In trouble

Traditional organized religion is in trouble. Not just in America but all over the world. Churches used to be filled with worshippers and are now being closed and buildings sold and converted to other purposes. As society became increasingly secular, people decided to go in other directions for guidance. 

There isn't one simple explanation but it must be said that religions have had a colored history of embarrassing episodes full of human error. Alignment between European monarchies and the clergy persisted for hundreds of years and controlled the population by asking them to capitulate to God and king lest they face damnation. 

As technological advances increased, people became less dependent on simplistic messaging and wanted more meaning beyond sermons on gospel stories they had heard repeatedly since childhood. Yes, the message of Christ is compelling and yet it wasn't enough to fill the pews any longer. 

My own personal history follows a path which culminated in abandoning rigid dogma for a more wholistic view which required acknowledging that we know very little. I was no longer going to hang my hat on the same belief system that worked for me as a young person. Some religions have also not adequately kept up with societal change and stubbornly held on to inflexible traditions which some felt excluded them.

People have also become less community oriented and more insular thanks to technology.

Another thing which hasn't helped is the infiltration of political dogma within the framework of religion. In the US some preachers encourage their flock to vote republican lest they fail God by adopting dangerous leftist ideas which Christ himself clearly lauds in his teachings. This is repugnant but not unexpected in a world which has lost its ability to separate what Caesar and God are each entitled to....