Losing Faith: East feels the affects as the Christian Church experiences a decline

The Christian church has experienced a rapid decrease in attendance, particularly in youth over the past 50 years with a 17.1% decrease, according to the World Religion Database’s Religious Census.  

The Christian community at East has also experienced a decline, according to biology teacher Craig Heeney, who acted as a sponsor for Fellowship of Christian Athletes in his previous role at Lee’s Summit High School. Heeney believes that the decline in religion is based on material things rather than spiritual ideals, such as time spent online rather than worshiping. 

“I think kids are becoming less religious, or it’s a lesser part of their life,” Heeney said. “I think you even see it in schools.”

Heeney feels that even talking about religion in schools has become contraband, where he used to be able to form faith-based relationships with students. 

The attendance decrease can be attributed to shifts in cultural expectations such as church attendance as well as religious trauma, according to the Director of Student Ministries at the Church of the Resurrection’s Leawood location, Megan DelGrasso. 

Sundays used to be specifically religious days where stores were closed and families attended church together, according to DelGrasso. 

“In the ‘70s, religion was still much more part of the culture than it is today,” DelGrasso said. “I think part of [the decrease] is just culture shift and the way people engage with that.”

According to an Instagram poll of 252 people, 37% of students attend church regularly. Freshman Halle Klocke, who has been attending church her whole life, attributes the low number to the busy schedules that come with high school. 

“I think the [national] decrease is probably just a lack of prioritizing and busy schedules,” Klocke said. “With so many sports and activities, church can seem less important than all of that, which even I can struggle with at times.”

According to Klocke, attending church provides her with a sense of community through her youth group and a different perspective than some of her peers that don’t attend church. Klocke says her perspective is driven by religious morals. 

“I feel like I have a faith standpoint that some people don’t have,” Klocke said. “I feel lucky to have that and to grow up in a household that has given me that.”

Additionally, the percentage of non-religious Americans has been on the rise since the 1970s. The major decline is related to the beginning of COVID in 2020, according to the American Religion Data Archives. Judaism, Buddhism and Islam have remained at a consistent following, making up 1% of religious devotees each, suggesting that the specific culture surrounding Christianity has undergone the largest decline with a ratio of 17:1. That being said, nearly 100% of Americans considered themselves to be Christians in 1900 according to the World Religion Database.

Similarly to DelGrasso, sophomore Katie Cook, who is a regular attendee at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Brookside, says that attending church isn’t as valued anymore.

“I just don’t think it’s a priority anymore for our generation,” Cook said. “I don’t have many friends who attend church, so sometimes it’s hard to relate.”

Youth ministers strive to help students feel included through activities and in messages, but with a decline of incoming pastors, finding a way to directly reach each student can be challenging according to DelGrasso. 

“We are seeing less and less of people who are called to ministry and people who work in ministry,” DelGrasso said. “We have less pastors coming into the workforce than we used to.”

Because of this, DelGrasso believes that the church has placed an emphasis on supporting youth who feel called to ministry and want to be pastors by allowing them to participate in special programming, such as mission trips and various leadership roles throughout the church. 

Director of Student Ministries at Old Mission Methodist Church Emilyjane Eichman feels that today’s youth is challenged with a political climate that often pairs religion with anger. 

“I think as Christians we have not done ourselves a lot of favors,” Eichman said. “I think [Generation Z] will be the generation that brings love of Christ and love of others back to the center of what Christianity is.” 

However, while Cook and Klocke feel at home, 72% of students reported they have had a negative experience with church that has caused them to stop attending, according to an Instagram poll of 138 people.  Nationally, about 30% of Americans, many of which previously classified as Christian, now identify as non-religious according to the American Religion Census.

According to DelGrasso, religious trauma must be taken into account when considering how to address youth and best support them, as well as the national decline of religion.

“Trauma is something that spans generations, and it’s important to acknowledge that some people have had negative experiences with church,” DelGrasso said. “So a goal at our church is to help heal those wounds.”