{"id":1957458,"date":"2023-06-26T17:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T21:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/church-attendance-is-down-as-americas-mental-health-crisis-continues-to-run-amuck\/"},"modified":"2023-06-26T17:03:02","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T21:03:02","slug":"church-attendance-is-down-as-americas-mental-health-crisis-continues-to-run-amuck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/church-attendance-is-down-as-americas-mental-health-crisis-continues-to-run-amuck\/","title":{"rendered":"Church attendance declines as America&#8217;s mental health crisis worsens."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchurch-attendance-is-down-as-americas-mental-health-crisis-continues-to-run-amuck%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1957458&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>The Decline of Church Attendance in America<\/h2>\n<p>Church attendance is declining in America, and it spells disastrous implications for a nation that is already spiritually on edge.<\/p>\n<p>According to new <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/507692\/church-attendance-lower-pre-pandemic.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">data<\/a> from Gallup, U.S. church attendance remains below <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doesnt-take-a-genius-to-figure-this-out-jim-jordan-says-joe-bidens-welfare-means-unfilled-jobs\/\" title=\"\u2018Doesn\u2019t Take A Genius To Figure This Out\u2019: Jim Jordan Says Joe Biden\u2019s Welfare Means Unfilled Jobs\">pre-lockdown levels<\/a>. Just 31 percent of adults surveyed this year told Gallup they had attended a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple in the last seven days. Gallup conducted the poll between May 1-24.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the four years before the pandemic, 2016 through 2019, an average of 34% of U.S. adults said they had attended church, synagogue, mosque or temple in the past seven days,\u201d the polling firm reported. \u201cFrom 2020 to the present, the average has been 30%.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The last time church attendance reached 40 percent was in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>Not only are Americans attending religious services less in the aftermath of pandemic lockdowns, but they\u2019re reporting religion as far less important.<\/p>\n<p>The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published a new study in May highlighting a decline in religious importance to Americans\u2019 lives. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prri.org\/research\/religion-and-congregations-in-a-time-of-social-and-political-upheaval\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a> of more than 6,600 U.S. adults across all 50 states interviewed last summer, just 16 percent said, \u201creligion is the most important thing in their life,\u201d down from 20 percent who said the same in 2013. Last summer, 36 percent said \u201creligion is one among many important things,\u201d down from 43 percent who said the same in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-nine percent said \u201creligion is not important to them\u201d compared to just 19 percent a decade ago.<\/p>\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/28\/wall-street-journal-poll-shows-why-its-too-easy-to-hate-your-neighbors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> from the Wall Street Journal out in March showed the number of Americans who view religion as \u201cvery important\u201d to them declined from 62 percent in 1998 to 39 percent today.<\/p>\n<h3>The Impact of Lifestyle Crisis<\/h3>\n<p>The nation\u2019s religious decline coincides with a lifestyle crisis that\u2019s left Americans desperately reaching for pills engineered by big pharma for every apparent problem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/02\/16\/we-dont-have-a-mental-health-crisis-we-have-a-lifestyle-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">We Don\u2019t Have A Mental Health Crisis. We Have A Lifestyle Crisis<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nearly 80 million Americans are taking a litany of psychiatric medicines ranging from antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications to drugs for ADHD, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/psychiatric-drugs\/people-taking-psychiatric-drugs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International. Last summer, The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/07\/09\/style\/medication-depression-anxiety-adhd.html#:~:text=The%20pandemic%27s%20true%20toll%20on,conditions%20like%20A.D.H.D.%20and%20depression.&#038;text=As%20a%20subscriber%2C%20you%20have,articles%20to%20give%20each%20month.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declared<\/a> the post-lockdown era \u201cThe Age of The Distracti-pression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 15.8 percent of American adults took prescription pills for mental health. During the pandemic, the National Center for Health Statistics teamed up with the Census Bureau to carry out quick online \u2018pulse\u2019 surveys and tracked mental health prescription pill use,\u201d the Times reported. \u201cThe numbers they turned up echo what we already sense: We are depressed, anxious, tired and distracted. What\u2019s new is this: Almost a quarter of Americans over the age of 18 are now medicated for one or more of these conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the cocktail of pharmaceuticals flooding the population, Americans are reporting higher and higher rates of anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/05\/18\/depressed-ditch-your-phone-go-outside-fix-your-diet-practice-prayer-and-kindness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">According<\/a> to Gallup, in May, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/church-attendance-is-down-as-americas-mental-health-crisis-continues-to-run-amuck\/\" title=\"Church attendance declines as America's mental health crisis worsens.\">depression rates reached record highs<\/a>, with nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults reporting a diagnosis at least once in their lifetime. Nearly 18 percent said they were currently under treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Americans are also anxious. The Census Bureau\u2019s Household Pulse Survey <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/coronavirus-covid-19\/press-release\/latest-federal-data-show-that-young-people-are-more-likely-than-older-adults-to-be-experiencing-symptoms-of-anxiety-or-depression\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> more than 32 percent, or nearly 1 in 3, U.S. adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder.<\/p>\n<p>Several studies <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/05\/29\/coronavirus-got-you-down-have-faith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">show<\/a>, however, that faith can serve as the antidote to anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n<p>A 2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2014\/01\/140116084846.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">study<\/a> by a Columbia University psychologist found spirituality and religion can protect individuals from depression by thickening the brain cortex. The same researcher <a href=\"https:\/\/ajp.psychiatryonline.org\/doi\/full\/10.1176\/appi.ajp.2011.11091407\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> three years earlier that among adults who reported placing a high importance on religion or spirituality, 76 percent were less likely to suffer from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-introduces-gun-control-bill-psych-evaluations-ammo-bans-federal-gun-registry\/\" title=\"Democrat Introduces Gun Control Bill: Psych Evaluations, Ammo Bans, Federal Gun Registry\">major depressive episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In a systematic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/bjpsych-advances\/article\/religion-and-psychiatry-recent-developments-in-research\/358B30940A36C1CD3AFE7991431BA1A9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">review<\/a> of the quantitative literature up to 2010 surrounding spirituality and depression, Duke University psychiatrist Harold Koenig found that more than 60 percent of studies showed a significant association between religious involvement and less depression. Nearly half found a significant reduction in anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>An American commitment to the pew, any pew, can go a long way toward alleviating the nation\u2019s epidemic of mental decline.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Church attendance in America is declining, posing disastrous implications for a spiritually strained nation. Recent Gallup data reveals that U.S. church attendance remains below pre-lockdown levels, with only 31% of adults surveyed this year reporting attendance at a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":1957459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1957458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1957458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1957458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1957459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1957458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1957458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1957458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}