An inter-Mennonite newspaper, putting the Mennonite world together every week since 1923

EDITORIAL

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Freedom of choice — a foundation of the believers church tradition to which Mennonites belong — means you gain some and you lose some. That’s increasingly true for all faiths in America, according to a recent survey.

Forty-four percent of Americans have changed their religious affiliation at some point in their lives, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found in one of the largest polls ever done on religion in the United States.

This high rate of churn, as if churches had revolving doors, reveals Americans’ religious faith to be fluid and dynamic — or, to put it negatively, individualistic and consumerist.

Mennonites might be below average in attracting those who switch denominations. In Mennonite Church USA, 30 percent of members came from non-Mennonite churches, according to the 2006 Church Member Profile.

Sixty-four percent of members were raised in a Mennonite home and never belonged to any other church. An additional 9 percent grew up Mennonite and joined another denomination before returning to a Mennonite congregation.

In other words, almost a third of those who switched from other denominations actually were “cradle Mennonites” — to use a term rightly criticized by those who point out that in the believers church tradition no one is born into the faith. Adult choice, not family history, is all that matters.

So, from a free church perspective, the fluidity of U.S. religious practice could be seen as a sign of success. Americans have embraced the principle of freedom of choice that the 16th-century Anabaptists pioneered.

On the negative side, though, a growing number of people don’t value any particular denominational tradition very much any more. Wholesale religious reshuffling could be seen as a sign of failure. It might be the church failing to teach its distinctive beliefs. It might be individuals failing to grasp the virtues of loyalty and rootedness.

Mostly, though, the dynamic American religious landscape is a reality the church must adapt to — and also rise above. Competing in a marketplace of religious choices, Mennonites need to present our strengths and show how our congregations differ from nondenominational megachurches. If we don’t pitch our brand, sales will fall.

But we also need to say clearly that religious faith is not just another consumer product. Choosing a church should consist of more than finding a comfortable sanctuary with nice people and good music. It ought to be a search for truth, recognizing that the right choices might not be the easy ones.

The church should be a place to make ourselves instruments of God’s choices rather than putting human desires first. The Apostle Paul wrote that he preached not to win people’s approval but God’s (Gal. 1:10). Emphasizing that God has chosen us for divine purposes (John 15:16) could keep us from living solely by our own power of choice.

Jesus didn’t try to win a popularity contest. Neither should the church offer a gospel carefully packaged for mass appeal. In a nation of people keeping their religious options open, a church that challenges its members to radical faithfulness offers a choice many souls thirst for. — Paul Schrag