Question: "Why are Christian Science churches emptier than they were 50 years ago?"
Response: Bill Warrick
There can be no doubt fewer people are attending Christian Science churches than 50 years ago. This is true for most denominations today. This might be because today people have higher expectations for meaningful personal involvement—the ability to make a difference— in any activity, including our involvement with organizations like church.
The expanded perception of what is possible for each of us as individuals, through more dynamic platforms for sharing like the Internet, has raised the bar for most of humanity in terms of engagement. And once we’ve seen the possibilities, it’s hard to go back. Being associated with a group is no longer sufficient—more of us now believe we can and should make a real difference in that group. This is a beautiful thing. It represents an expectation that continues to expand and envelop a planet of people with gifts for making everyone’s lives better.
So where does this leave the question of why there are fewer people in churches? Some church buildings may be emptier, but the desire to genuinely help others is not (for example, in 2012, almost 10% more people in America helped their neighbors with a need 1). Jesus started a movement based on acts and proof, not attending and pretending. If a church’s organization stifles or neglects individual and collective growth in this direction, in these times, that church may find fewer people attending. But, when the practicality of an idea can be proven, when it has a principle, it has independence. Its existence is independent of how many people believe it or know about it (think the laws of aerodynamics or physics). Jesus had perhaps 70 committed followers during his three years of preaching and healing and only four stood by him when he was crucified. Yet he could say, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35, New Living Translation). The number of people attending church may rise and fall, but as long as there is one person who can prove the principle of healing, this proof is an ignitor that truth alone possesses, and it can restart a bonfire of activity at any time.