What is it About Cities that Kills Christianity


Rural to urban migration has been going on since countries were established and organized. A decline in Christianity, and mostly all other religions, has been like a dog following its master. Why is this?

I'm sure the answer is not simple. The first explanation I heard as a graduate student was that rural people are farmers and depend on the weather. When weather was not understood as a science it was considered part of religion, God sent thunder when he was angry. Local shamans, preachers, told people they could help control the weather be praying. Since this was the only information available, farmers went to church and prayed. In cities, people made a living by being smart, controlling their world. "If I buy at one price and sell for a higher price I get to keep the margin. What's a god got to do with that?" might be a narrative of cities.

Once in a while, there is an angle pitched by clergy or pundits that fits urbanization. A preacher in New York City, Tim Keller, grew a very successful church until his retirement and death in 2020. According to the link he focused on living lives of virtue. Perhaps it was that one can find "meaning" in life aside from career by living lives concerned with others. The link argues that urban areas are fruitful grounds for establishment and growth of churches. Keller thought there were separate roles for men and women in the faith but the roles were never defined. I would call his an "all Jesus but skip the rest" theology.  

It seems to me that, yes, some kind of religious belief could thrive in cities but Christianity drags so much baggage it is trying to go against the stream or uphill. Today, people who live in rural areas have access to the same information and entertainment as those in urban areas. The only difference may be that the social life is different. If the social life in rural areas involves "church life" more than it does in urban areas that is one problem. Now, getting deeper into my own speculation, could it be rural social life and the Christianity that goes with it carries along the Bible and that urban life leaves the Bible behind and folk lore? To the extent this is reality, the Bible is the stone Christianity has to drag to be successful in urban life. That is, maybe there is something in rural life that likes walking on water and coming back from the dead while it more likely to be laughed in urban settings?

Whatever the reason, rural to urban migration hurts Christianity. Urban areas continue to grow and Christianity continues to get smaller.

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