through our doors and interact with our people? If this is a competitive marketplace, I don't think we have the advantages to be able to keep up. However, if people are coming and going and trying on different churches, what is it that we have that will cause them to say, "Of all the churches that we have tried, I like [church name] because of ..." I don't want those reasons to be superficial but deep and meaningful.