Churches faced with empty pews are fighting to keep their doors open, while former houses of worship are being converted into bars, clubs and luxury condos.
This is an incomplete and probably bad take as churches are important for many black communities in the south and can be one of the places that makes sense for a get out the vote movement
And also the whole culture of teaching hate, fear, vindictiveness, selfishness, violence, exclusion, ignorance, discrimination, etc. Everything they teach and stand for is in stark opposition to everything the person they’re named after taught and stood for. You don’t need churches or institutions or pastors to live the way Jesus told people to live. None of it needs organization at all. The organization of religion, including Christianity, is nothing more than an authoritarian political weapon.
In the late 1940s, nearly 80% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue, mosque or temple, according to Gallup. Today, just 45% say the same, the analytics company noted, and only 32% say that they worship God in a house of prayer once a week.
We're making progress. This is why christofascists / christian nationalists are fighting so hard. They see the writing on the wall. They're fading away. Let them disappear. We will be better off when they're gone.
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
While that is a good observation, I think their comment is still accurate. Most Christians I know are not always meeting at church, they meet at each others homes, or out in public places. Realestate and building maintenance are too expensive