Is prayer becoming a religion unto itself? That was the question that The Wall Street Journal asked in its recent article entitled “Prayer’s Place in America.” A disconnect between 
prayer and religious affiliation has arrived:
- 39% of Americans attend church weekly yet 75% pray at least weekly, according to the Pew Religion Forum.
- And maybe most remarkably: 35% of those who don’t identify with any religion at all — the “unaffiliated”– pray weekly or daily.
- In fact, 58% overall, and 66% of American women pray daily.
With 39% of Americans attending church and 75% praying at least weekly, there seems to be a separation between religion and prayer. Or at least church attendance and prayer. If you are reading this blog, you probably do not attend church, but you are more likely to pray weekly. Statistically speaking of course.
The WSJ expounds on these notions:
But these statistics, as well as the popularity over the years of books like the Prayer of Jabez and The Secret and many other devotional books, show that prayer has become popular on its own, sometimes detached from the tradition of church. Call it Prayerism.
“Prayerism”. That’s a new term, but an old concept. The whole, “I’m not religious, I’m just spiritual” lends to this thinking of believing in prayer, but not attending church. Why?
Here are 3 reasons why you probably believe in “prayerism”, but don’t go to church:
With mega-churches basking in the spotlight of mainstream media, several studies have been done about the mega-church movement that might just surprise you. A 
Facebook is a wonderful social networking tool that creates online communities for millions of people. Most begin filling out Facebook’s identity questions: name, sex, hometown, birthday, relationship status, and… religion? With 
Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) made waves with their new progressive policies concerning homosexuals and now allow:
..that was the question that Rob Eagar over at 
Running late to meet a fellow pastor, I decided to finish writing a sermon thought instead of leaving on time. I got into my car and believed I could save time by driving fast, really fast, on the New York State Northway (I-87). Driving on the six lane highway provided for an opportunity to pass a lot other drivers. I looked at my watch and saw that I was running 15 minutes late for my lunch meeting.
for us into Christianity.” – is the comment that I heard from a wedding I once officiated. Over the years, I have been conflicted by couples who come into my office asking me to officiate their wedding. Normally, I have no problem doing a wedding for a church member or Christians who do not have a church home. What has been a growing trend for a number of pastors, including myself, is what to do with non-Christian weddings?
sentence, but the The New York Times did just that when the newspaper wrote an 
There is a developing movement within literature to chronicle an outsider’s perspective on the strange land of Evangelical Christianity. It seems that the world sees all Evangelical Christians as fervent, ignorant, and misguided by a holy book. Being an Evangelical myself, I can see how the outside world can group all Evangelicals into this stereotype. The media tends to pick up on the extremes of any group, ideology, or religion and usually tries gives us the most radical angle. You would think that I would NOT recommend books about non-Christians views on Christianity, but there are two books that are worthy of your consideration about strangers in a strange land that yield some surprising insights.
