I've become increasingly aware that people seem more comfortable with dichotomies (Something is good or bad, right or wrong-- we like or dislike someone, they're funny or they're not), which I think is problematic for a number of reasons...but that's a blog for another time.
I read this article today (which doesn't mention anything about dichotomies), and thought it was interesting-- it's enigmatic in a refreshing way, discussing a peculiar trait that's arisen in the Christian world (prepare yourself for another slate.com plug, sorry), in a non-christian publication.
The popular media (should I have said "secular?") usually discusses Christianity in very specific avenues, about very specific issues (read: sex scandals, church shootings, christianity portrayed as a "hate group")--this article is remarkable (worth remarking on) because it considers an unsensational issue worth writing about. Perhaps because of the Obamas, who are mentioned in the beginning?
Anyway-- forgive my generalizations and reflexive parenthesis-- the full article is short, but here's an excerpt:
One in seven adults changes churches each year, and another one in six attends a handful of churches on a rotating basis, according to the Barna Group, a marketing research firm that serves churches. Church shopping isn't a matter of merely changing congregations: A survey by the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life last year indicated that 44 percent of American adults have left their first religious affiliation for another. "Constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace," a survey summary said.
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