We have not asked the important questions

Often when I see conversations about the decline of the church, there’s a lot of finger pointing. Back and forth. Left and right. Conservative and progressive. We hear arguments about social policies, worship styles, age, theological fights, etc. All those things are important to talk about. And yet, something is missing.

I don’t buy the idea that the church is in decline because of a stance on any given social issue. I don’t buy the idea that a church is in decline because of how they treat women or marginalized people or view masculinity. I don’t buy that a church is in decline because of how they treat the Bible. I don’t buy the idea of a church being in decline because of doctrinal beliefs either. Again, those are all important issues to talk about and discern and even take stands on. But I don’t think that they are the cause or surge of a church or denomination or the church as a whole.

I think we often view the church as a compartment, separate from everything else. As if the church is an island unaffected by the surrounding waves. I think when we do that, we miss what’s going on around us. We get caught up in internal fights and point fingers of blame at those we disagree with. Meanwhile, those outside the church don’t distinguish between the two sides, and don’t see the church as a compartment separate and immune from the fluctuations of the rest of society.

I think we make a bad assumption more often than not. We assume we have to preserve or save the church. That we have to save the church as it is. The faulty assumption being that what is currently is what is needed going forward. But I wonder what would happen if we stopped making that assumption and started asking better questions.

In all the talk about decline and growth of the church, I have never heard anyone talk about how the church is tied to the cycle of civilizations. There are several theories about the cycle of civilizations. German Historian Oswald Spengler thought of civilizations as something similar to a living organism that has a birth, growth of culture, maturity (civilization), and finally death (decline).

Historian Alexander Tytler talked about an eight step rise and decline of democracies. The Ancient Greek philosopher Polybius argued that governments degrade into their corrupted opposites. And Peter Turchin talked about a 200-300 year cycle that included four basic steps – expansion, stagflation, crisis, and depression.

One could argue that our civilization is nearing the end of its cycle based on these theories. We could even argue that it isn’t just the American civilization that we are talking about either. Maybe there are multiple civilizations that are all coming to the end of their cycle at the same time. While we have amazing new technologies, our culture lacks creativity and vision. And some might argue that we don’t lack these things at all, but instead, as a people, we are obstinately opposed to innovation and vision for our culture. Instead seeking the familiar at all costs, because it provides stability and a sense of control, especially when so much of the world feels chaotic. Fundamentalism has an appeal for people who are locked in fear and anxiety – it offers answers and knowing. But that comes with a great cost. Other common signals of a civilization’s collapse include environmental and resource stresses, economic challenges like massive wealth inequality, unmanageable debt, a lack of social identity and people participating in society willingly, an erosion of trust, apathy, decline of intellectual life, etc.

When we look at the decline of religion through the lens of the cycle of civilization, it should cause us to ask different questions than we are currently asking. Here’s some of the questions that I think are worth asking:

• What is the role of the church in a civilization that is at the end of its lifecycle? What does the church look like and how does it act? What does the church offer in the midst of such a decline? How does the church need to exist differently in order to offer this?
• How is the church responding to its own cycle of life, death, and resurrection in the midst of the cycle of civilization? How should it respond?
• What vision can the church offer for a civilization in decline and nearing the end of its cycle?
• What innovation can the church embrace?

I think we do a disservice to our faith when we look at the church as something completely separate from the rest of society. Jesus never called us to be separate from society. Jesus called us to be in society, inviting people into a better way of living. So much of human history is dominated by empire and cruelty and violence. The church has an opportunity to share a vision of God’s way of being in community. And that vision is more needed now than ever.