I can hear the loud screams of ‘sacrilege’, ‘blasphemy’, ‘ludicrous’, ‘unchristian’ coming from those who take umbrage with the headline of this column. How can a priest, a leader in the Church, say that declining church attendance may be a good thing. Nembhard seems to have lost his marbles or at any rate his calling. Yes, I hear you. But hear me out.

The respected Gallup organisation in the US in a recent study revealed what should be some disturbing data for those who regard church attendance or religious attendance as the zenith of religious observance. You can read the full report here: “According to the research, the number of adults who report attending religious services remains very low. Three in 10 say they attend any kind of religious services every week, while 11 per cent report attending once a month; 56 per cent seldom or never attend. Mormons seem to be the religious body with the largest percentage attending, at about two-thirds weekly; Protestants, including non-denominational Christians, second, with 44 per cent; Muslims 38; and Catholics 33.”

What the data reveal is that there has been a steady decline in attendance at religious services over the past decade. The statistics were based on the United States, but other parts of the world do not fare much better. In Europe, specifically, church attendance has declined dramatically. There seems to be a programme of de-Christianisation taking place on the continent.

Even in England, the cradle of Anglicanism, there has been a disturbing decline. In some of the big cathedrals, average Sunday attendance at services remain abysmally low. Anglicanism seems to be kept afloat by its proximity to the State. Even then, churches have closed or have been sold with Muslims, as I understand it, being prominent buyers. There is a quip that I once heard that the clergy in England have fast become keepers of aquariums than fishers of men.

In parts of Asia, and certainly Africa, Christianity is experiencing a renaissance, and church attendance remains optimally high in non-Muslim African countries. The same can be said of Latin America where the Roman Catholic Church still remains a force to be reckoned with. In the Caribbean, people go to church, but there is also a noticeable decline in attendance. Specifically, this can be seen in Jamaica, especially among the mainline churches, where attendance has been steadily declining over the years. In once-prominent denominations, like the Anglican Church, attendance is woeful. On average, Sunday attendance has been declining over the years but seem to have accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the evangelical and Pentecostal traditions seem to be holding their own.

It is easy to lay the blame for the fall off in church attendance at the proverbial feet of the pandemic. It is true that the worst pandemic in our lifetime and in 100 years was a gut punch to how we do church, as it radically upended church attendance because of the lockdowns that were necessitated, and many churchgoers who became accustomed to digital worship have come to realise that they do not have to be in a physical church building to properly worship God. They could be in the comfort of their homes without the encumbrance of leaving to an address.

Churches that, in my view, foolishly decided not to do the Holy Communion online and thus robbed people of an important element of their worship experience actually did their members a disservice. This is a topic to which I will return. But many have come to realise that the online experience served them well. It is my belief that this will long persist, and just as in the hybrid office attendance in the workplace, there may have to emerge a permanent hybrid worship form as presently exists in many denominations that continue with their services online.

Apart from the pandemic, there is a far more important and insidious reason for the decline in church attendance. This was present even before the pandemic struck. Pre-pandemic statistics reveal that people had started to lose interest in organised religion and the Church. The pandemic merely exacerbated this lack of interest and gave people permission to register their protests against it.

The coming of the internet presented people with various options they did not have before. Information is literally available at their fingertips. With important search engines such as Google as able assistants, many are now able to independently carve their own narratives without having to be slavishly dependent on the interpretation of religious gurus for information. Before the internet, the religious gurus ruled; the word and opinions of the ordained were almost sacrosanct. This is no longer the case.

It is not that people have become less religious, but they have been liberated from servitude to religious minds that purport to know it all. In many ways they have been freed to think for themselves as a result of the easy access to information. This is a good development.

This is not just a bane of things religious. This “freedom” permeates other disciplines, especially medicine. People can now Google their medical diagnoses and read volumes of important journals and articles about their condition. The interested might not quite understand the language but can leave a little bit more informed than before. Doctors do not seem to like when patients contest their opinions, but patients have become more aware thanks to the access to information they did not have before.

Outside of this independent mindset, many have lost interest in the Church because the institutional power structure that defines too many denominational bodies no longer appeal to them, if it ever did. An aura of suspicion of official religion rules the day. The constitutions and canons of some denominations give their bishops more power over their flock than that enjoyed by the prime minister. As I will discuss in the second part of this article, it is not only the nation’s constitution that needs radical reform but also that of the Church, especially those with high, degrading hierarchical cleavages.

Many see the entrenchment of power within the Church as inimical to the gospel message and the humility of Christ. For some, the Church has become just another penny-grabbing and power-hungry institution. If it is not grabbing at people’s wallets, it is creating cultic followings that invite people to indulge theatrics. It no longer comes across to people as a hospital for sick souls where people can go and feel comfortable. Frankly, the staleness of the message from too many a pulpit leaves a lot to be desired.

The problem of power in the Church has been exacerbated by the hypocrisy that many have come to see in pastors and church leadership in general. The paedophile sex scandals in the Roman Catholic Church and the fall of high evangelical leaders from grace into disgrace have not helped. If anything, they have now more sharply defined a new Pharisaism in the Church, which many find repugnant. They crave a church unusual instead of a church as usual.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; The Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.