People are Leaving the Church – But Why?

Why are so many people leaving church these days?

According to a recent Gallup poll, in 2020 less than 50% of (U.S.) adult Christians regularly attended church. Compare that to the 70% who said they attended a church in 1999. Over the recent decades, the general decline in church and religious affiliation has risen with adults under 40. What is the cause of this? Here are several reasons that can explain why. 

1. The People Aren’t Always How They Appear To Be

There are many good things about attending a church and being involved in the church community. It can be great for creating a close and connected social circle. Churches help with community service. And they also help people encourage each other to live more godly lives together. Yet, even with those good things, people are still leaving. Why is that?

Some common complaints are that people who attend church are hypocritical. Churches can often feel exclusive, or even the relationships made within the church feel empty or surface-level.

In the news, we read about all kinds of problems with church leaders stealing money, having extramarital affairs, or other serious issues. So it’s no wonder why many people are losing their trust in religion and the church these days. If the very people who are leading or are claiming to be people of God are acting worse than those who have no religion or don’t attend church, then what’s the point?

2. The Institution Has Lost Its True Purpose

What truly is the purpose of the church and religion? Are churches and believers meant to use the Bible to control others or to control themselves? Over the long history of the church, many of the things that religious organizations have done have severely damaged its reputation. Things like the Crusades, colonialism, shedding of innocent blood in the name of faith. Pastors and priests who lived like kings compared to their members…many see these things and don’t think too well of the church as a whole.

Religion and churches have gotten more involved in political and social issues over time as well. While it’s important to care about and be active in what’s going around you, if the whole purpose and point of religion – a relationship with God – is forgotten, then we must ask what purpose the religious institution is serving at that point. In Romans 14, we are told not to judge others, and Jesus also says this in Matthew 7. Instead of focusing on obeying God’s and Jesus’s commands and working on themselves, the church and many of those who attend play judge and jury to those around them. 

You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

Romans 14:10

This Behavior Isn’t New

In John 9 Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, so the Pharisees wanted to question Jesus about it. They brought in the formerly blind man to question him, and when the man didn’t give the Pharisees the answer they wanted, they kicked him out of the synagogue. The Pharisees and other leaders were so concerned with people keeping their own rules and respecting their authority, that they excommunicated those who didn’t fall in line. They thought they knew what God wanted according to Moses’s Law. But when Jesus came and explained how the Law actually pointed to him, they refused to believe and sought to kill Jesus. 

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

John 5:39-40, 45-46

Similarly, the church today has become a place of judgment. A dividing line between those who follow the traditions of the church and those who do not. And all the while, the main point of the church has been lost. The purpose of the church is to bring people closer to God. To bring all people into a deeper understanding of His heart and will.

3. They Are Teaching Men’s Words, Not God’s

How often have you gone to church and listened to the pastor speak about a personal experience? Or they talk about some other topic that’s either loosely based around or completely unrelated to the Bible? They may use a Bible verse as a reference, but the focus isn’t fully on gaining a deeper understanding of God’s Word itself.

So often, believers go to church and hear about other people’s experiences or opinions on this topic or that topic. And in the meantime, they’re receiving nothing beneficial for growing their spirits. The Bible, God’s Word, is like food for our spirits. Instead of receiving that good spiritual food that will nourish the spirit and help us dwell on heavenly things, churchgoers are receiving food given by other people. Food focused on worldly things.

Since people aren’t receiving what they need, they look for it elsewhere. And often times, in their search for something more meaningful, they end up leaving the church. In the world, if you’re working at a job that’s unfulfilling, that stresses you out, overworks you, and puts you down, why would you stay there? People who are leaving the church are not feeling fulfilled. They’re left wanting and have unanswered questions. They’re searching for the truth. 

Then What Should the Church Do?

The church and its leaders should be focusing on preaching God’s Word. They should be helping members understand what God said through the Bible, and what believers must do today. God and Jesus have called us, their followers, to love and encourage one another, to love our enemies, and to know and obey their commands. Instead of the church focusing on society or politics, the focus needs to be on bringing people closer to God. Helping them understand His Word and His will. In Malachi 2:7 it says, 

“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.”

If the church or its leaders aren’t doing what God has asked them to, then with a humble heart, they need to evaluate their true purpose for leading and living a life of faith. The same also goes for the people who attend church. If we’re not seeking to grow closer to God, through His Word, if we’re not concerned with our spirits, which Jesus pointed out, was the most important, then we need to take an honest look at our lives of faith once more. 

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

John 6:63

Back to the Basics

The original Christian church was established with the blood of Jesus and the sacrifice of the disciples and others who believed in the gospel. Paul constantly warned the early churches not to get involved in worldly things and not to focus on the things of the world. Why? Because then our focus is taken away from the Word. Our eyes are taken off of God. 

Set your minds on things above, not earthly things.

Colossians 3:2

So as people are leaving the church, let’s take this time to reevaluate our own lives of faith. It’s never too late to restart and refresh. And by doing that, we can rebuild our faith with God’s Word as the foundation, and God’s will as our central focus. When we genuinely search for truth, for answers about God and His Word, He will answer.  For myself, it came in the form of a Bible study with my current church, where we started with the basics. It’s that simple. You just have to take the first step.

Written by Kenny

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Read More

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