Churches fight to stay open as attendance dwindles
abcnews.go.com
Churches faced with empty pews are fighting to keep their doors open, while former houses of worship are being converted into bars, clubs and luxury condos.

Summary

Churches across the U.S. are grappling with dwindling attendance and financial instability, forcing many to close or sell properties.

The Diocese of Buffalo has shut down 100 parishes since the 2000s and plans to close 70 more. Nationwide, church membership has dropped from 80% in the 1940s to 45% today.

Some churches repurpose their land to survive, like Atlanta’s First United Methodist Church, which is building affordable housing.

Others, like Calcium Church in New York, make cutbacks to stay open. Leaders warn of the long-term risks of declining community and support for churches.

  • @Chessmasterrex
    36•5 days ago

    From what it seems to me, the megachurches are doing okay. It’s the more traditional denominations that are suffering. Overall religion might be on a decline, but certain sects are flourishing. One silver lining about some of the megachurches is that they’re led by a strong personality and once they’re gone, the whole organization putters out. They’re more organized around an individual than a theology.

    • @[email protected]
      12•5 days ago

      I’m just happy people identifying as religious is dropping overall in the US. I’m fairly young and I really hope before I die it’s under 30%.

      • @CharlesDarwinEnglish
        4•5 days ago

        Or at least under 50%. So tired of them constantly being coddled and catered to in all their feelings.

        I remember talking to an evangelist type and making offhand remark that xtians are only like 78% in this country (or thereabouts - this was a while back - it’s even less now) and he got so VERY MAD about this basic fact about demographics. The reason I mentioned it was because he was waxing on about how “okay, maybe it’s not technically a xtian country, but nearly everyone here is xtian, damn it, so we should matter more (than stupid atheists or those Jews or Muslims or whatever)!” kind of argument they eventually get around to.

        I said, what are the 22% supposed to do? Just not have any representation at all? Him being faced with the simple fact that the number of xtians was not the percentage he thought it was and that it was set to trend downwards just set him off. He couldn’t even form a coherent answer, just started muttering and kind of wandered off, very red-faced.

        I think these kinds of interactions give a lot of insight into just how deluded some Americans truly are about basic facts about the world around them. I blame Faux and other outlets for constantly keeping these people safely tucked away in a big fuzzy blanket of coddling, giving them what they want to be true…