As an atheist, I’m obviously not a fan of churches. I will admit, however, that many churches do some great charity work. Churches have been involved in many social movements and social problems.
One of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement was a Reverend. Many people think that churches help solve social issues, however, that number is slowly declining.
A new study from the Pew Research Center shows that fewer Americans are turning toward churches to solve the social issues we are facing. It is still a majority, but the number is falling.
According to the Pew study, 58 percent of Americans still think that churches help solve social issues.
Between 2007 and 2014, the number of Americans who describe themselves as “atheist” or “agnostic” decreased. Twenty-two percent of Americans now describe themselves as unaffiliated with religion.
It is not just the unaffiliated changing the numbers. Many religious people are also doubting the churches as well. Seven-in-ten Americans believe that religious institutions help solve societal dilemmas.
Social activist, Rahiel Tesfamariam, pointed to the decentralized movements like Black Lives Matter. She argues that modern activist movements really don’t need churches. She said that the clergy:
“…Infused the civil rights movement with traditional values—hierarchical leadership, respectability politics and the guiding principles of reconciliation and nonviolence. Today’s movement has dismissed these criteria, operating without centralized leadership and accepting as many straight women and LGBTQ people on the front lines as straight men.”
Churches do need to be careful with the social activism. Some churches get involved on the political side of these issues. Churches butt in on the issue of abortion all the time; the Religious Right has been trying for years to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Luckily, we have organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to help us keep the separation of church and state. Christian churches keep trying to push their views into politics. The FFRF actually sent a memo calling for one Christian school’s tax-exempt status to be revoked.
Churches do great work, and they have the right to be activists and help with social problems. We just need to keep them from getting too deep into politics.
Here is a video talking about how Christians think versus how atheists or nonbelievers think:
