As Christian Numbers Fall, Goodbye to Faith-Based Charities

Big denominations have big faith based charities. One is an emergency response organization of the Southern Baptist Convention. It responds to hurricanes and such with senior citizen volunteers. The Southern Baptist Convention has lost ten percent of its membership annually for years. As the old folks die or drop out there are not replacements. Of course, the money donations suffer as well.

What will replace these organizations is a matter of considerable speculation. The denominations themselves say church attendance is needed to mobilize these kinds of efforts. 

I don't know the answer to what will replace these volunteer groups but my guess is physical attendance at churches is not necessary to marshal volunteers or money. Today, gatherings of all kinds are done on the internet. Money is raised in unprecedented amounts by direct appeals. When floods threaten Fargo and Moorhead people pour into volunteer centers. Political campaigns rely on on-line donations. 

The generic term "organizations" has long been studied. As a freshman in an agricultural college many decades ago I took a course in "Group Sociology." I think it was an outgrowth of Agricultural Extension which was born in the aftermath of the great depression. Politics was mostly rural back then and ideas to help rural communities were politically popular. Thus, there were college courses in forming and running non profit and volunteer organizations. Before that period, churches were the organizations that could put together the money and skills to open a hospital or college.

This is related indirectly to the growth of "nones," those who claim no affiliation with any religious tradition. One of the attitudes that pushes the "none" growth is animosity toward established organizations. The surprising on-line response to appeals is perhaps explained in part by this. A large swath of the public feels better about donating time and money if it does not pass through the hands of established institutions.

One of the tragic aspects of faith based institutions is their power of over those they were set up to help. For example, most Catholic hospitals will not perform abortions of a suffering pregnant mother until her threats to her life are very advanced. Even then, some try to move the patient to another hospital.

While loss of faith based charities will be a short term problem it simply represents societal changes that need to happen.