What is the value of attending a religious service regularly? Our parish has asked and attempted to answer this question. The idea we had is that if we publicized why the service matters for a wide variety of people, the people who aren’t attending might take notice and start attending.
While I think this is a wonderful idea, I am not sure how effective it will be in changing the habits of those who don’t or periodically attend. The testimonies of the individuals are varied and on-balance very good. However, I am not sure the 65% of the registered members will respond to their messages though.
I guess what I am thinking is that if the people who faithfully attend religious services behave differently than those who don’t, that would potentially be a motivation for getting more people to attend. So if the people behavior, attitudes, actions and lifestyle of those who attend are judged to be better by those who occasionally attend, then the occasional crowd would probably start showing up.
What sort of behavior, attitudes, actions and lifestyle hallmarks would you expect from someone who attends services compared with someone who doesn’t? Can they be defined or seen? You’d think there would be some outward sign. “Look at Joe, he seems like he is almost always at peace with the world.” “Sara is so compassionate about those in need and she really enjoys helping people.” “Johnny is a great father, husband and balances work, play and service to the community.” Are these the sort of people we would conclude attend religious services regularly? Are there fewer people like this who don’t attend services (statistically do service attendees behave more morally than those who don’t)? Finally and most importantly, do you think the people who don’t attend or seldom attend actually aspire to one of the above lifestyles?
I have a new theory about religious service attendance – people who don’t attend don’t want to change. If they do want to change, it might not be the change that occurs at the services. Services don’t typically make people thinner or richer or more popular or more attractive which are the types of changes many in our culture desire. The problem with religious service attendance is the carrot that is offered isn’t the one that society says will taste good. People are better off spending their time and energy trying to make money or look better and not try to endeavor toward a positive experience in the hereafter.
While I’d like to think we can change this scenario, I see it as a huge uphill battle. I think part of the problem is that attendees lives aren’t sufficiently differentiated from those who don’t or seldom attend to make a compelling case to attend. Maybe we need to worry about making the service have a compelling impact on the lifestyle of the attendees to attract people.
