{"id":554,"date":"2025-10-01T23:03:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T23:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/?page_id=554"},"modified":"2025-10-06T11:22:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T11:22:34","slug":"tml4","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/tml4\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaving and (Re)joining"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-superbfont-small-font-size\"><em>Churches and Faith Communities as Third Places\/ 3 of 5<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-superbfont-small-font-size\">Today, individualism and privatized forms of entertainment have diminished some of the social capital churches once enjoyed. This decline is exacerbated by the trend in the U.S. away from religious participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Catholic Chuch Example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"994\" src=\"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-03-at-7.43.08-PM-1024x994.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-697\" style=\"width:505px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-03-at-7.43.08-PM-1024x994.png 1024w, https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-03-at-7.43.08-PM-300x291.png 300w, https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-03-at-7.43.08-PM-768x746.png 768w, https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-03-at-7.43.08-PM-1536x1491.png 1536w, https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-03-at-7.43.08-PM.png 1856w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-superbfont-medium-font-size\">Why have so many people left the Catholic Church?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-superbfont-small-font-size\">There is rarely a simple answer to such a question, but reasons often include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0edd87578be3e8ec6ba299f8a381dad6\">Perceived hypocrisy, especially regarding the Church\u2019s handling of the sexual abuse crisis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ef9d97d2339d89cee481fa17432a3606\">Feeling or witnessing exclusion, particularly for those who are part of a marginalized group<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4d686a94164f3631f3a936d886f50396\">Sensing there are unconquerable intellectual and\/or theological differences one has with the church<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-135d28518946f5c0f13d702a45a43043\">Experiencing a painful personal crisis that causes one to question God\u2019s goodness or existence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0afa50e2526566237bcbb495c136e2d1\">Busyness that leaves no apparent room for involvement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-superbfont-medium-font-size\">Why do people decide to give church a chance\u2014or, another chance?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-superbfont-small-font-size\">Again, there can be a multiplicity of reasons, some possibilities include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8dc862cf46798b32763df729fe7aec26\">Searching for meaning and purpose<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-57cec4a4b1c7ed6211acb51c407785a6\">Seeking a moral framework for one\u2019s life<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-700780465ffe87b071b6ce6c72634aa9\">Looking for a place to belong, form genuine bonds, and be part of a caring community<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-dcdb8d8faade6a35349b6d07d4cbfb3e\">Hoping to find interior peace<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-mono-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b588d41e2120cca7cb52073328b397ff\">Seeking personal growth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-border-color has-mono-2-border-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/tml3\/\" style=\"border-width:1px;border-radius:4px\">Back<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-border-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/tml5\/\" style=\"border-color:#1e1d1d;border-width:1px;border-radius:4px\">Next<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Churches and Faith Communities as Third Places\/ 3 of 5 Today, individualism and privatized forms of entertainment have diminished some of the social capital churches once enjoyed. This decline is exacerbated by the trend in the U.S. away from religious participation. Catholic Chuch Example Why have so many people left the Catholic Church? There is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-554","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":962,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554\/revisions\/962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}