Church Attendance & Culture

Ravello-Italy-trekearth

Quiet for now. A casino is being built at the end of the road. Things should get busier...

Church Attendance & Culture

World Visits

United States Visits

Europe Visits

Glancing at my Visits maps, I reason I have visited some interesting regions, lived in two places on two different continents with similar very overcast and often rainy weather, and there are more places I would like to visit.

As far as where to live, that is largely dictated by citizenship and employment. Fortunately by my Father I have United Kingdom/European Union citizenship which I have already used to live in England as a British Citizen. Although I was still made to pay the academic foreign rate while at Universities because I had not lived there three years. That meant a student could for example attend in England from Germany and pay domestic rate because of the EU citizenship, but I had to pay the foreign rate. I was not pleased, but that was only one my several wonderful issues I had to deal with in Manchester...

See archives if interested:

In regard to employment, I am going to be shortly taking a government sanctioned course to provide me with a government sanctioned license. This type of work could be transferable to other jurisdictions I suppose, as it is wide ranging. My four degrees are always in use for potential work in academia, publishing and perhaps some type of media work.

In regard to ministry opportunities connected to potential work in my fields, I have noted I send out Curriculum Vitaes worldwide. Many of my friends and associates from church or formerly from church have worked in the United States, some in the supposed 'Bible Belts' in Christianized America. Some of these persons are Americans, some Canadians. An interesting philosophical discussion I have had, including with Mr. Matt, that has lived in both countries and in a Bible Belt, is the difference in working with ministry in areas that are very secular as in Greater Vancouver versus more Christianized areas where Christianity although still not held to by the majority of citizens in a serious manner, is still a major cultural influence.

I acknowledge in the Western World at least, the Christianized areas are still more so secularized. But for the sake of this article I make the distinction.

In Greater Vancouver/The Lower Mainland, I have heard it stated by local church leaders several times that on a Sunday only 5% of persons attend a church service. I am deducing that would be all churches, so those in Christian churches would be less than 5% if this statistic is anywhere near accurate.

The general ministry view I have understood in regard to the Greater Vancouver and areas like it in Europe, is that ministry is very difficult work. It is quite difficult to have new people attend church or to plant new churches and for new churches to succeed.

Having sent out many academic Curriculum Vitaes, I am also aware of where more or less the employment listings are in my academic fields. One can deduce which areas have more Christian churches.

From my friends and associates in ministry that have worked in this area and in Christianized America, they generally mention the opportunity to witness in an area such as Greater Vancouver that does not exist where Christianity is a stronger historical component of society.

A major reason being that the religious and philosophical pluralism and relative ignorance of Biblical Christianity (especially academic Christianity!) in a secularized culture allows for in some cases the opportunity for open dialogue.

In contrast in areas where there is a Christianized culture, persons outside of the Christian Church as far as regular attendance, often have a greater knowledge of the faith and worldview than persons living in more secularized regions. Some may reason they are Christian believers and tend to be closed to legitimate evangelism and witness.

I certainly found in my stays in Arizona and Florida that in general terms persons had a greater understanding of culturally Christianity, televangelists, and non-Biblically orthodox churches such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Jehovah's Witnesses. I found it much easier from what I was culturally used to in engaging persons in serious religious and philosophical discussion once they knew of my educational background.

But I did find they judged Christianity more on a cultural basis than a theological one.

I found similar theological and philosophical errors in reasoning that I would have found back home in very secularized Greater Vancouver.

My tentative conclusion as a non-evangelist, non-missionary, non-Reverend and non-church planter, but as an academic, is that both types of areas would be difficult ministry work.

Philosophically, it is reasonable and possible that per capita in a Christianized culture one in ministry is more likely to find Christians in a state of non-repentance (1 Corinthians 3, Hebrews 6, James 2, 2 Peter 3) and/or with legitimate complaints with the Church, that are potential church attenders greater in number than would be the non-religious candidates in a more secularized region.

This may mean that there is greater witnessing and church growth opportunities in a Christianized area as opposed to a secularized one.

Having more established Biblical Christian churches in a Christianized area would be an advantage in the Christianized area. This would provide for infrastructure and organization for which to bring new people into that would not exist in a situation where there are fewer churches.

The philosophical idea of greater opportunity for witness and evangelism in a secular area in comparison to a more Christianized one seems hypothetical.

A concept being greater ignorance means greater interest.

I am not convinced by this premise.

However, I do admit it is a reasonable possibility that greater witnessing and evangelism may exist within this climate.

I reason situations will vary from culture to culture. I make no dogmatic conclusions.

Christian Adherents In US States 2010-Huffington Post

From Wikipedia

Church Attendance by State 2006 Gallop Poll Rank State Percent — National average 42%

1 Alabama 58%
1 Louisiana 58%
1 South Carolina 58%
4 Mississippi 57%
5 Arkansas 55%
5 Utah 55%
7 Nebraska 53%
7 North Carolina 53%
9 Georgia 52%
9 Tennessee 52%
11 Oklahoma 50%
12 Texas 49%
13 Kentucky 48%
14 Kansas 47%
15 Indiana 46%
15 Iowa 46%
15 Missouri 46%
15 West Virginia 46%
19 South Dakota 45%
20 Minnesota 44%
20 Virginia 44%
22 Delaware 43%
22 Idaho 43%
22 North Dakota 43%
22 Ohio 43%
22 Pennsylvania 43%
22 Wisconsin 43%
28 Illinois 42%
28 Michigan 42%
30 Maryland 41%
30 New Mexico 41%
32 Florida 39%
33 Connecticut 37%
34 Wyoming 36%
35 Arizona 35%
35 Colorado 35%
37 Montana 34%
37 New Jersey 34%
39 District of Columbia 33%
39 New York 33%
41 California 32%
41 Oregon 32%
41 Washington 32%
44 Maine 31%
44 Massachusetts 31%
46 Rhode Island 28%
47 Nevada 27%
48 New Hampshire 24%
48 Vermont 24%

From Wikipedia

The 2001 Census results for Canada asked respondents in regard to religious affiliation.

The question (s) were not in regard to church attendance it appears. Therefore, for example British Columbia was listed as 54.92% Christian and 35.88% non-religious. This I reason is not church attendance but cultural affiliation.

From

Outreach Canada-John H. Redekop Ph.D. Trinity Western University

March 18, 2012

Cited

'Stats Canada reports that from 1981 to 1991 the United Church lost more than 650,000 members.

The Anglican Church’s Quebec City Bishopric, counted 25,000 members 50 years ago;in December, 2011 the total was about 3,000.

Between 1988 and 1998 church attendance for Canadians 75 and older declined 7%; for those between 15 and 34 years of age it dropped 24%.

Between 1931 and 2009 religious identification in Canada changed for the various groups; the 1931 percentage is given first and the 2009 second: 

Catholic: 41% to 40.1%

No Religion: 1% to 24%

Evangelical: 8% to 11%

United Church: 20% to 7%

Anglican: 16% to 6%

Presbyterian: 8% to 2%

Lutheran: 4% to 2%

Other faiths: 3% to 8%'

Reverendfun.com-Does not look like my type of Reformed theology...

Google Images-I suppose there is good and bad with that approach.. Limited agenda, and little to offer.

Google Images-Some truth to it, but overstated.