Are you among the growing crowd of church refugees who have abandoned institutionalized religion?
You’re not alone.
Around three and a half thousand believers walk away from the Christian Church every day in the USA. In fact, according to the online publication The Christian Century, an average of nine churches shut their doors for good every day in the USA.
As I was researching why people walk away from the church, I found — amongst all the credible data and thoughtful discussion — an article entitled “Top 13 Reasons People Leave Christianity” by a guy named Mark Baker, who runs a website called Hope For Line Online.
“Aha!” I thought to myself, “This is the article that I’ve been looking for to help me explain why people are abandoning the church faster than a trans-Atlantic liner after hitting an iceberg.”
However, instead of a measured discussion supported by data, the article in question was nothing more than a parting swipe at those who have left the church. Let me summarize it for you: “If you’ve left the church, you’re a wicked, hopeless, angry sinner who isn’t interested in the truth, wants to justify your sin, and be loved by the world.”
If you want to add a 14th reason to the 13 reasons given by this article, you can add the fact that this article represents pretty much everything you probably hated about the so-called Christian faith in the first place.
You’re probably picking up my vibe. I’m not impressed. In fact, I’m angry at how badly this article mischaracterizes church alumni. I found it head-shakingly patronizing, simplistic and insulting to anyone who has ever had reasonable doubts about their Christian faith — which, let’s be honest, is most people. So, I want to take a look at each of the “Top 13 Reasons People Leave Christianity” according to this article and explain why each reason is either an aberration, an exaggeration, or an outright lie.
Here goes…
Reason 1: People leave because they listen to the “world’s wisdom”
Baker starts off his explanation of why people leave Christianity by suggesting that they do so because they are “following the wisdom of the world” — whatever happens to be trending at the time.
Faith deconstruction is trending, so obviously, people who walk away from Christianity are just following the crowd, right? According to Baker, people who leave the church are easily swayed by emotions and emotionalism and resort to eastern mysticism and occultic practices in an attempt to connect to God.
How many broad, sweeping generalizations can you pack into one point?
I would like to humbly suggest that people aren’t leaving Christianity for the “world’s wisdom.” Rather, they are leaving Christianity for wisdom in general, and there is wisdom and truth to be found in many ideologies, religions, and practices outside of what is viewed as orthodox Christianity. If something is true, it is true everywhere and always. People who broaden the base from which they draw their faith do not generally become less faithful people. They become more faithful and well-rounded.
Reason 2: People leave because they have a low view of scripture
According to Baker, people leave Christianity because they have a low view of scripture. I suppose that by “a low view of scripture,” he means they may no longer believe that the Bible is perfect and without error.
In Baker’s world, a person with a “high view of scripture” believes that God spoke to a group of men a few thousand years ago, somehow took control of their thoughts and pens, and used them as a direct conduit for his literal words, which they copied down with 100% accuracy. Then it was slapped together by another group of men in the 5th Century and called “The perfect word of God.” Baker might call that a “high view” of scripture. I call it an unrealistic one.
But, let’s imagine for a moment that what you read in the Bible is literal historical fact (which some people will argue black and blue is the case). You must concede that it is still someone’s interpretation of what happened. The author has written down their understanding of events that they have witnessed. Are they capable of spinning a story a certain way? You bet!
Don’t believe me?
Have you heard of King Josiah? If not, you should have because whoever wrote about him in the Bible said of him, “There was no king like him.” He was apparently Israel’s greatest King! The problem is that the Bible also said the same thing about King Hezekiah a few chapters earlier. How could the Bible call two different kings the greatest?
It’s simple. Who is the greatest is not a matter of fact. It’s a matter of interpretation. This is how we end up with two different preachers in two different churches preaching a sermon with two different meanings that come from the same passage of scripture. The Bible is not clear. It’s up for interpretation.
Personally, I believe that the Bible is a literary masterpiece — a 66-book compilation written over thousands of years by dozens of authors that somehow manages to tell one coherent and compelling story. I read it, seek to understand it, wrestle with what it says, discuss it with others, and try to let its words shape me into a better person. I love the Bible, and I take the Bible seriously — But I don’t take it all literally. I think that is BOTH a high view and a realistic view of scripture.
There is absolutely no way that I will go around pretending that my interpretation of the Bible is clearly the correct one — no matter how much I hope it is. That is simply because I am far too capable of reading my own meaning into a text, only to confirm my own biases. It’s not that I don’t trust the Bible. It’s that I don’t trust myself.
One more thing: Baker says that people who walk away from Christianity will use the Bible but will add to, twist, and distort scripture, which not only deceives and harms others but deceives and destroys themselves.
Excuse me?
If there is one group of people who are well-practiced in distorting scripture for their own purposes, it’s the institution of the Church.
Reason 3: People leave because they don’t realize the deadly consequences of sin
According to Baker, people leave Christianity because they “lack sufficient concern about the deadly reality of sin and its consequences. In addition, they may also lack the concern to warn others about these superlative dangers.”
