6 More Ways Cultural Change Is Affecting Worship Attendance

Here is the second set of reasons that worship attendance has been on a steady decline for decades. As with the first list, these mostly relate to external changes in culture, not with what the church has been doing wrong.

Which reasons seem particularly relevant to you? Which do you disagree with?

7. Busyness/loss of Sabbath - "Sunday is the new Saturday", and people have options or obligations on this day they did not have in the past. Many more people must work on Sundays. For others, getting the family ready to go to church is one more hassle they don’t need. For still others, it’s the only day to sleep in or simply relax. In the past, very few options other than church were available or socially acceptable.

8. Loss of obligation - In the past, the general culture had a sense that “you’re supposed to go to church on Sunday,” even if they didn’t actually go. Today, this sense of obligation is mostly gone. People don’t wake up and think, “We should go to church.” Which means worship doesn’t have a prayer in the competition with other options.

9. Consumerism/materialism - Even if someone does make it to church once a week, one hour in worship is dwarfed by several hours a day of commercial messages on TV and the Internet. The occasional good news of grace is overwhelmed by the persistent bad news that we aren’t thin enough, rich enough, smart enough, or safe enough - and need to buy more and consume more. Is it any surprise that consumption is up and church participation is down? Or that when people do go to worship, they tend to bring a consumeristic expectation of receiving the product they desire?

10. Loss of moral authority - At one time, people turned to the church and its leaders for answers on the tough moral questions of the day. Today, many are looking elsewhere. Christians are frequently scorned as abandoning the principles of their faith, and a member of the clergy is often the last person someone turns to for moral guidance. The rash of child molestation scandals, and the outspoken voices of many Christians against LGBT rights has only deepened the divide. As a result, many people now stay away from worship because of their moral convictions.

11. Anti-institutionalism - At one time, the large denominations and their institutional strength was attractive to the general culture. Today, the once great institutions of society are viewed with suspicion. People don’t choose their place of worship as much by denomination as they do by where they feel comfortable or where certain consumeristic desires are met. Churches that still rely on their institutional strength and reputation to drive attendance are declining.

12. Individualism - Many people of faith are turning away from corporate worship and seeking more personalized experiences. “I meet God while hiking by myself in the mountains” is a common type of attitude. Watching sermons on TV and the Internet is also an increasingly frequent alternative to attending worship in person. In short, many people see faith more as “me” than “we,” and don’t value time spent with other Christians as much as past generations did.

Again, this list is being compiled to help us understand the reasons worship attendance is in decline, and to help us shift toward new practices that will reach people with the Gospel in new ways. If we keep thinking the problem is what we've done wrong, and keep trying to "fix" our worship services, we will never be able to move into the great things God is doing next.