The woman in the video below discusses the issue, at least in part, from a Catholic perspective. But it is absolutely true there has recently been a net loss of Protestant churches. There are several factors:
- Older congregations tending to struggle for various reasons;
- “Go woke, Go Broke”– the far left stance adopted by the liberal mainline churches and denominations;
- People favoring the “hot” churches that started up after the year 2000;
- Younger people turning to perceived authenticity and more traditional forms– and that can include but not necessarily be limited to Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Those are sad and worrisome numbers. Perhaps providence will turn them around. God is not happy.
The video mentions Covid caused the closure of some churches, Fred, but that was a one time event. Of course, that should never have been an issue for those churches– but so many bad choices were made.
The other trends I list in the post are ongoing.
Another tragic aspect is that some of those older churches closing have wonderful buildings and/or generous pieces of real estate that are often difficult to replicate.