The saying “It takes a village” truly reflects my experience growing up in the church.
From a young age, I was a member of the church’s vibrant community, learning invaluable skills as part of the media team that promoted the importance of collaboration. Events like Grace Girls Closet, which provided clothing to women in need, taught me the joy of giving and the impact of service. Youth events cultivated lifelong friendships, and mentors from the church offered guidance that has been crucial in my personal growth.
The church has been a cornerstone of support, shaping who I am today and continually inspiring me to give back and be of service to others.
However, I recognize that this positive experience is not shared by all who engage in faith. For many, religion can be alienating, especially for those who disagree with religious stances on social and political issues, or find themselves unable to believe in religious doctrines. This sentiment has driven many to abandon their faith entirely, shutting the church doors behind them and not looking back.
Many others have sought to find a middle ground, identifying as religious without engaging in organized practice. This is illustrated by the fact that only roughly three-in-ten adults in 2021 say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month, including 25% who say they attend at least once a week and 7% who attend once or twice a month. In context, 63% of U.S. adults identify as Christians. Especially in the wake of the pandemic, worship — once a touchstone of American community life — has become an increasingly solitary exercise.
In a society that is becoming increasingly atomized, religion can play an important role in combating social isolation. When approached with care and understanding, religious communities have the potential to tremendously change lives for the better.
The Current State of Religious Participation
Increasing social isolation, amplified by the pandemic’s disruption of in-person gatherings, has left many opting to no longer attend religious services. One in every five U.S. adults say they attend religious services less often than they did before the pandemic. This fact is alarming given the abundance of virtual options provided, as only one in five churchgoers in 2022 participated in virtual church once a month.
While some see virtual attendance to religious services as just as fruitful as in-person attendance — evidenced by a 32% increase in online giving in recent years — such a perspective overlooks the essential social interactions and relationship-building that occur during in-person worship. Virtual attendance often detracts from the key elements of connection and community involvement that are vital for cultivating meaningful relationships and engagement in community initiatives. About two-thirds of regular attenders say they feel “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of connection with others who attend in person. That’s more than twice the share of virtual worshippers who say they feel those levels of connection with people who physically attend the services they are watching and nearly three times the share of virtual worshippers who feel strongly connected to other people who — like themselves — are watching the services on screens.
Not only are families no longer attending religious gatherings in person, but many are also entirely disengaged from religious participation. Many contributing factors may have influenced this trend; however, the basis of them is rooted within this lack of trust and legitimacy of organized religion.
A 2022 Gallup survey found that 31% of those surveyed had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church or organized religion. Scandals like clergy sexual abuse and blatant misuse of financial contributions have caused shaky foundations of trustworthiness. Social and political issues have contributed too. Forty percent of people ages 18-29 who stopped identifying with a religion did so because of negative teachings about LGBTQ individuals, and many others left due to issues surrounding many churches’ conservative stances on abortion.
In the face of such profound hurt and loss of confidence, it is crucial to acknowledge the perspectives of those who have been deeply affected by religious institutions. Many individuals have experienced the shame and exclusion at the hands of those who fail to live out the core values of compassion and love that many faiths espouse.
These painful experiences highlight a disconnect between the intended message of religion and its practice. When embraced authentically, religion can foster community, support, and personal growth, offering benefits that extend to individuals and society as a whole. It’s vital to recognize that not everyone within these communities embodies harmful attitudes, and by focusing on the positive aspects of faith, we can work toward a more inclusive and uplifting expression of religious participation.
The Benefits of Religious Participation
Social interaction is a fundamental component of most forms of religious participation, and provides direct physical and health benefits to those who engage. This engagement can help prevent cognitive decline by stimulating brain activity and strengthening neural pathways. It can also improve memory formation and recall, and protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases. While it may be true that various social organizations can provide social interaction, organized religion provides a distinct sense of community, shared values, and spiritual support that may enhance these effects. The traditions and moral frameworks inherent in religious practices not only foster deep connections, but also create a sense of purpose and belonging that is often more profound than in secular contexts.
Religious individuals have also shown higher propensities to make healthy lifestyle choices. These lifestyle choices range from being more likely to exercise, engage with extended family, recycle, make socially conscious consumer choices, and even volunteer. By being ingrained into a community in which individuals uplift and support one another in their daily lives, people are able to share insights which could be used in someone else’s life for the better.
At my church specifically, I witnessed a member who was looking for employment at the time receive a well-paying job from his relationships in the church. Just through a casual conversation leaning on those with whom he had built comradery within the church, he was able to express his need and have it met right there. This opportunity not only provided him with a job, but it also reinforced the strong bonds within our church community as we collectively celebrated his achievement.
The value of religious participation is not just demonstrated from within the group, but also in its impact on the community as a whole. Congregations of all denominations collectively contribute $418 billion in social welfare each year, and individual churches often generate more than $735,000 annually in their local areas. This substantial investment in the community is not just an economic figure; it translates directly into tangible benefits for those in need. Many religious organizations channel these resources into essential services and charitable activities, such as food banks, shelters, and community outreach programs. An impactful example of this can be seen directly from the Salvation Army’s mobilization to provide essential services to vulnerable communities across the nation. These services included food provision, housing assistance, and mental health services. With many Salvation Army branches being supported by local churches and congregations, many church members volunteer to help with food distributions and make financial contributions to the organization. By investing in their communities, religious congregations help address critical needs and support countless individuals.
Recognizing these contributions makes clear that while religious organizations may have room for improvement in addressing past and current shortcomings, they remain a powerful force for positive change. With a commitment to enhancing their role in service and advocacy, religious organizations can continue to leverage their beneficial economic and relational resources to uplift communities and support those who are most vulnerable.
Progressing Toward Increased Participation
That leads us to the pressing question, how do we promote religious participation in communities across the country and world?
Any effort to expand participation will demand significant action on multiple fronts. However, one efficient way that religious organizations can better engage their communities is prioritizing innovative outreach strategies.
For any organization, secular or religious, outreach is such a vital tool to get people involved and unite people under a particular cause. This outreach could consist of attending open houses and public events within the community, going door-to-door with well-designed door hangers locally, or even bringing awareness through TV advertisements for larger religious organizations.
In addition, religious organizations can benefit from utilizing new technology and social media in order to expand their reach in society, especially with younger generations. A church could carry this out by investing in user-friendly and easily accessible website that displays in-depth information about the organization; pumping out contemporary and relatable content on social media platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok to attract members; and creating interactive online communities with the use of podcasts, virtual events and webinars, streaming services, and apps to connect individuals regardless of geographic location.
With a renewed focus on community engagement and support, we can harness the potential of religious organizations to create meaningful change. As awareness and contemporary methods are put in place, religious organizations will be able to expand their reach leading to a reverberating positive impact on communities to overcome the fragmented society we see today.
