Having lived in Washington DC for the past decade, I know there is a Capital Hill assumption and perception that religion is politics and politics is religion, among some. Good to see some data-informed reality-check from this Scott Thumma article in the USA Today (Opinions section), "Misunderstood megachurches: These goliaths have become all the rage in recent years, largely seen as political engines chugging along for conservative Republicans. Yet research shows that’s not the case."
This past weekend, John McCain and Barack Obama stood together, if briefly, in a house of God. A big house of God, that is — best-selling author Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., which touts a 20,000-plus member congregation.
[Illustration by Veronica Salazar, USA TODAY]
Four years ago, it would have been — dare I say — sacrilegious, or at the very least downright strange, to picture Democratic nominee John Kerry and President Bush (the evangelical heavy-hitter) meeting together in a megachurch. ... Most outside observers might think it is commonplace to mix religion and politics in megachurches (which are defined as Protestant Christian congregations with 2,000 or more weekly attendees).
... But such high profile incidents distort the reality of the role of politics in a majority of America's megachurches. My national research and experiences with these very large churches since the late 1980s tell a very different story. The research data refute a number of myths that are prominent in society's perception of political activity in megachurches. Here are three doozies:
Myth One:
All megachurches are engaged in political activism. The truth is that national research ... showed that only 16% of these churches partnered with other churches in the previous five years for political ends. In fact, three of four megachurches never did. ...
Myth Two:
These churches are more politically involved than smaller churches. The reality is they are about equally engaged, and even less so in some ways, when compared with African-American churches. ... megachurches are no more likely than other churches to hold political group discussions or host government officials or candidates as speakers. ...
Myth Three:
Megachurch attendees are conservative Republicans. While there is certainly some truth in this statement, there is also significant variation among the flock. When megachurch leaders were asked in our latest study to describe the majority of the members politically, nearly half (44%) said "somewhat on the conservative side" with more than 20% identifying their congregations "in the middle" to "somewhat liberal."
... Rick Warren's effort Saturday to hear from both candidates is surely playing to the diversity of constituents within a typical megachurch audience. But make no mistake: Megachurches are not draped in red, white and blue bunting in anticipation of Election Day. ...
Scott Thumma is co-author with Dave Travis (Managing Director at Leadership Network) of the book, Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America's Largest Churches, which dispels even more myths about megachurches.
-- DJ Chuang, Director at Leadership Network
Yeah, I would say most megachurches take a Grahamsian approach to politics instead of the overt stuff Thumma is debunking. See this post for credit where credit is due for the awesome insights and phrase: http://reitzels.blogspot.com/2008/08/wwjd-bkbtrpaotd-one-of-most-hollow.html
Posted by: toddh | August 22, 2008 at 01:00 PM