Yes, apparently, after a lifetime of sitting in the church being told how sinful they are, they just don’t get how sinful they are. So they leave the church so they can go off and sin and be free of the responsibility of telling others how sinful they are.
This is about as condescending as it gets.
It makes out that those who leave Christianity aren’t interested in finding the truth but just want an excuse to sin. In Baker’s universe, there’s no way someone could simply be testing their childhood indoctrination to see what’s true and what’s not. No. They must just want to go off and do something naughty like pre-marital hand-holding, drinking a beer, or enjoying life, for that matter. If only they realized how sinful they were, they would surely stick with the church.
In my view, this is one of the main reasons people are fleeing the church: They got sick of being told how sinful they are, how much God disapproves of their actions, and the sheer level of energy it takes to try to appease the angry and unimpressed God they’ve been taught about.
Reason 4: People leave because they don’t like to be corrected
According to Baker, people leave Christianity because “They do not give or receive correction well. They have little to no contrition when they sin, are in error, or falsely accuse others.”
I’ve never actually been in a church where “correction” happens in a good and healthy way. Maybe you have, but I’ve never seen it. When men presume to be acting on behalf of God, there is far too much scope for the inappropriate use of power. However, I have worked in secular organizations that do it with much more sensitivity, using better processes and instruments to “correct” a person’s behavior. But then, managing performance is part of a secular organization’s core work.
Is “correcting people” the church’s core business?
When did the church decide that correcting people was a key part of its mission? When was Christianity reduced to sin management? The fact that Baker has included this “reason” on his list tells you something about what he believes about the church.
Reason 5: People leave because they don’t have a good foundation in God’s word
According to Baker, people leave Christianity because they “lack a foundation on God’s Word and are likely deceived through various false teachings, and/or they try to build on the ever-shifting sands of the spirit of the age.”
Can we please call this for what it is? When Baker talks about “A foundation on God’s word,” he really means “A foundation on his understanding of God’s word.” Because he presumes to have the right foundation.
Let me ask a question here.
If a building has a poor foundation, who is responsible for that? I would suggest that perhaps it’s the fault of the builder. Could it be that the dodgy foundation being laid is the very foundation being poured by the church itself?
Guilt, shame, fear, and threats of eternal punishment make for terrible foundations when it comes to lasting Christian faith. People may fall in love with Jesus, but they will never fall in love with a God who threatens to send them to hell if they don’t love him. Bad foundation!
Reason 6: People leave because they are elitist
This one made me gag.
According to Baker, people who leave Christianity “tend to be intellectuals, elitists, or “scoffers” and/or frequently associated with these types of people. Rather than humbly depending on objectivity, truth, God’s written Word, reason, and reasoned dialogue, these individuals mainly rely on obtaining knowledge.”
Yes, people walk away from Christianity because they use their own brains and talk to other people who also use their own brains. Instead of just accepting what is told to them by the church — what Baker calls “humbly depending on God’s written word” — they exercise their ability to reason and get answers for themselves.
It still beggars belief that any person who has grown up in the church believes that they depend on the “objective truth of scripture” rather than a version they have been taught from a very young age. I do not respect anyone’s faith unless they have wrestled with significant doubt. Gold is found pure in the fire.
Reason 7: People leave because they hate the truth
According to Baker, people walk away from Christianity because they despise the truth. By “Truth,” Baker really means “My understanding of the truth, because I have it right, and others have it wrong.”
Stupid.
People don’t walk away from Christianity because they despise the truth. They do it because they want to know the truth for themselves and are willing to slog it out to find it.
Reasons 8: People leave because they can’t discern the truth
According to Baker, people walk away from Christianity because they are incapable of discerning the truth. That’s right! Apparently, these wicked backsliders wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and bit them on the backside.
In other words, you cannot trust that the truth you find is, in fact, true. You need to run your “truth” by your church leaders to check that it lines up with their “truth.” It couldn’t possibly be true otherwise.
Reason 9: People leave because they are stuck in an echo-chamber
According to Baker, people leave Christianity because they become stuck in an echo chamber, which includes “the world of academia, media, social media, politicians, Hollywood, various elite groups, and certain blogs, internet groups, or local sub-communities, particularly those which push progressive/collectivist ideology.”
Baker goes on: “Another common thread here is that instead of being taught how to think — and how to think for themselves — the people in these groups are often told what to think.”
Oof.
It’s hard to confront a person or an organization with such a low self-awareness level. The absolute, number one, most echoey echo chamber I have ever been a part of IS the church. The church does not teach people to think for themselves. It teaches people to think like whoever the church leader happens to be at the time and does so by making people listen to an hour of his opinions each week, delivered from an elevated platform.
