Nothing New Under the Capitalist Sun
One of the greatest fallacies is to assume that your moment in history is the most important. There is a sheer arrogance that results from disregarding how the past has shaped the cultural and societal complexities that exists today. It is a type of myopic view that even a brief wadding in the streams of the past can bring into greater focus. While any number of political of cultural moment can be subject to this fallacy, it is especially true for the religious and ecclesiological challenges of the day. In particular, for the purposes of this essay, I want to focus on the cultural forces that contribute to perceived declining church attendance and how that compares to the cultural currents of 19th century England in David W. Bebbington’s Evangelicalism in Modern Britain(1) and Jason Paul Clark’s analysis of the connection between evangelicalism and capitalism(2), as they tease out interplay between commercialism and religious activity. What I seek to glean out from their works is that declining church attendance is not a modern phenomenon but the nature of religious activity in a society in which commercialism is present and celebrated.
Of the many contributions that Bebbington has made to current perspective of evangelicalism, one of the most enduring is his “evangelical quadrilateral.” Bebbington observes, “There are four qualities that have been special marks of Evangelical religion: conversionism, the belief that lives need to be changed; activism, the expression of the gospel effort; biblicism, a particular regard for the Bible; and what may be called crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross” (3). With this observation, Bebbington coalesces the evangelical movement from the 18th century to the late 20th century. These categories of thought describe the underlying movement and tensions within the various Christian traditions that were active during this time, including Methodism, of which I am a part. John Wesley serves as a great example of the shifting religious ethos in regard to personal piety, conversion and evangelical efforts in relation to the established church. Field preaching, for example, was a matter or external and internal motivation that is characteristic of the evangelical movement(4).
The emphasis on taking the message of the gospel to the everyday person produced surprising results when the first official religion census was taken(5). The surprise is that only “54 per cent chose to be in church on census Sunday”(6). Considering the work of Wesley many other evangelicals, it may not be surprising that rural church attendance surpassed urban attendance by a percentage of 71.4 to 49.7(7). This was most pronounced within the differences in social class, in particular, the absence of lower class and middle class for different reason, yet both of them due to capitalistic underpinnings.
First, Bebbington concludes that the absence of the lower class is primarily due to the fact that they are poor(8). The lower class could not afford to purchase appropriate clothes or shoes that would have been presentable to be seen in church, nor could they afford to contribute to the offering(9). The second economic shift that occurred was the availability of leisure activities. As Bebbington notes, “From the years 1870 onwards, furthermore, there was a great expansion in organized leisure activities that rivalled[sic] the churches in drawing power” (10). This, coupled with a shorted work week, meant that the middle class had more time to engage in recreational activities including sporting events(11).
The rise in commercialism did not have a total negative impact on religious practice. As Clark points out, the rise of commercialism contributed to the spread of Christianity, particularly in places of trade(12). Yet, it raises the question as to the relationship of the church with capital and commercial opportunities available. While the church can take advantage of the opportunities to be present where the people are,(13) it also results in lost engagement by those who prefer to be engaged in other activities. Further, it raises the question of what it means to be the church when people do not attend due to real or perceived lack of resources to participate. What is most interesting is how the challenges of the 18th century are no different from the modern challenge of weekend youth soccer leagues and Sundays on the lake. What is apparent is that these challenges are not new and perhaps a greater understanding of how the past engaged those who were in and outside the church can give insight to how the church can engage in the future.
- David W Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain (Routledge, 2003).
- Clark, Jason Paul, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship” (2018). Faculty Publications – Portland Seminary. 132. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes/132
- Bebbington, 3.
- Luchetti, L. (2017). “Theological Empathy and John Wesley’s Missional Field Preaching.” Great Commission Research Journal, 8(2), 177-186. Retrieved from https://place.asburyseminary.edu/gcrj/vol8/iss2/5
- Bebbington, 107.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 112.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 113.
- Ibid.
- Clark, 54-55.
- See Bebbington, 133 and church sponsored sporting events.
About the Author
Chad McSwain
Chad is a systematic creative serving in pastoral ministry for nearly 20 years, Chad is a professional question-asker and white-board enthusiast, who enjoys helping people discover their own passions and purpose. A life-long learner, he has a B.A, Philosophy - Univ. Central Oklahoma, M.A Theology - Fuller Seminary, M.Div. Perkins School of Theology at SMU and is pursuing a Doctor of Leadership - George Fox University. He is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving as Lead Pastor of Whitesboro UMC. Chad and his wife, Brandi live in Prosper, Texas along with their three children, two pugs and a chameleon.8 responses to “Nothing New Under the Capitalist Sun”
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Chad, great post. Thank you for you insights. I am glad you highlight the fact that much of what we are navigating in church leadership is not as unprecedented as we often think. There is certainly an arrogance in believing we cannot learn from history because what we are going through is so unique.
Chad,
I enjoyed your post and your insights. It is certainly true that we can learn from history. It often repeats itself in one form or another. Well done!
Awesome and very real post, Chad. It kills me to watch the decline in both beliefs and attendance. At the same time we’re trying to avoid entertaining people for the sake of attendance and financial survival. It’s a competitive struggle against those leisure weekends and soccer games and overall bad habits. Capitalism and evangelism are just a few of the struggles a that every Christian leader faces in some way at some point of their walk. Let me know when you have this pickle all figured out… 😉
Chad,
I enjoyed your post. You ended by saying “What is apparent is that these challenges are not new and perhaps a greater understanding of how the past engaged those who were in and outside the church can give insight to how the church can engage in the future.” I really stuck out to me. If it is accurate, and I believe it is that the church of the past also faced these challenges but was able to grow the respective ministries, how can we glean from the past and bring some of those things back to help us re-engage.
Chad – I like the way y remind us we are all under the same Capitalist Sun! The same sun that has shines bright in England and the United States is spreading across the world as well. Would you say this Commercialism phenomenon is worse in non-denominational than in denominational establishments?
Chad,
The attendance thread was well teased out in your post. I do agree that we should revisit history to learn from the past. Do you think there are other religions or time periods pastors should look at to help solve this?
Chad – So interesting to see how you connected Evangelicialism to worship attendance. I wonder if our assumptions about what “church” and “worship” look like will change (or should change) as culture changes. Thoughts about that?
Laura…that is a great question. It is one that I am working through in my NPO and in the church I lead. We are having tremendous attendance in children’s ministry for programming outside of Sunday morning, while people are expressing affinity for the church. We are asking these same questions now.