Exploring the Claim: Capitalism a Major Contributor to Church Decline in America
By Jeff GraberFor years, Christianity has been in decline in America. Many have offered different explanations and perspectives on this trend, ranging from the church's shift away from doctrine to its embrace of right-wing extremism. As none of these claims hold up across a unified Christian identity, I believe it is necessary to consider a more material cause. As was the case in the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, the church's decline may be a product of an overfunctioning and overworked society. The following sources and annotations seek to shine a light on the relationship between American capitalism and church participation.
Sources & Annotations
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Annotation:
Research Resources for Studying the Relationship Between Religion and Industrialization
The article from EBSCO Research Starters explores the complex relationship between religion and industrialization, highlighting how religious ideologies both shaped and responded to the rapid societal changes brought on by mechanized production and urbanization. While some theorists view religion as a stabilizing force during industrial upheaval, others argue it became less relevant as societies sought control over nature and embraced secular values. Interestingly, the piece notes a resurgence of spirituality in postindustrial contexts, suggesting that while formal religious institutions may weaken, the human need for spiritual connection endures. Hint: Don't overlook the sources cited in this article.
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Decades of the "de minimus" Standard Empowered Employers to Deny Lord's Day Requests
analyzes the evolving legal standards for religious accommodation under Title VII, focusing on the shift from the long-standing "de minimis" undue hardship test established in Hardison (1977) to the more stringent standard clarified in Groff v. DeJoy (2023). While Groff raised the bar for rejecting accommodations, it left unresolved deeper challenges—particularly how courts evaluate whether a belief is genuinely religious and sincerely held. The article argues that these unresolved issues are becoming increasingly contentious, especially in cases like COVID-19 litigation, and proposes new frameworks for better addressing religiosity and sincerity in employment law.
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American Christianity Started Out as an Economic Commodity
Christianity in the early American Republic was deeply entwined with commerce, challenging traditional scholarly divisions between religion and economics. Using Alexander Campbell as a case study, it shows how religious publishing became both a commercial enterprise and a means of theological expression—shaping faith communities and broader American culture through market-driven dynamics.
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Low Participation in Church is a Generational Issue Sparked by Baby Boomers' Rejection of Religion
Abby Day’s book, Why Baby Boomers Turned from Religion, investigates why many ex-Anglican boomers in the UK and Canada have distanced themselves from organized religion. Through interviews with 55 individuals raised in churchgoing families, Day reveals that although these boomers often recall fond memories of church's social and seasonal traditions, they largely disengaged from both religious and spiritual practices in adulthood, instead participating in more secular aspects of church life.
Note: Free access to book report through the State Library of Kansas
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Middle Class Families Report not Having Free Time
Despite stable individual work hours over the past forty years, American families now spend more collective time working, largely due to the rise of dual-income households and single-parent efforts to reach the middle class. This shift, driven significantly by women's increased workforce participation, has boosted economic gains but also intensified time pressure, with a majority of parents and working adults reporting they lack sufficient time for personal or family needs. Note: The issue identified is not that women are working, but that high employer demands and economic factors place increasing pressure on young and middle-aged working families with children.
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Employers and Families Determine How Workers Use their Time
This peer-reviewed literature review explores how evolving research has shifted from simply measuring work and family time to analyzing the social dynamics behind time management. It highlights how unpredictable schedules and systemic inequalities around gender, race, and class make it difficult for individuals to control their time, creating ripple effects across interconnected social networks—what the authors call a "web of time." The review concludes by examining policies aimed at addressing these growing complexities.
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Work-Family Responsibilities Growing as More Parents Working
This essay highlights a shift from traditional domestic roles toward broader occupational and identity opportunities for women, noting that most will work outside the home during their lives. Despite widespread recognition of the value of caregiving, societal structures and public policies still fail to fully support or reward domestic labor. Referencing foundational studies, the text critiques the enduring "myth of separate worlds" that isolates family needs from workplace design and argues for national policy reforms that reflect the caregiving responsibilities shared by nearly all workers.
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How Americans Spend their Time
The 2024 American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that 87% of full-time employed Americans worked on an average weekday, spending about 8.4 hours on work, compared to 29% working on weekends. The data also shows that people devoted 2 hours daily to household activities and 1.45 hours to caring for household children or parents. Additionally, "Among married-couple families with children (under age 18), 97.6 percent had at least one employed parent in 2023, and in 67.0 percent of these families both parents were employed." These findings offer insight into how Americans balance work, caregiving, and home responsibilities in their daily lives.
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Church Membership Decline in U.S. Mostly Due to Shifts in Religious Affiliation
According to Gallup, "Given the nearly perfect alignment between not having a religious preference and not belonging to a church, the 13-percentage-point increase in no religious affiliation since 1998-2000 appears to account for more than half of the 20-point decline in church membership over the same time."
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