(RNS) Our nation’s faith communities face extraordinary challenges in the new, soon-to-begin decade. But many clergy are in a state of denial, or worse still, believe their old ways will continue to work in a rapidly changing America.
Peter Steinfels, the former New York Times religion writer and an astute observer of the Catholic community, recently noted that one of three American Catholics has left the church. Steinfels bemoans that bishops often fail to acknowledge the hemorrhaging that is taking place.
While the decline of the mainline Protestant churches has been analyzed and reanalyzed, the membership decline has not abated. Criticisms include: too much emphasis on social justice issues to the exclusion of authentic spirituality, an aging membership that is not being replaced by younger people, and bland worship services. The most serious criticism is that some national church bodies contain a whiff of anti-American feeling, blaming the U.S. for many of the world’s problems.
The once burgeoning evangelical community has hit a membership plateau. Some prominent church leaders have been involved in sexual scandals, while former lions of the movement, including Billy Graham, James Dobson, and Pat Robertson are aging or ill. q
The news that the Rev. Robert Schuller’s famed Crystal Cathedral in California is filing for bankruptcy is an apt metaphor for the evangelical community. The cathedral once symbolized the American megachurch: an architectural landmark and a huge television audience. But a bitter battle to succeed Schuller is wracking the church.
The growth of megachurches remains an open question. NBC-TV reports that nine percent of all Protestant worship services now take place within homes, rather than in tall-steeple churches or big-box buildings.
Inside the American Jewish community, the centralist Conservative religious movement is being crushed by the Reform and Orthodox streams. And while Jews remain committed to Israel’s quest for security, a sense of exhaustion with the peace process and the threats coming from Israel’s hostile neighbors has set in.
Even black churches are facing real challenges. Not long ago, ministers were the de facto leaders of the African-American community. The next decade will likely see a diminution of clergy leadership roles, and an increase among political figures, scholars, and business leaders. The black church will remain a central institution, but decision making will continue to move away from the pastors.
The Islamic community in the United States has three distinct membership groups: Arabs, African-Americans, and Muslims from non-Arab countries.
The controversy surrounding the proposal to build an Islamic community center near Ground Zero, and the anti-Islamic remarks of American political leaders has created a sense of insecurity and high anxiety among many Muslims.
This menu of problems is more serious than the usual gloom and doom articulated by anti-religion critics. On the contrary, this list of challenges — and there are many more — will severely test the strength of each faith community and represents a real and present danger to religious vitality in America.
The new decade will require the talent and leadership skills of America’s clergy. Will they succeed in effectively addressing the problems, or will the country’s religious life become a smorgasbord of personal whim, capricious choice, and mindless babble? Stay tuned.
(Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is the author of the forthcoming “Christians & Jews, Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future.”)
