Why Faith Matters To America: We Talk To The Author Of An Insightful New Book

August 26, 2022 Bobby Ross Jr.

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(ANALYSIS) Religion reporter Bob Smietana’s “aha!” moment came a few years ago while covering a hurricane.

When a tornado, flood or other disaster occurs, so-called faith-based FEMA organizations typically play a crucial role in the relief effort.

“Usually, a bunch of church folks and other religious folks show up,” explained Smietana, a Religion News Service national reporter. “They cook meals, they clear trees, and they help people rebuild their houses and put their lives back together.”

But given the decline of organized religion in America, might those helpers — at some point — disappear? And if so, what might that mean for the nation’s social fabric?

Such questions came to Smietana during his “aha!” moment.

“Something in my head went, ‘Oh, wait. All those people doing this faith-based disaster relief are usually older church folks, and most of them are White,’” he told me, noting the shrinking proportion of White Christians in America.

Reflecting on the hurricane volunteers, he realized, “There’s no one in the pipeline to replace those folks when they’re gone.”

The veteran Godbeat pro shared that anecdote as we talked about the ideas behind his insightful new book, “Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters”, which releases Tuesday.

Here’s how Worthy Publishing describes Smietana’s book: “A look at the ways the Christian church has changed in recent years — from the decline of the mainline denominations to the megachurchification of American culture to the rise of the Nones and Exvangelicals — as well as a hopeful vision for reimagining what the church might look like going forward.”

My own take: The 200-plus pages of “Reorganized Religion” certainly are timely, delving into long-term demographic trends while exploring challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and post-2020 political division.

Throughout the book, Smietana mixes expert analysis of the big picture with revealing stories about real people in the pews — and even personal experiences that help illustrate his points.

“I realized I couldn’t try and convince people why they should care about organized religion in churches without saying, ‘Here’s why I care about it,’” said Smietana, who has reported on religion since 1999 and previously worked for The Covenant Companion, The Tennessean, Christianity Today and Facts & Trends.

One of Smietana’s personal examples: “When my little brother died unexpectedly, he was 39. That was a real blow. And we had these close friends from church who just rallied around us. They brought us meals, and they paid for plane tickets for us to go to the funeral. … And this happens all the time to people. When their lives fall apart, it’s congregations that rally to them.”

In my half-hour interview with Smietana, we discussed minichurches and megachurches; how, if at all, the Holy Spirit fits into church growth models; and the author’s specific takeaways from his years of research and reporting.

It’s fascinating stuff. Really.

Watch the full interview.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. ‘It’s my tradition too’: A town’s centuries-old passion play evolves: “Oberammergau, in the Bavarian Alps, has been staging a passion play for nearly 400 years,” notes Michael Paulson, a New York Times theater reporter and former religion writer.

“It has a history of exclusionary casting and antisemitic storytelling,” Paulson adds, “but this year has two Muslims in principal roles and won an award from a Jewish organization.”

2. Americans forgot how long refugee resettlement takes: “One year into the biggest U.S. refugee wave since the Vietnam War, Christians are trying to buy Afghan immigrants more time,” Christianity Today’s Emily Belz reports from New York.

Elsewhere, The Oklahoman’s faith editor, Carla Hinton, highlights problematic living conditions for Afghan refugees in Oklahoma, which has received the third-most Afghan refugees among U.S. states. Catholic Charities is the state’s only federally authorized resettlement agency.

3. It’s tough out there for singles. What can churches do to help?: “A new survey from Lifeway Research explores what Protestant churches are doing to minister to single adults,” The Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas reports.

Looking for dating ideas? This one, covered by Dallas a few days after her original piece, might not be the best: A Tennessee couple “allegedly spent their first date finding a church to break into.”

BONUS: After six months of war, Ukrainians prayed this week on their Independence Day, as Christianity Today’s Jayson Casper and The Christian Chronicle’s Erik Tryggestad report.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has canceled his Kazakhstan trip and a chance to meet with Pope Francis. See coverage by Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins, the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner and The Associated Press.

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Laura Harbert Allen is a Report for America journalist for 100 Days in Appalachia — “a collaborative nonprofit newsroom written for Appalachians, by Appalachians.”

In a first-person piece explaining her decision to cover religion, she makes the case that “reporting on faith can protect our democracy.”

In other Godbeat news, the Zenger House has announced its first Zenger Prize recipients, including several names that will be familiar to regular Plug-in readers.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

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• Inside the spirituality of K-pop sensation BTS (by Myrian Garcia)

• The Hillbilly Thomists keep singing of the ties that bind (by Terry Mattingly)

• Drying of Great Salt Lake endangers Latter-day Saints stronghold: How the church responded (by Iain Carlos)

• Paradise on wheels: Exploring religious Oahu from the mountain to the sea (by Paul Glader)

• Stop assuming what Catholics believe based on politics or internet memes (by Clemente Lisi)

• Why Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ remains so controversial decades after its publication (by Myriam Renaud)

• India’s new voter rights in Kashmir could strangle local political parties, Muslims (by Zaffar Iqbal)

• Momentum toward unity: How 5 Nashville churches came together (by Bobby Ross Jr.)

• Latter-day Saints’ incremental changes on doctrine add up to a solid religion story (by Richard Ostling)

The Final Plug

I don’t always end Plug-in with pictures of my amazing granddaughter.

But I do when I just can’t resist.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.

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