Library Learnings: ‘Let’s go play volleyball’: countering disenchantment in our churches

 

 

 

Professor of philosophy Firmin DeBrabander asks this in his essay in The Hedgehog Review—this is a journal that offers “critical reflections of contemporary culture”—entitled, “The Vast Dechurching and the Paradox of Christianity Decline”. He answers his own question:

 

“[F]acts on the ground certainly suggest a fatigue with church institutions, a feeling that they no longer offer inspiration, or clear and certain guidance.” If anything, our churches are their own worst enemy: “[L]iberal democracies…as the name suggests, are busy liberating people, or guarding their freedom; religion, on its face, looks to be working against that agenda, telling us what to avoid, what to sacrifice, what to spurn. That is a losing proposition.” (Missing from this inventory? They’re apt to tell us what we must believe.)

 

DeBrabander references a Czech theologian, Tomáš Halik: “‘If the church makes no serious attempt to allow the world in to see a completely different face of Christendom, the future of the church will be empty.’” In Europe, at least, there is nowadays “a widespread feeling that the church is tired, old, outdated, and irrelevant. Liturgies are unimaginative, boring, somber, and dutiful. Many people indicate they are still in need of faith, even hankering for it, but they are unimpressed or dissatisfied with what is on offer….”

 

Apparently, it’s not notably different in America: “’People are going to church less,’” Samuel Perry acknowledges, “’and what’s even more significant is they’re increasingly less likely to identify with any religion.’” In an online posting in 2024—”Losing our religion? Why more Americans are turning away from their faith”—Tess Bonn, senior writer at Katie Couric Media, quotes this University of Oklahoma sociologist, then continues, “[T]his is a fundamental shift in how Americans think about their lives existentially….”

 

As she notes, “[W]e do know that there’s a general disenchantment with religion as a whole. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, 56% of respondents said they left their faith because they just stopped believing in its teachings.”

 

She quotes Albert Moore, cleric at First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio: “‘People are leaving the church, and that should be a wake-up call for all of us.’” He then reports how he, for one, “has been focusing more efforts on recruiting younger congregants, and finding more creative ways to reach them outside the confines of a church building, whether virtually or in a social setting like a coffee shop.”

_____________________________________________________________

 

This is a notion that Steve Lundenberg echos in his May, 2025, article, “Is Christianity in the U.S. still declining?”—it appeared in Living Lutheran. He, a writer for Oregon State University News and Research Communications, turns for insight to three authorities: Christian Scharen, chair of worship at the Lutheran School Theology, University of Chicago; Adam DeHoek, senior director of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Research and Evaluation; and Elizabeth Drescher, professor of religion and pastoral ministry at California’s Santa Clara University.

 

“’There’s a lot of spiritual dynamism out there,’” Scharen reports. “‘Many people are looking for a place to belong, to gather, to act on their concern for creation….’” But, he adds, “‘I just wonder how traditional churches are positioning themselves to connect with that spirituality, with the different ways people are experiencing the Holy…, like experiences of awe, and practices people associate with spirituality….’”

 

Lundenberg then consults scholar Elizabeth Drescher, whom, he notes, “has identified three reasons people quit church: they’re bored; they’ve been hurt; or they’re disconnected from the faith intellectually.” Scharen puts this even more bluntly: “‘We’ve bored people, we’ve hurt people; we’ve forced them to believe certain things. Are we surprised they left? We shouldn’t be.’

 

“Both Scharen and DeHoek see hope, however, in alternatives to traditional worship…in which participants focus less on doctrine, and more on, as DeHoek puts it, ‘Let’s go play volleyball, and talk about Jesus; or let’s share a meal, and talk about what’s going on in your life.’”

 

John Jillions is still another religionist seeking ways forward for Christian churches. The Very Rev. Dr. Jillions, both the former chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, and the founding principal of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies at Cambridge, is an adjunct professor at Catholicism’s Fordham University. It was in this capacity that he, in 2023, asked the advice of students in his course on religion in American history, “What would you want religious leaders to consider for the future of religion in America?”. He reported their counsel in a writing for publicorthodoxy.org:

 

*  Accept diversity; create a welcoming and inclusive environment

*  Create opportunities for interfaith dialogue and collaboration, especially on social and environmental issues

*  Actively promote social justice, and combat inequality

*  Recognize the spread of non-denominational churches, since people are less tied to specific religious institutions

*  Accept that traditions can adapt to changing social norms without losing their centre—“It’s not all or nothing”

*  Embrace new technologies

*  Encourage questions and intellectual curiosity

*  Beware of religious leadership’s entrenched self-interest in preserving the status quo, instead of taking action to advance the good of people and the community

 

In his auricle, Jillions reported—in full—one student’s response, only this one: “‘They [religious leaders] should encourage their members to ask questions, seek knowledge, and engage in meaningful discussions about faith, morality, and ethics. By doing so, religious leaders can create a vibrant and relevant religious community that meets the needs of its members, and contributes positively to society.’”

 

Immediately, he added, “Valuable advice, as religious leaders wring their hands about declining attendance.”

 

Ken Fredrick