Christianity and attending Church has had an obvious decline over the past 20 years. Most people in New Zealand would call themselves Christian up until the 2011 Census where now majority would not affiliate with any religion. There are many possible factors that have led to this decline, such as perceptions of the church, individual spirituality and lack of hope in the world and in Christianity.
When talking to various non-Christians, a common view was that Churches are exclusive and judgemental. I have witnessed a small Church congregation turn their back on someone as they were taking sides between two people. This pushed that person to not going to Church now and having an impression that that is the way Christians work. The problem was …show more content…
We are all loved by God, have equal rights to encounter Him, and are held down by sin. The earthly issues that the Church may have, where they progress to turn people away, can not justify this occurring.
Society has changed dramatically over the past 20 years where now issues such as same-sex marriage, woman rights and gender identification have been brought to the surface.
This has led individual Churches to reflect on their beliefs and morals to see if they would accept this change in society. Many believe that they are against the Bible, but some still will open their doors to everyone. In the 1850's the stats for 'Churchgoers' were at 30%. Today, it is at 10%. This is a huge decrease, but I believe that it will still decrease with the way society is. With many people saying the Church is anti-gay or judgmental, there is a reason that they would not want to affiliate with
When talking to various non-Christians, a common view was that Churches are exclusive and judgemental. I have witnessed a small Church congregation turn their back on someone as they were taking sides between two people. This pushed that person to not going to Church now and having an impression that that is the way Christians work. The problem was …show more content…
We are all loved by God, have equal rights to encounter Him, and are held down by sin. The earthly issues that the Church may have, where they progress to turn people away, can not justify this occurring.
Society has changed dramatically over the past 20 years where now issues such as same-sex marriage, woman rights and gender identification have been brought to the surface.
This has led individual Churches to reflect on their beliefs and morals to see if they would accept this change in society. Many believe that they are against the Bible, but some still will open their doors to everyone. In the 1850's the stats for 'Churchgoers' were at 30%. Today, it is at 10%. This is a huge decrease, but I believe that it will still decrease with the way society is. With many people saying the Church is anti-gay or judgmental, there is a reason that they would not want to affiliate with