The book suggests that the defining problem driving out most people who leave is … just how American life works in the 21st century. Contemporary America simply isn’t set up to promote mutuality, care, or common life. Rather, it is designed to maximize individual accomplishment as defined by professional and financial success. Such a system leaves precious little time or energy for forms of community that don’t contribute to one’s own professional life or, as one ages, the professional prospects of one’s children. Workism reigns in America, and because of it, community in America, religious community included, is a math problem that doesn’t add up.
Probably because it's boring as fuck. What sense of community do most churches promote? You're expected to sit on your ass for an hour and listen to some lame guy in a weird outfit blabber. Most people never liked church, but now there's less of a cultural pressure to be as devoted to the religion you believe in
Some churches are cool and communal, especially black churches, which is probably why black Americans are more likely to still attend than any other race
Hey why are you reading my student reviews?
A lot of churches offer a sort of “community in a community”. For example, if you are a reactionary, white, married couple (ideally with kids), some evangelical churches can plug you right in to a group of like 5-10 other couples who are basically identical to you. And if you’re in that demographic, doing social things only with people pretty much just like you is what you are looking for.
Also over a third of the population attending weekly is still really high imo, like a 4x higher rate than most European countries
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