The United States is usually described as one of the world’s most religious countries, where religion is an important part of Americans’ identity. But in recent years, a change in the attitude to faith has become increasingly clear. In several states, congregations are shrinking and sometimes they become so small that the churches are forced to close.
TV4 News has visited the city of Struthers in the state of Ohio, where pastor Douglas Theobald lost both his church and his job earlier this year. Back then, it was often a small group of parishioners who gathered for worship and eventually the church management decided to close it, despite protests from the pastor and his parishioners.
– It was crushing. I haven’t been a part of this community as long as many others. But there were those who have been in this church for 90 years and for them it was like losing a family member. For me, it was difficult to see how these members suffered from being deprived of something they held so dear, he says.
Traditional church life less important
Statistics and reports in the United States clearly show that the trend is towards fewer and fewer churches – and that Americans no longer see their faith as important. According to a recent report by the Public Religion Research Institute, 16% of Americans say that religion is the most important thing in their lives. Another previous survey has shown that the size of the congregations has decreased significantly since the turn of the millennium.
Douglas Theobald has spent a lot of time thinking about what has happened in the United States, where religion has traditionally taken such a large place both in everyday life – and in the political debate.
– I think that American society looks at religion in a different way. Younger people are turning against traditional church life and want something less traditional, he says.
Try restarting the church
Parishioner Sherry Noble has lived her whole life in the church in Struthers and says the church’s fate has been a great sadness for her. She believes that church life has received more and more competition from other parts of society.
– I also think that many families simply have a lot other than church that happens on Sundays. These are sporting activities, for example, she says.
The pastor has now taken with him the members who remained and rented in another church. However, he hopes that he will soon be able to lead a significantly larger congregation again.
– We believe that God has a plan, sometimes it would be good to know in advance, but he has a perfect plan and we just have to believe in it, he says.