FAITH: A revolving door

The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey released earlier this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life surprised few with the fact that religious affiliation has become fluid.

Still, the magnitude of the trend is stark.

The percentage of Americans who have experienced a change of faith — including those who have changed from one type of Protestantism to another or who have shed their religious beliefs altogether — is 44 percent.

Dr. Charles Lippy, the Martin Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said the reasons for faith shifts since World War II are many.

Among them:

* An increase in the mobility of American culture.

* An increase of marriage within denominations and faiths.

* An increase in education, leading to better understanding among peoples of faith.

* An increase in the ecumenical movement, making denominations seem similar.

* An increase in churches targeting the “felt needs” of people.

* An increase in the number of things vying for people’s time.

* A decrease in faith affiliation by baby boomers, who followed a typical post-high school break from religion but never came back, with their children and grandchildren following their lead.

“The symbol we used to have for organized religion is the steeple — fixed and firm and in place,” said Dr. Lippy. “The new symbol is the revolving door.”

Some of those who have left the mainline denominations of their parents have come to Metropolitan Tabernacle, said Keith Sammons, the nondenominational church’s music pastor.

“We have found they want to come to a place where they feel comfortable,” he said. “They don’t feel the pressure that they have to worship in a specific box. If they want to worship outwardly with upraised hands or just soak in the presence of God, they’re not going to be confronted or threatened.”

Many of the people who have come through the doors of Metro Tab, as the church is known, and other denominations different from the ones in which they were raised, are young adults, Mr. Sammons said.

“They’re looking for something real,” he said. “They’re very keen in their senses. They can tell if it’s a show — if they’re feeling like they’ve been at a show or a weekly club meeting rather than an experience in the relevant word.”

UNAFFILIATED RANKS GROWING

The number of adults who say they are not affiliated with any particular faith has reached 16 percent, according to the survey. That is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with a particular faith as children.

Dr. Lippy suggested that since respondents self-identified, the actual percentage of unaffiliated adults could be much higher, perhaps 30 to 40 percent. Someone might identify himself as Baptist, for instance, but not be officially claimed by any reporting Baptist church, he said.

The unaffiliated ranks also would be swelled by people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, people who consider themselves religious but hostile to a church they once attended and not claimed by it, or people who have faithfully attended various churches but can be claimed by none.

The survey reports one in four men ages 18-29 claim no religious affiliation — a number significantly higher than women — but that is not anything new, Dr. Lippy said.

“That’s been a constant throughout American history,” he said. “Women generally have outnumbered men 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 (in church affiliation).”

CATHOLICS HOLDING THEIR OWN

While the survey reports the Catholic share of the adult population has held fairly steady in recent years, one-third of respondents who were raised Catholic no longer describe themselves as Catholic. However, the losses have been offset in part by the disproportionately high number of Catholics among U.S. immigrants.

The Rev. Mike Creson, pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Soddy-Daisy, said the Catholic church is no different from Protestant denominations in losing people due to shifting cultures and changing demographics.

“The models are not working as well” for Catholic and mainline Protestant churches, he said, “but we continue to rely on them.”

Father Creson said there are things to learn from evangelical denominations, whose numbers have risen in recent years and who experience less fluidity in membership.

“I don’t feel they have all the answers, but they have some things they are doing right,” he said.

“Evangelicals,” Father Creson said, citing an example, “got out front in technology, youth and music.”

The best theological argument is often no longer the basis for choosing a faith or denomination, he said.

“That’s why I’m Catholic,” Father Creson said, “but I don’t know if that’s such a big drawing card today.”

Churches, instead, which “answer immediately the needs of parishioners” who are “looking for a holistic experience” may be more successful in terms of mere numbers, he said.

At Holy Spirit, Father Creson said, while still attempting to provide the best spiritual argument, the church has tried to assemble a welcoming community.

“We want people to make it their base community,” he said.

While immigrant Catholics are helping maintain the ranks of U.S. Catholics, many immigrant Catholics are turning to other faiths.

“It’s a struggle for us to reach out to these folks as we should,” Father Creson said. “They’re leaving at twice the rate as other Catholics. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches are very strong and have attracted a lot (of immigrants). We have a lot to learn.”