Casual analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Casual analysis - Essay Example Other causes are lack of intellectually challenging church teachings, and too much emphasis on prosperity rather than Godliness. Church scholars observe that while many people claim to be Christians, most of them rarely attend church on a regular service. This essay discusses the decline of church attendance by review recent statistics, the reasons for the decline, possible remedies and the future of the church. Church Attendance Statistics Studies on church attendance reveal startling statistics that are only indicative of a drastically declining church attendance. In addition to the documented increasing closure of churches, it is recoded that 2.7 million church attendants become inactive members every year (Gill 46). This translates into the observation that an increasing number of people are leaving the Christian church and entering into the secular world where church has no significance. Olson and Adams (7) notes that beginning 1990 through 2000, the total membership of all Prot estant churches in the United States reduced by approximately 9.5 per cent, meaning that 5 million people stopped going to church during that period (). This decline in church attendance occurred despite the population of the nation rising by 24 percent, that is, 11million people. In 2002, 87 per cent of Americans claimed to be Christians in most studies but only around 40 to 50 per cent of them are regular church goers (Jackson 4). This confirms the assertions of theology scholars that church attendance may be up to a half of the population that claims in polls to be Christians. Reasons for Church Attendance Decline One of the major problems cited by church scholars for the decline church attendance is poor church leadership. Most people are simply unhappy with the way their clergymen and church officials run their churches. Chief among the elements of poor leadership is unacceptable management of funds, morale problems, and lack of a clear vision for the members of the church (Jac kson 25). For instance, if a church runs a building fund for over 20 years, there is a likelihood of the members wondering if the building will ever come into being. Moreover, if the church leaders are unable to follow through a course to its completion, the existing members will develop doubts while potential members will get discouraged from joining the church. Moreover, if a pastor or a prominent church member is caught in improprieties, the members of the church who look up to those as their source of inspiration and motivation lose their trust. In addition, there are high chances that a respected church member will deny being involved in wrongful actions. The fact that it can be proven that they actually went against Christian teachings worsens the case because the congregation wonders how evil people are supposed to lead them in leading straight, Christian lives (Gill 47). Another reason blamed for the decline in church attendance is observation that people are finding churche s to be lacking in intellectual challenges. It is crucial to note that more and more members of the young generation are educated at college and university levels, making them thinking people with expanded capacities of knowledge and curiosity (Wijsen and Schreiter 54). The conception of the young people that they always know more than the person preaching at the pulpit apparently gives them the perception that the