If 85% of Americans call themselves Christian - Why only 15% of Americans attend church regularly?

Seems like many people are really confused about Christianity. If a person is a Christian then it seems they would be about their Father's business - like a regular worship time each day/week. Many Americans, I believe, just call themselves Christian because that's what grandma was as so that's what I am... yet they don't have a relationship with Christ... could it be that most every person that doesn't attend regular church service each week and calls themself a Christian is really a bigger hypocrite than most of those who do attend church regularly? After all, we are all sinners headed for hell without Jesus.

Where did you get your so called "Statistics" from?

I don't recall hearing Americans calling themselves anything other than "American".

So, what's your point?

Well, you seem to just want to say something that you believe in, so, far be it from me to deter you.

Let me just ask you to leave us alone, since we ain't bothering you. And feel free to go where you wish.

Peace.

ST

Well you are right about them being confused, not to mentioned uninspired by the dead theology of the majority of churches. The leadership in the churches are not teaching the true gospel because they are afraid of offending the people.

Listen, there are more hypocrites going to churches every week, than the ones that don't attend. Church attendance once a week is not required by God. Sabbath means rest in OT terms, once a week, where we get the 10 commandments from. In the NT, it changes to Sabbitismo, meaning rest in God. Rest everyday in His Word.

Going to church once a week will not save you from hell. You must repent and believe in the gospel according to Jesus. You must be born-again. And after he died, Paul said, "You must repent and be baptized in Jesus's name to be saved."

You're right, with out Jesus working in our lives daily, we would most like perish.

Get some better understanding, follow the link below:

I agree with you on the "just call themselves Christian because that's what grandma was" thing. Most people don't live according to the bible or walk with Christ or whatever you call it. I don't think you have to attend church to be a Christian though. Acceptance of Christ was what I thought it was, nothing more.

Honestly, the reason I think the term is allowed to be used to loosely is so the Church leaders can claim more Christians and have a seeming monopoly on religion to be the majority.

They are just Christians by name. If they were real Christians they'd do anything and everything to get to church; they would have enthusiasm and initiative to go. Church is important because it's the foundation of God and the vitality of fellowshipping is important so you can grow through Christ.

Staying at home on Sunday doesn't help you strengthen your relationship with God.

I don't know if your statistics are correct, but let's assume they are. I know many Christians who are fed up with "organized" religion as a whole. We see preachers getting rich, false doctrine being taught, too many feel good, motivational mega-churches that have no personal interaction. Faith isn't suppose to be a business.

Is it better to go to church one day a week and possibly receive false information or live a life for God everyday? I don't see how not attending church makes you a hypocrite if you put God first all the time and not just on Sundays.

God Bless.

In addition to the simple fact that many people call themselves "Christian" as a way of saying they're neither Jewish or Muslim,
church attendance isn't necessarily an important part of Christianity for some Christians.

You place great value on it but that doesn't make it more or less "Christian" to go to church every week.

Well a lot of people have young kids, a lot of people have jobs, a lot of people have a lot going on and just because they don't go to church every Sunday doesn't mean they don't believe in what they say they believe.

And actually, I bet you about half of the people who DO attend church regularly aren't very good followers of Jesus' words. Just look at the WBC.

Because, most people think if their parents are Christians then that means they are also Christians, however only those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord will be saved.

Furthermore, going to Church does not make you a Christian any more then standing in a garage makes you a car.

The majority of Christians PROFESS belief in our Lord, but don't POSSESS true belief. If you look at the Parable of the Sower, it tells you that some "seed" will fall upon rocky soil and not take root, meaning that they will only believe till something goes wrong in thier life. It also states that some "seed" will fall upon thorns, meaning that they may have true belief, but get caught up in worldy pursuits.

Church ain't the way. Jesus is the way and the light. Besides most know that religion is another way of politics. Reason why is that there is money involved with it. Some Christians like to vote republicans so that the wealthy would get Tax cuts. Most of those religious leaders probably get over $50,000. Not including the side jobs or handouts they get. People know better then that. Religion also manipulates what you think. I talk to a lot of people about church and that's what they told me!

Dont have to necassarily go to church to be a Christian.

However, many people are Christian through family inheritance. These people are not Christians, just people who use their faith as an identity label in society

Well, they believe in God and Jesus- you might call them cultural Christians. it's sad really. Are you sure about that number? It's more like 43%- that's still really low, though.

maybe a lot of people just don't want to take the time to congregate w/t other people.
that has nothing to do w/t thier belief

Because some people believe that they can worship their God from anywhere. I mean he is omnipresent (everywhere) so God should hear them

A person can believe in Christ without attending church.

Not to mention... not all Churches are Christian. UU for example. So if you mean only Christian churches, it's probably less than 15%

because most christains are hypocrytes

Attending church doesn't make you a Christian.

