losing our religion

The Cultural Divide

2011-08-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

For individuals who find themselves experiencing the cultural divide between the institutional church and the wider culture, there seem to be several potential responses, many of which overlap and can work together. Some possibilities include:

Just ignore the wider culture. Basically, hold on and batten down the hatches. Only buy Christian music and horse drawn buggies and then the tensions are lessened.

Accommodate or syncretize to the wider culture. This might include a range of adaptations from blending pop culture into a Christian identity (Christian music) to theological adjustments around key issues such as the existence of hell.

Create a counter culture. Here, individuals could work together to resist negative aspects of the wider culture such as the rampant consumerism while not rejecting positive aspects of the culture such as art and music. (JPUSA is one example.)

Translate between cultures. Some people are capable of mediating between the two cultures to help one group understand the other.

Alternate between cultures. Some individuals might choose to live in both worlds recognizing that the church and the wider culture have different codes of conduct and world views.

Jump cultural ship. This is a common response for many Christians. Essentially, people move to another church tradition, generally a mainline denomination where the tension is lessened.

Leave the church altogether. One way to resolve the tension is to abandon faith altogether or become a churchless Christian.

There are perhaps two key reasons why the church culture presents a problem for people. The first is the issue of exclusivity and the assumption that Christ is for everyone. The second reason follows from the first : a mandate to evangelize and move past private religious experience. Historically, in attempting to do the latter, the church has been willing to use culture to make the connection to other people, sometimes successfully and at other times with disastrous results. What interests us in the documentary is how individuals have responded to this tension. In reality, all of the approaches listed above are part of a continuum and individuals may combine more than one outlook at different points in their journey. What is your experience?

Mark Humphries

Tell your story

2011-08-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Have you had a significant experience with the church but have since gone on to either leave or change your involvement due to a personal shift in thinking? For the making of "Losing Our Religion", we are looking for individuals willing to share their story with us on camera. If you think that might be you, feel free to take our short survey.

Start here

Why a documentary on Losing our Religion?

2011-08-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

When Bob Dylan had a 'born again' Christian experience, he became identified with the Christian subculture called the Jesus Movement. Dylan had a spiritual experience that resonated with Christian belief, but found, like many in the Jesus movement that the mainstream church could not fully contain his perspective, and so he distanced himself from them. And so it is with many Christians today who have had an experience with God, but find their identity and cultural experiences pull them away.

In this documentary, we want to give voice and document the faith changes that many people are grappling with, including ourselves. (We will be subjects in the film too.) Our goal is to be objective and open to better understand the process and context for the shifts occurring in faith today.

Our interview approach is informal using open ended questions. "Talk about your family environment growing up." "What experiences moved you to faith in God?" "What experiences moved you away from the Church?" You choose what you are comfortable talking about.

The documentary will be in the personal style of filmmakers like Alan Zweig (Vinyl, I, Curmudgeon, Lovable) and Michael Apted in his Seven Up Documentary Series. In these documentaries, interview subjects openly speak their mind in informal settings. In the final films, conversations are intercut and juxtaposed with each other to highlight themes and personality.

If you are interested in participating in our project,

Please take our survey. Thanks for your time.