The New York Times ran a story this weekend on the "burst of new interest" at evangelical churches across the country since the market has tumbled. It's hardly surprising in times of trouble to see people looking for something outside themselves to rely on.

What's interesting is that, while church attendance is up in Roman Catholic parishes and mainline Protestant congregations also, the growth is said to be much more dramatic in evangelical churches. Why the disparity? The Times article includes a few different takes on it:

1. Evangelicals remain less affluent on the whole than members of mainline churches and therefore depend more on their congregations for material support in hard times. When things are going well, on the other hand, more evangelicals work on Sundays.

2. The evangelical tradition has more flexibility (less liturgy) to adapt to what is on everyone's minds, be it through sermons or anything else communicated during the service.

3. "We have the greatest product on earth," ...