Because when ya walk it ya ain't got to talk about it

It was the leaders of the church who killed christ! How many free masons are in your church. New world order 666!

Even if I were Christian, I wouldn't touch a church with a ten-foot pole.

You got nothing better to do on Sunday?

another story?! -__-

That 85% figure is nothing put propaganda put out by religions temping to call the US a christian nation, and it is not, and the number of persons who actually practice christianity would be more about 45%, and they are not all church goers. Then the remainder who sometimes claim to be a christian just use that word as a euphemism intheyeir way of think to meant that they are good persons. That in itself makes them ignorant. Yes, I agree that most persons in the US calling themselves christians are hypocrites, because if you want to find out where they attend church and how the practice christianity, just floow some of them on a Saturday night and you will end up in bars and honky tonks to watch them drink until the wee hour of the morning then stop off to fornicate then go to their church, that is if they do attend sometimes and receive that body and blood. A crock.

they are at the Ball Game, Shopping or watching TV and drinking beer. They went to Church and were saved so now they can do what they want? or at least that is the doctrine of a lot of churchs. But we are taught much different in the Mormon church and for me tomrrow is Sunday I will teach Priesthood in the Morning at the nursing home.come home and eat and study my Sunday School Lesson and at one got to Sacrament meet and partake of the sacrament and listing to 2 or three speakers and be spiritly fed, Then I will teach the gospel doctrine class for an hour and the spend an hour at priesthood to be taught for an hour and then go home and have dinner and visit with my family and then go to bed. and it will have been agreat day. the Happy Mormon www.lds.org millions of other Latter day saint do the same thing. And there is a lot of other church full also.

because they are already Christianized so need to go to church. what is your purpose of going to church? i know for sure many would say "to lessen their sins; to listen to the sermon of the priests; etc. etc." but do you really think that all church goers really pray heartily and repent their sins? for me i don't think so as i have seen lot of church goers are going to church to hunt partners after the mass (i'm talking to a country where i have seen these cases that after the mass they stay on parks and look for their individual partners). some during the mass, they just talk inside and keep on glancing to guys/girls to have a talk with them after the mass. there are a lot of Christian denominations and teachings differ with each other. who is really the right one? Muslims insists they are the good ones on their Islam religion. and why there are different religions in the world.
<>all i can think, whether you go to church or not as long you don't do anything that hurts people, you are respectful in every sense, you believe that God exist, etc. etc. etc. is more worthy than joining the mass without inputting in your heart what was being told during the priest's sermon!

I had a minister calling me begging me to worship at his church telling me he liked me today! I had to tell him that I cannot worship what he worships. That although I think Jesus was probably a real person, I think he made mistakes and I think he was human.

I told him that if Jesus was God and if that is what he teaches, it is no wonder that some people commit suicide following in God's footsteps! For if Jesus was God, and knew everything, then surely Jesus knew exactly how to piss off the religious authorities of that time so as to tempt, to force them ...to kill him! So perfection as defined by proxy, by Christians who say that Jesus was God and perfect, means worshipping suicide!

Now is that what you worship?

I feel my Father's business is to progress mankind past 2000 years ago....to do greater works than Jesus did and recognize them.

This is what I worship and how I think....

Hi! I am a Forgive Affirmed Spirit and this is what I profess and try to act like.

Forgive Affirmed Spirit is the belief in a way of life that is a method of grief resolution and functional communication processing involving active listenning, sympathy, empathy and affirmation of shock, denial, anger, guilt, depression, loneliness and hope.

A Greater Works of communication and action, a way to learn to love your enemies "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you AS IF YOU WERE THEM!"

And nobody is perfect! NOBODY! We are all judgeable, hopefully in a graceful discerning way! We are all doing our best every moment!

Humans judge everything as we are a part of it. Without difference, we have nothing to live for, nothing to witness. Sin is difference, the relative seriousness with regards to law and survival of other beings, is punishable by the courts. The best way to judge is with as much graceful discernment as one can muster in a given moment!

Life is the question(uncertainty) asked by the exhaling infinitely compacted imagination invention, or no thing, which is completely certain of everything, completely omniscient or all knowing.

When I die, I believe I will be in a new state, aware of all that is and yet divided into the nature of dust that I am in, whereupon my dust shall fall. My being will remain an infinite part of an infinite being and infinite knowledge without my material human being status of now. So there will be a change.

But my soul, my passions and discompassions, will move on to infinite places of comfort and challenge. Able to return to this state of uncertainty and free choice illusion for another ride when it is called effectively to do so.

So that the children of God, the creations of God, .. are actually part in parcel of that God or Creation Energy!

This life is a roller coaster ride. Enjoy your passion within it and whatever gathering of two or more in Forgive Affirmed Spirit to make it better can garner.

Healing be unto you and yours and me and mine in
Forgive Affirmed Spirit