In an ironic twist, a US Baptist pastor internationally known for scholarly articles on the decline of religion has just had to close his own church for lack of parishioners.
Pastor Ryan Burge (pictured) knows closing churches is common these days. Many US churches close each year.
But, given that he has been documenting the dramatic decline in religious affiliation in recent decades, his own church’s closure is paradoxical.
At present he says about 30 percent of American adults are “Nones” – they identify with no religious tradition.
Burge uses his research in part to help other pastors reach their communities. But churches all over the country are closing down anyway. He couldn’t even save his own.
His own church fell victim
While Burge – who is also a political science professor – derives his research through academic study, he could see the reality of his findings in his own community.
His own parish was a living – declining – example of a diminishing congregation.
“It’s this odd thing, where I’ve become somewhat of an expert on church growth, and yet my church is dying” Burge says.
“A lot of what I do is trying to figure out how much I am to blame for what’s happened around me.”
When Burge became the First Baptist pastor in 2006, he had about “50 people on a good Sunday”.
Recently, he’s had just eight regular attendees.
“I’m willing to admit that I’m not as good as I could be or should be as a pastor” Burge says.
“But I’m also not willing to admit that it’s 100 percent my fault.
“You know, in the 1950s you could be a terrible pastor and probably grow a church … Now it doesn’t look like that anymore.”
Dramatic decline
The American Baptist denomination that Burge’s church was affiliated with is part of a cluster of so-called mainline denominations.
These include Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran. All are now experiencing dramatically shrinking numbers.
So is the Southern Baptist Convention – America’s largest evangelical denomination.
There is no annual census of US church closures. However, Southern Baptist-affiliated Lifeway Research reports about 4,500 Protestant churches closed in 2019.
Why churches close
Reasons given for the decline of congregations include scandal, conflict, mobility, indifference, lower birth rates and members shifting to a church they like better.
Despite this, researchers say most Americans remain religious. Some larger churches thrive. Others diminish. Some suggest the long rise of the “nones” has slowed or paused.
Nonreligious are more common today than a generation ago. Scholars say this trend is evident internationally.
“If Billy Graham had been born in 1975 instead of 1918, I don’t think he’d have been as successful because he hit his peak right as the baby boom was taking off and America was really hungry for religion” Burge says.
Now everyone, Burge included, will be looking for a new church. “I have been preaching every Sunday since August of 2005 and I need to be a member of a church for a while, not up front” he says.
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