It seems like nearly every week that I see a new face at my local UU congregation. More often than not, especially if it's someone somewhat close to my age, I will introduce myself and try to make them feel welcome. I like to listen to them tell why they decided to visit a UU church that day. I like to hear about their religious journeys.
But, more often than not, these newcomers don't stick around. They may come one time, or a few times, or even for a few months, but usually not any longer than that. It's a bummer.
Why is this the case? Where is there so much movement in and out of our congregation? Why do people not stick around? It may have something to do with our congregation, but I suspect that it has to do more with liberal religion, and I'll tell you why.
Unitarian Universalism, like other liberal faiths, has weak boundaries. The "cost" of attending, and even joining, is very low, as is the "cost" of leaving. Mormonism, on the other hand, has high joining and exiting costs. In all my many years of attending Mormon churches, I found that there were relatively few newcomers. But those that do make that big step in coming for the first time are much more likely to join and stick around than those that casually attend a UU church.
What is a boundary? A boundary is something that draws a line between insiders and outsiders. Something that makes a distinction. Strictness is another word that sociologists of religion use. Mormonism has strong boundaries and is strict - prospective members take six lessons from full-time missionaries, promise to obey certain commandments, and must get baptized and confirmed. And then there are all the cultural boundaries, like the dress, the unique vocabulary, and so on. Unitarian Universalism, on the other hand, has very little boundaries. Some congregations encourage visitors and prospective members to take short classes on Unitarian Universalism, but there is little else.
As a result, there is a lot more movement in and out of Unitarian Universalism than there is in Mormonism. (Obviously, I mean at a typical congregation, not denomination-wide. There are way more people that check out and join Mormon congregations than UU ones.)
Are weak boundaries inherent to Unitarian Universalism? Is it just something we have to accept? I see attempts now and then at strengthening those boundaries, or increasing "strictness." My congregation eliminated a status called "friend" for those that wanted to be affiliated with the congregation but not a member of it. Also, during this year's pledge drive, representatives from the congregation met one on one with members to talk to them about their experiences at the congregation and to encourage them to pledge generously.
I'm definitely interested in exploring ways to strengthen the boundaries, so to speak, while not being exclusive or demanding uniformity. I am too bummed when I see excited new faces at church, only to never see them again.
Monday, August 25, 2008
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2 comments:
Interesting post, Stephen. To some extent, anyway, porous boundaries are probably inherent in liberal religion. And I tend to view that as a positive. We're a community of seekers, after all, and that's not for everyone. Or it's not for everyone at every point of their lives.
That said, I'd definitely prefer it if we were better able to reach out to and hold onto more visitors. It's hard to know, though, whether a visitor was turned off by UUism in general or something about the particular church—or single service—she visited. There's so much variety in our worship services, some more "church-y" than others, etc. We need a good sociologist to help us control for all those variables. :-)
Thanks for the important post. I would however disagree. I don't think its our boundries.
Part of our problem could be in our genisis. UU's tend to come from other religions, and it's a pretty good bet that they weren't very involved in the networking social activities of those other religions, therefore generally we are ignorant of the important informal contacts.
What we may need to do more is interconnect between churches and set up interfaith activities that allow congregants to make those croww congregational contacts. Too often members of one congregation may know the members of another, but do not ever engage in social activites directed by the leadership of the two UU churches.
Therein is the problem. Multi-church events provide a buy-in to young families, value to financial contributors, and a social alternative to singles and outsiders.
When my church UCH had a year of potlucks about every two or three weeks, our membership climbed from 200 to 450. We have stopped, the minister no longer involved, and it is steadily declining.
I am not saying we should focus on entertainment, but I am saying that our paid staff and ministers need to understand that those events recruit better than any class or restriction.
Beyond even restrictions and borders People stay in organizations because those organizations offer themselves as social alternatives that make them feel part of a larger whole. We do not do that.
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