>According to the Pew Center, the shift is occurring primarily among Protestants, 60% of whom identify as evangelical. Experts say multiple factors are driving the trend.
>As with Mojica Rodríguez, some fume over gender hierarchies, the inability of women to serve in influential positions, or expectations of chastity placed upon girls. Others, they say, struggle with their church’s positions on reproductive and/or LGBTQ rights.
….
>As partisanship becomes the prime lens through which many Americans see the world, Burge said, it has infiltrated the church environment, leaving many young women disillusioned and caught between their politics and church expectations.
>Recent studies show that beginning in 2021, young women are leaving the church at equal or higher rates than young men, and experts say disillusionment over church sexual abuse scandals is among the likely factors.
>Should the trend continue, it could have major repercussions for faith communities: Women are often the backbone of their congregations, fueling volunteer efforts and instrumental in engaging their families in the faith.
>”Women do the majority of the work that keeps the church going,” said former evangelical Sheila Wray Gregoire, who’s studied Christian marriage in the U.S. and Canada for 17 years. “They’re the ones responsible for getting children out of bed and going to church. They’re the ones staffing the Sunday school, making sure potlucks happen or that people are supported when they have an illness or are having a baby. The church is not going to survive without women.”
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>According to the Pew Center, the shift is occurring primarily among Protestants, 60% of whom identify as evangelical. Experts say multiple factors are driving the trend.
>As with Mojica Rodríguez, some fume over gender hierarchies, the inability of women to serve in influential positions, or expectations of chastity placed upon girls. Others, they say, struggle with their church’s positions on reproductive and/or LGBTQ rights.
….
>As partisanship becomes the prime lens through which many Americans see the world, Burge said, it has infiltrated the church environment, leaving many young women disillusioned and caught between their politics and church expectations.
>Recent studies show that beginning in 2021, young women are leaving the church at equal or higher rates than young men, and experts say disillusionment over church sexual abuse scandals is among the likely factors.
>Should the trend continue, it could have major repercussions for faith communities: Women are often the backbone of their congregations, fueling volunteer efforts and instrumental in engaging their families in the faith.
>”Women do the majority of the work that keeps the church going,” said former evangelical Sheila Wray Gregoire, who’s studied Christian marriage in the U.S. and Canada for 17 years. “They’re the ones responsible for getting children out of bed and going to church. They’re the ones staffing the Sunday school, making sure potlucks happen or that people are supported when they have an illness or are having a baby. The church is not going to survive without women.”
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