Church Attendance Has Dwindling Importance, Survey Says

The noted Pew Forum survey a couple of weeks ago revealed that the number of questioning, unaffiliated and unchurched Americans is growing. Now, another survey from the Barna Group indicates that most adults don’t think that going to church is requisite for being a Christian.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y. reported that a majority of American adults believe several alternatives to church attendance are equally effective in maintaining faith, including 69 percent who believe that watching worship on television is the same as being there.

Many clergy assert this is contrary to the teachings of Paul, who emphasized the Body of Christ.

“I do not believe that one can really grow in their faith without the community," said the Rev. Daniel Eddings, pastor of Binghamton’s Endicott Community Church of the Nazarene, to the Press & Sun-Bulletin. “Left on our own, we can rationalize and justify just about anything ... (in the Bible) we always see the faith lived out within community.”

The Rev. Marsh Sorber, pastor of CrossPoint Community Church in Binghamton, told reporters, “A movement among the 30-something population has led them away from organized church. Some feel because they are in ‘organization’ all week, they do not want to subject themselves to it in their spiritual journey.”

Highly publicized scandal in prominent churches and denominations has likely contributed to a distrust of organized religion. The sects reporting the largest gains after 2007 are the Jehovah’s Witnesses (2.25 percent) and the Mormon church (1.56 percent).

The Barna Group is a marketing firm that researches church practices and is based in Ventura, Calif.