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MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
6. There's a lot of movement these days between denominations.
Fri Sep 15, 2017, 02:50 PM
Sep 2017

A lot of churches have only a fraction of the number of people they used to have in their congregations. Many people have opted for so-called mega-churches and have left their old churches. Those appear to be doing well in my big metro area. Here in the Twin Cities, there's a Lutheran church on every other corner, it seems. Most are ELCA. Some are Missouri Synod and we have a few that are Missouri Synod. The ELCA churches are more liberal than the other two, but even within those there are major differences between individual churches and congregations.

There's lots of movement, with people visiting churches and choosing one that suits them best. We also have our share of fundamentalist evangelical churches. Some have large congregations, while others are struggling to stay afloat. Our Roman Catholic Churches are mostly struggling, and a number have closed and merged with others. We also have several Islamic churches, a number of synagogues and even Russian, Greek, and other Orthodox churches in the area. We have Buddhists here, Mormons, a Hindu community, and even some groups of people who worship in traditional Hmong gatherings.

But, people choose among those options. Some Hmong immigrants are now Christians. Buddhism attracts another group of converts. We also have a large number of non-believers, pagans and other miscellaneous folks in the area.

Choice. People choose and stick with whatever church fits their world views best.

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