If your church encourages you to engage with academia, read widely and use your own brain, it is a GOOD church. If your church encourages you to simply trust God without question, then it is actually a faithless church because it has no confidence that the truth of Christianity could stand up under a rigorous examination.
Reason 10: People leave because they want to be loved by the world
According to Baker, people leave Christianity because they want to be loved by the world. This statement really shows how much Baker has absolutely no idea what it’s like to go to walk away from your faith community.
It’s lonely.
It’s terrifying.
It’s hard.
It’s painful.
It’s certainly not fun. If belonging to a crowd were my main concern, I would have stuck to the belonging system I knew best — the Evangelical Church. I learned how to talk the talk and walk the walk in the evangelical system. I had street cred there — so much street cred. I knew the answers; I believed in the right things. I could puff out my chest and pat myself on the back for being such a great Christian. I was respected in that world.
Why would I give it all up?
Maybe because, at some point, seeking God mattered more, and that led me away from the church system that I once felt I belonged to. To leave it behind involved grief and loss. It is not like running into the welcoming arms of a long-lost friend as much as it is being rejected by the only spiritual family you ever knew.
Reason 11: People leave because they refuse to submit to God
According to Baker, people leave Christianity because they “do not truly believe or will not fully yield to God, usually out of stubbornness, even though they know the truth because they are often what the Bible calls “stiff-necked,” rebellious, and prideful, they often cling to what they want rather than surrendering their wants and ways to God.”
Once again, Baker conflates the Church and God as if they are one. I am quite happy to yield to God. I will not yield to the church, however, unless I am entirely convinced that in doing so, I am yielding to God. As it stands, I am in a position where yielding to the church is, in some respects, failing to yield to God since I am convinced that the church and God are at odds on many things.
It has nothing to do with stubbornness, rebelliousness, or willful pride. If the church, for example, told me that I ought to be voting for a political candidate who I find morally reprehensible, I would not yield to that.
Reason 12: People leave because they are too focused on doing good
According to Baker, some people walk away from the Christianity because they are primarily focused on doing good works.
The fact that Baker believes that people would need to leave Christianity to focus on doing good works tells you about as much as you need to know about the state of Christianity. Doing good works is a logical outworking of being a Christian, but it’s not a logical outcome of attending a church.
Faith without works is dead. Good works are a symptom of living faith. If you have a church without works, you have a church without faith. If the extent of your religious activity is sitting in a pew, reading the Bible, praying, and singing a few songs to God, your life does not indicate that you are a believer.
You cannot say the Christian’s life should be focused on Christ rather than on doing good works. One doesn’t exist without the other.
Reason 13: People leave because they have had bad experiences in the church
According to Baker, “many people have bad experiences in church, and it makes sense when they become deeply confused about (true) Christianity after being so deeply hurt by self-proclaimed Christians.”
No kidding.
On this, we can agree.
And when you realize that you have been shamed, manipulated, wounded, and abused by people who are supposed to represent a loving God, it would seem sensible and reasonable to question whether the whole thing is a great big sham. And that questioning may involve separating from the church for a time, or even permanently.
Baker’s solution is somewhat different. He suggests that it’s important to “stick it out” with the church even after you have been hurt.
Here is where my view diverges from Baker’s. Would you encourage a victim of abuse to stick with their abuser and work things out, especially if the abuser was laying the blame solely at the victim’s feet? Of course not.
Baker is yet another church leader who fails to recognize the very real emotional, spiritual, and psychological damage that spiritually abusive environments and people can inflict on an unsuspecting victim. It also dismisses the genuine systemic issues that are endemic in the church, enabling spiritual abuse.
Baker’s solution to “stick it out” in the church community is simplistic and trite and amounts to nothing more than “Give it all to God.” Butler says, “You don’t need to ignore the church’s problems to protect its reputation. Instead, bring the problems boldly to God.”
But really, if all I ever do is bring the church’s problems to God, isn’t that the same thing as keeping it to myself? And if I only tell God about my hurt at the hands of the church, how will the church ever be brought to account for its actions?
The bottom line
The bottom line of Baker’s article is that people should just trust the church, and the pastor’s interpretation of the Bible, rather than seeking answers for themselves. They should blindly outsource their faith to a fallible and flawed man (yes, it’s usually a man) who happens to have some charisma, a decent knack for public speaking, and a degree in how to interpret the Bible according to the tradition of the seminary he happened to attend. (although a seminary education seems increasingly optional as well).
No thanks.
Every single one of Baker’s “13 Reasons Why People Leave Christianity” lays blame at the feet of the person who walks away. Worse than that — it shames them. It makes out that people who walk away from Christianity are faithless, sinful, and lost.
Maybe some of them are… who knows?
But I’d like to suggest that many leave Christianity not because they lack faith in Christ but because they have lost faith in the church that is supposed to represent Him. The church points an accusing finger at those who walk away and fails to see the three fingers pointing back at itself.
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This post was previously published on Backyard Church.
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