Why, in an increasingly secular society, do some congregations grow and others shrink? Since the mid-1960s, the Canadian population has doubled, but membership at most of the mainline Protestant churches has dropped by half. On average, the United Church of Canada closes a church a week.
Some researchers have tended to see the theology of mainline churches as unrelated to their growth or decline. But Redeemer鈥檚 Dr. Kevin Flatt, Dr. Stephanie Burgoyne and lead researcher Dr. David Haskell of Wilfrid Laurier University have found just the opposite.
Over the course of their five-year research project, they discovered that when it comes to whether a mainline church is growing or declining, what congregants believe 鈥 and especially what clergy believe 鈥 matters. Their major peer-reviewed study, 鈥淭heology Matters鈥, will be published in the December issue of the Review of Religious Research.
“Our research shows that churches don鈥檛 have to abandon or water down their core beliefs to remain 鈥榬elevant鈥.”
The researchers surveyed 13 declining and nine growing mainline churches, located in southern Ontario and representing four mainline Protestant denominations: Anglican, United Church, Presbyterian and Evangelical Lutheran.
The declining churches lost an average of two per cent or more of their attendees per year between 2003 and 2013. In the same period, the growing churches鈥 congregations increased by at least two per cent per year, but the truly expanding leapt beyond that rate.
Even in Southern Ontario, the most populated and church-rich part of Canada, it took a lot of looking for the researchers to find nine growing mainline churches to study. “I don鈥檛 want to overstate how many growing mainline churches there are,” Flatt cautions. Scholars have tracked dwindling mainline membership for decades. Through word of mouth, which was often more hopeful than accurate, Flatt recalls, the researchers were eventually able to gather together a pool of growing mainline congregations. Haskell, Flatt and Burgoyne surveyed clergy and 2,255 congregants. The focus on both lay attendees and on the details of their spiritual practices was important鈥攑revious studies tended to zero in solely on clergy.
The growing churches held in common what the researchers termed conservative theology: a more literal interpretation of the Bible, belief in God鈥檚 intervention in the world and the conviction that Christianity is the only path to salvation. As such, the congregants and clergy of growing churches were committed to reaching out to their family, friends and acquaintances. 鈥淲hen one鈥檚 doctrine reinforces a fairly literal interpretation of the Bible 鈥 and you take scripture like, 鈥楪o into all the world and make disciples鈥 fairly literally,鈥 Haskell says, 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to be more inclined and motivated to use any number of innovative strategies to make the faith accessible.鈥
This commitment to evangelism led growing churches to innovate, from music style to ministry. 鈥淭hese mainline churches that have conservative Protestant doctrine are like a peach: really easy to get into. They鈥檙e playing contemporary music, it鈥檚 family friendly, the pastor dresses in casual clothes, but there鈥檚 a hard core at the centre,鈥 Haskell continues. 鈥淭he declining churches were more like a coconut. From the outside hard to access, and then once you were in, there really wasn鈥檛 anything in the middle. This is the impression we got from the criticisms of people who had left.鈥
With an emphasis on youth groups and with young families in the pews, growing conservative churches also tended to be younger than their counterparts. The mean age of a growing church was 53 while it was 63 in declining congregations.
Clergy influenced their charges, the researchers found, whether conservative and growing or liberal and declining. 鈥淲hen we asked clergy why they thought churches grew or declined,鈥 Haskell reflects, 鈥渢hose in the shrinking churches replied decline was because of socio-economic factors, the influence of secular society. Clergy in expanding churches said growth was because of what they and their members did.鈥 Growth, it seems, is spurred on by the pulpit. Or, as Haskell adds: 鈥淚deas have consequences.鈥
鈥淭hese mainline churches that have conservative Protestant doctrine are like a peach: really easy to get into. They鈥檙e playing contemporary music, it鈥檚 family friendly, the pastor dresses in casual clothes, but there鈥檚 a hard core at the centre,鈥 Haskell continues. 鈥淭he declining churches were more like a coconut. From the outside hard to access, and then once you were in, there really wasn鈥檛 anything in the middle.”
鈥淭heology Matters鈥 gives us the opportunity to slow down and seek to understand the shifting landscape of religion in contemporary Canada. Haskell, Flatt and Burgoyne鈥檚 work trickles down to encourage churches to innovate, while remaining deeply rooted in their beliefs. “Our research shows that churches don’t have to abandon or water down their core beliefs to remain 鈥榬elevant鈥 or attract people to their services,鈥 Flatt says. 鈥淎s researchers, we’re not expecting that churches will change their beliefs in light of these findings, nor do we think that churches should choose their beliefs based on what they think will attract people. They should believe the things they think are true, whether they lead to growth or not. But we do think these findings help to clear the air, since some churches have been told that sticking to conservative Christian beliefs will doom them to extinction in a changing world, and that claim simply isn’t borne out by empirical evidence.”
The research has been a conversation-starter, with the story breaking in Christian, international and Canadian media. 鈥淭heology Matters鈥 was featured in , , , and Albert Mohler’s , among many others. The project follows the success of Flatt鈥檚 book, . As the flurry of media coverage shows, research plays a pivotal role in today鈥檚 fast-paced world. Research at Christian institutions like 小猪视频is crucial in equipping Christians to be culture makers in all areas of their lives.
小猪视频students are the future leaders of Canadian churches, businesses, organizations and families. They need the information and wisdom that comes from deep Christian scholarship like 鈥淭heology Matters鈥. Research paired with courses like Flatt鈥檚 Religion in Canada class, prepare our students, in an increasingly secular culture, to innovate while remaining true to their deeply held beliefs.