When the pandemic broke out, many churches were adamant about continuing to meet, even if it put everyone’s health at risk. Indeed, people did get sick and some died. And now, some of them are rushing to reconvene as soon as they can even though the pandemic has not abated.
Why is that?
I have to say that several of my preacher friends have acted responsibly as well as creatively, making use of video and internet technology. Some are meeting outside on the church lawn. Some have drive-in churches now, including drive-through communion. But many have resumed meeting in their sanctuaries, and I figure some never stopped. Some of those may wear masks and keep their distance, but they’re going to attend church no matter what.
Aside from the very human don’t-tell-me-what-to-do trait, which is powerful, I think there are deeper issues that make churchgoers intransigent in their pews.
There’s the financial aspect. When people don’t go to church they don’t put anything in the offering plate. Some members will send theirs in, but most don’t, so financial troubles occur quickly. Many churches, even big ones that appear successful, have been financially fragile for a long time, just barely paying the bills, so leaders feel the need to resume attendance quickly to get the contributions flowing again.
The media has shown interest in the government loans that have been made available to all nonprofit agencies, including churches, and this has sparked a discussion about separation of church and state, as well as abuses that have occurred.
However, as significant as the discussion of church finances can be, it doesn’t explain the drive that people have to continue attending and supporting their churches. Based on my years as a pastor, I have some thoughts on other factors concerning church attendance.
First, many believe if they miss church, they miss out on all the blessings God might have planned on giving them. This can quickly devolve to a related superstition that if they don’t attend church, they aren’t pleasing God, and something bad could happen as a result (like a plague).
To pursue that superstition even further, church attendance can be considered an act of faith where people can demonstrate their trust in God’s power over the virus. The blood of Jesus will protect them if they have faith. If they get sick anyway, even if they go to church, then in their inner hearts their faith must be inadequate, or perhaps they are hiding a secret sin. Or maybe God allows them to get sick as a spiritual discipline and they should thank him for his favor.
Is this reasonable? No, it’s a superstition and it has a powerful, widespread hold on people.
I also think people must keep going to church to maintain the delusion that there is an invisible, silent deity watching over them. People go to their meetings to listen to the preacher, sing the songs, utter those incantations called prayer, read the “holy” book, and talk about what it means in their lives. All these things reinforce the superstition. In their absence, the superstition could fade away.
Perhaps the most powerful motivator for church attendance is the bonding that occurs within church communities. There’s music, affection, encouragement, hugging, caring, crying, laughing, playing, and eating. There’s also obligation, fear, and shame. Then there’s the blessed assurance that they are right when everyone else is wrong. Plus, there’s the thought that they are connected not just with the crowd in the pews (with their possibly viral germs) but to generations who have passed on to live in heaven. One day all Christians, both alive and dead, will have a grand reunion in heaven where there will be no viruses or sadness of any kind.
So there you have it. Superstition, community, money, combined with natural human stubbornness create a powerful motivation for people to want to get back to church. The church is where go they for reassurance that they can be safe from the virus. Ironically, the church is the place that could threaten their safety.
David Mercer is a Humanist Celebrant and calls himself a secular pastor. You can find out more about him at: www.cflfreethought.org/david-mercer