Task Force reviews census figures, tract on U.S. religion
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, October 24, 2002
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Theological Task Force on Peace, Purity and Unity in the Presbyterian Church (USA) roamed through U.S. Census figures, results of Presbyterian polling and a 36-page tract prepared by one of its members as it sought to move forward with some concrete proposals for the denomination.
No such proposals emerged Thursday (Oct. 24) morning, but there was some expert guidance. Dr. Barbara Everitt Bryant, a former director of the U.S. Census, reviewed 1990 census figures in a slide show that depicted how changes in U.S. demographics may affect changes in the denomination.
She drew no conclusions, but one of her final slides suggested that one of the denomination’s flashpoints – prohibiting the ordination of self-affirming, practicing homosexuals – might be changed because of changing demographics.
Despite increasing support by Presbyterians for the ordination standard – which was affirmed 3-1 in the most recent national vote among presbyteries – Bryant said, “This may change with time.”
She based that conclusion on the denomination gaining more members who are women, younger and highly educated and on surveys that show Presbyterian pastors are “more open to tolerance of diversity and different views than their congregations.”
But Bryant did not suggest that the standard should change, and Milton J. Coalter, director of the Ernest Miller White Library at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, had one reason not to rejoice over the fact that new Presbyterians tend to be well educated.
“The higher the educational level, the less able they are to speak about their faith,” Coalter said. Noting that education often accepts diversity as a given, Coalter added, “Very few at seminary come for spiritual direction.”
Dr. John B. “Mike” Louden, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, Fla., one of more than 1,275 Confessing Churches within the denomination, responded, “I think that would surprise a lot of people in central Florida.”
Coalter wrote the tract, titled “One Mapping of the America Religious Context,” that the task force reviewed. That document raised what Coalter called “patterns of the American religious landscape” that “have particular relevance to the peace, unity and purity of the church.
He identified them as:
- The privatization (and some would say, the trivialization) of religious faith and practice.
- An expanded awareness, availability and affirmation of religious choices.
- A growing preference for local, special interest and/or individualistic religious expressions.
- A decline in “social capital” [volunteer and study time, for instance] to moderate conflict over choices made.
- A contentious search for a peaceful shared faithfulness.
The sum, task force members suggested, is that few Americans are seeking or joining churches for theological reasons.
“Calvinism is a hard sell,” said Dr. Barbara Wheeler, president of Auburn Theological Seminary. Even those who are Presbyterians tend to float around, she added. “A lot of my fellow Presbyterians, if they can’t get there on Sunday, will go to mass at a Catholic church … and even more decide to stay home.”
But Wheeler said the “market share” of Presbyterians in America has always been declining. She did not note that the number of Presbyterians increased slightly – although below the growth rate of the U.S. population – until 1965, when the current decline began. Since 1965, membership in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its predecessor denominations has declined from 4.2 million to 2.5 million – a loss of 1.7 million members.