https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/secular-churches-rethink-their-sales-pitch/594109/
For religious communes, the more sacrifices demanded, the longer they lasted; however, this connection didn’t hold for secular communes. The implication, Norenzayan said, was that challenging rituals and taxing rules work only when they’re part of something sacred; once the veil of sacrality is removed, people no longer care to commit to things that demand their time and dedication. “If it’s ‘Come and go as you wish,’ that’s not going to work,” he said. Even if secular congregations could create a sense of the sacred, they tend to attract people who are explicitly looking for a community without costly rituals—one that lets you do what you want.
The Rabbi of the Shul I go to says that if you want to know what kind of relationship someone has with G-d, investigate what kind of relationship they have with people. You can be sure that they don't treat G-d any better than they treat the people in their life.
ReplyDeleteSo, it is not surprising that the people who join these congregations and then abandon them are also the same ones who are have no commitment to serve G-d or even admit there is a G-d.