The opening seesion of “Epiphany Explorations” was sobering indeed. Reg Bibby is a sociology professor at the University of Lethbridge, Order of Canada recipient and a researcher who has surveyed the beliefs and attitudes of Canadian teens and adults for over 30 years. Trained in theology, he has written extensively about the religious and spiritual beliefs of today’s society. His research in Canada and the United States gives him a unique perspective on the similarities in social trends affecting religion and spirituality. He is the author of five books that focus on religion. At one time he was referred to as “bad-news Bibby” because he held up the mirror of church statistics noting how the role and appeal of the institutional church has diminished in our culture.

He continues to track the statistics and had these figures for us. In 1961 49% of Canadians identified as Protestant in 1981 that number had dropped to 41% and by 2001 it had dropped further to 32% His research on teenagers is most revealing. In 1984 those who identified as United Church were 10% but by 2008 that number had dropped to 1%. Furthermore teens who never attend church rose from 23% in 1985 to 47% in 2008. Plainly put this means that half of the population of teenagers in Canada never attends church.

Why is this? Well, Reg identified some reasons. Baby Boomers dropped out of church and their children simply aren’t connected because it was never part of their formative years. He also identified (as did Leonard Sweet in his lectures) that our culture has shifted from obligation to gratification. People don’t come to church because of loyalty or duty as previous generations did. People come to church because it is gratifying and meets their needs. He also identified the shift from deference to discernment. We live in a culture that questions many things particularly the status quo and people are generally more demanding insisting that anything they are involved in has significance and makes a difference in their lives. Finally he identified that biggest social change in the past half century is that women are working both outside and inside the home. This gets lived out in a variety of ways. He said this generation is less likely to entertain at home, is less likely to have informal social visits, is less likely to volunteer in the community and is less likely to go to church.

Did he have any good news to offer? Well, he said that people would come to church if they found it worthwhile. People place a high degree of value on interpersonal relationships. He said people are not looking for a church they are looking for ministry. 

What do you think? What keeps you coming to church, if you do? What makes you stay away?  Are there ways we here at BUC can make ministry more relevant for you?