Thinking About Returning to Church? Why Not Try It

If you are a spiritual person but have been away from the church for awhile, or, if you have been thinking about religion, but never practiced a faith, perhaps it is time to take the plunge and attend a church service. "Church" can mean any religious institution, whether it be a christian church, synagogue, mosque or temple.

Religious services were an important part of life in the first half of the 20th century and earlier. Since the 1950's, attendance at christian religious services slowly declined, and more recently have almost plummeted in the U.S., and in many countries in western Europe. Obviously, the change in mores has had a lot to do with this decline, as well as a perception that religion is not keeping up with societal changes and needs. Add to this the Catholic priest scandals of a few years back, and you have a situation that engenders doubt and cynicism about the church.

Many people I know today are truly spiritual, but do not attend their churches or other religious institutions on a regular basis. The reasons they do not attend can range from a bad experience they had with a priest or other clergy, either recently, or more often, many years ago, to just the feeling that they don't "get anything out of" a religious service. It is true that the way clergy conduct themselves during church services, as well as outside of church, has a lot to do with the perception of "church". However, if these individuals really looked at the meaning of "church", perhaps it would change their minds as to the benefits of going to services.

Church window

Credit: Ian Britten

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