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Christianity Today, July, 2008 |

Go Figure

From recent studies on teaching creationism and the difference between men and women who stop going to church.

Compiled by Ted Olsen | posted 6/16/2008 09:31AM

27% Rate of major depression in women who have attended religious services since childhood.

36% Rate in women who had changed attendance patterns (nearly all had stopped attending ...

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Tim	Posted: June 18, 2008 7:14 PM

I'm a pastor and definitely the church has become too feminized for the majority of men to handle. We need a better balance within the church of masculine and feminine; a balance of nurturing and action; loving and acting. Too much either way and the church "turns off" a sizable portion of the culture. Look at how many young men/boys we are losing out of the church. Studies show 90% of boys raised in the church will leave it by age 21...and the vast majority will not return...because the church they grew up in was too feminized with touchy-feely, warm and mushy, hand-holding and teary eyed emphasis. Until we bring back the "action" and challenge to church, we'll not get the boys-who-are-now-men into church. God Bless.

Karen

Posted: June 18, 2008 9:21 AM


I too don't quite get the point of all this, plus I also doubt the numbers. I guess I'd have to see if the study was really carried out as a true, empirical study. Anyway, for those posters considering leaving the church, please look into another denomination before you write off the church all together.

Sleeper

Posted: June 17, 2008 3:54 PM


I am in a situation in which I cannot stop attending church but if I could I am sure I would feel much better. The church of today overall is anti-intellectual and any kind of critical thinking is frowned upon. Very sad.

Anonymous

Posted: June 17, 2008 3:51 PM


I know that if given the chance I would most likely stop attending church and I am sure I would feel better for it. I have very good fellowship with many Christians outside the church. The local church, for the most part, is simply out of touch for educated or thoughtful folk.

TM	Posted: June 17, 2008 2:37 PM

I'm not sure what is to be taken from these numbers without some sort of context. How are the depression/attendance statements different from saying that 18% of regular church attenders are left handed, versus only 14% left-handedness amongst those who have stopped attending? (I made those numbers up. About 10% of people are left handed, by the way.) Or have brown eyes, or have comb-overs, or prefer butter to cream cheese on their bagels, or whatever. Perhaps there is a correlation, but I certainly don’t see any necessary causation here, which the presentation here is trying to imply. This smells of a false cause logical fallacy to me. Perhaps the actual study these numbers supposedly stem from would shed more light on whether church attendance really causes more depression than it alleviates or vice versa. But these statements don't really tell enough.

Fr. Paul Waisanen

Posted: June 17, 2008 12:08 PM


An interesting reality that while manypeople are moving from evangelical Churches to the Orthodox churches (of which I m a priet) the wives often come in as Fredreca Matthews Green says, "kicking and screaming" i tink in a practical sense they feel the need for the contact which men have in the work place,especially where the wif is not working.

Todd Morton

Posted: June 17, 2008 4:47 AM


I wish I could say that I understand what the point is about these "figures", but I do not. So...what's your point?

Tom W.

Posted: June 16, 2008 4:22 PM

David Murrow's book, "Why Men Hate Going to Church," offers many more explanations for why women find more comfort in church. These psychiatric statistics support a long list of Murrow's conclusions and contentions. Avid churchgoers like to say, "The more you put into church, the more you get out of it." The fact is, most church services offer very few opportunities for very few men to actually contribute to the experience. What percentage of your men had a role in Sunday's service? Until this changes, we are likely to see more men find a haven OUTside of church.

Alison

Posted: June 16, 2008 2:35 PM

While keeping in mind that these are just statistic, I have two comments: I have had major depression since childhood and have been in the church since childhood. I know that when I miss the interaction with other Christians I go downhill. I remember hearing years ago that men react differently to guilt than women do. Not being a man, I don't know if this is true. I, at the risk of sounding really, really sexist, believe that men have more pride then women do. It should be obvious to everyone, however, that men and women think differently about almost everything.

Churchgoer

Posted: June 16, 2008 2:05 PM

Statistics can be used to "prove" any point of view. These particular statistics don't mean anything without the related rates of depression for women and men who have never attended church regularly and comparitive statistics for all the other contributing factors that could affect depression rates. It's kind of like saying that more women who drink coffee are depressed than women who don't. There isn't enough information on which to base any opinion.

Jim	Posted: June 16, 2008 1:27 PM


AHHGHHHH!!!!! I am a Pastor... One of my greatest concerns is the pastoral needs of the "alumnae of the church" (those faithful christians who have dropped out) and the pagan politics of church leaders who profess faith but act like there is not God but $$$$.

rickster

Posted: June 16, 2008 12:55 PM


Beyond simplified gender differences is a distinction of types or styles of communities that people are looking for. Churches differ in style and membership as well in terms of whether people attend/join to be beat up or built up.

Adam	Posted: June 16, 2008 12:50 PM


I stopped "going to church" a couple of years ago and several things happened: -I feel much better -My relationship to God improved -My life feels much less emotionally cluttered now that I am not on the "in" concerning all the politics and issues that happen in a "local church."

bobxxxx

Posted: June 16, 2008 12:45 PM

25% High school biology teachers who say they devoted at least one or two classroom hours to creationism or intelligent design. 48% Of these, teachers who "emphasize that this is a valid, scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species." Creationist biology teachers should be fired. It's not fair to students to have a science teacher who prefers intelligent design magic instead of science.

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