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Old 06-16-2019, 02:13 AM
 
2,634 posts, read 3,681,887 times
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In retirement, do you attend church/synagogue/mosque, and do you attend frequently, somewhat regularly, rarely or not at all? And why do you or don't you?

I realize that this can get 'sticky' and/or contentious. I don't want this to turn into a conversion convention. I would very much prefer that we don't try to convince each other that our church/set of beliefs is/are 'the only right one'. I would very much prefer that we don't try to 'save' each other. I would just like to know if you attend a place of worship and why you do or if you don't and why you don't.

In the past few years I have come to know that the majority of members of mainstream Christian churches and Jewish synagogues are 55+ or 65+. By "majority" I mean that 50-75% of the congregation(s) are 60-65+. (Last Sunday I went to four different Roman Catholic churches in my city. The majority of the people going into or coming out of Mass were the old and elderly. I spoke with a number of attendees at all four parishes -- one woman laughed (and made me laugh): "ALL of us are old here!" :-) )

So to start it off: I don't attend any place of worship. I'm 70, and I've been an agnostic since I was 20 and in college. I was born into and raised in a very devout Roman Catholic home. Went to Catholic school through 8th grade (for which I am very grateful -- I got a great fundamental education which served me very well in HS and college). But Catholicism -- and Christianity -- started to make no sense to me at all starting at about age 13. I had a hard time believing that a 'loving' God was going to send us to Hell if we stepped out of line once too often. :-) And that was just the beginning of a long list of things that didn't make sense to me.

Religion was my minor in college (at a time when on secular college in The US offered a major in religion -- that's how old I am LOL). The study of religion(s) has been a life-long love of mine. (I majored in Philosophy, and both Philosophy and religion got me interested in ALL the sciences.)

Just for the record: I do follow Christian principles. I am a huge believer in the last seven of The 10 Commandments because I think that they (the last seven of the 10) are necessary for a society where everyone can live in security and peace -- of course, that's the ideal -- it doesn't tend to happen in reality.
But I don't tend to lie, cheat, steal, sleep with my neighbor's husband, etc., and I never have. I am fortunate enough financially to be able to give money away to those in need (not for a tax deduction). And I truly think the vast majority of us (human beings) have a moral compass, whether or not we believe in a God, and that the majority of us do the best we can every single day.

Ok -- anyone else up to posting about this? If not, it's all right. I just thought I'd give it a go.

 
Old 06-16-2019, 05:20 AM
 
Location: Wooster, Ohio
4,085 posts, read 2,977,065 times
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Retirement has not affected my church attendance. I go to Sunday School regularly, but skip the church service in order to attend Arby's after Sunday School. They know my order.

One thing I have learned over the decades is that the roads are not cleared of snow and ice in time for church. Even with 4WD and high ground clearance, I skip church when the weather is bad. It's just not worth the risk.
 
Old 06-16-2019, 05:37 AM
 
Location: Spring Hope, NC
1,555 posts, read 2,510,202 times
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Not at all; don't have and never did have spiritual motivation.
 
Old 06-16-2019, 05:39 AM
 
7,898 posts, read 7,084,716 times
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You might want to check the terms of services for City Data. Political and religious topics are marginal at best. There is a separate forum for those who do wish to discuss religious topics.

If you are merely asking survey questions, you will be able to find a relatively recent thread on the subject. You will find that many people have become less religious as they age, but that is just my memory of the thread. Anyway your long winded explanation of your religious beliefs has nothing to do with retirement and is likely to lead to arguments which again have nothing to do with retirement.
 
Old 06-16-2019, 05:44 AM
 
Location: Pennsylvania
30,306 posts, read 16,059,131 times
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I believe but don't go to church.



Up to a mod but this seems an ok topic to me. OP isn't asking anyone to define their beliefs, just if they go to a place to worship.
 
Old 06-16-2019, 05:48 AM
 
Location: Concord, CA
7,144 posts, read 9,234,289 times
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Nope. Never.

After my little brother was sodomized by a Catholic priest at age 9 and the Church just transferred that creep to a different parish, I was done.

Every time I see a Church, that terrible memory comes back.
 
Old 06-16-2019, 06:02 AM
 
4,717 posts, read 3,245,653 times
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Yes. Raised Roman Catholic, stayed out of organized religion till I was almost 40, then joined the Episcopal Church, which has many of the same rituals and traditions but ordains women, married people and gays and lesbans (although, as in many mainstream religions, there's not 100% agreement on the latter). I love my church community- even after late DH and I downsized and moved and it became a 17-mile drive I've stayed with them. I'm in church every Sunday unless I'm out of town.

I'm very involved (everything from maintaining the Web site to cleaning the church once every couple of months) and it's a big part of my life.
 
Old 06-16-2019, 06:10 AM
 
Location: East TN
11,026 posts, read 9,659,351 times
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I've never been religious. We went to church when I was a child, but I stopped believing in the super-natural in my teens. DH was raised Catholic, but now attends St. Mattress regularly on Sunday mornings.

My MIL was devout Catholic and attended mass weekly until she was in her 80's. We used to take her when she lived with us, but when she went into IL, they had someone from the church come to the complex and do communion once a week. Then when she went into AL, and they didn't take them out for services, or bring anyone in, we talked about it with her to see if she would like us to take her, and she decided that her god was aware of her devotion and that he would forgive her for no longer attending if she said her prayers at night.
 
Old 06-16-2019, 06:54 AM
 
2,634 posts, read 3,681,887 times
Reputation: 5633
I'm asking simply because (1) attendance, in mainstream Christian churches and synagogues, is dropping every year. Attendance has dropped considerably over the past 10 years. (2) My unscientific research, over the past 7 years, has shown me that (a) the majority of congregants are old and elderly and that they attend quite often because they now have the time to do so and/or because they are concerned about what happens to them after death (according to their beliefs); (b) they stopped attending after retirement and/or they stopped attending long before retirement and retirement did nothing to change that; (c) they stopped attending because they outgrew their beliefs; (d) they stopped attending because they got into it with someone over something.

What prompted this is: after my ex-BF had been volunteering, as an Ombudsman, for about a year, he started talking about how no one (no one including family) visits the old and elderly in nursing homes (etc.). If they do visit, they do so rarely. I knew all this but he was surprised. What surprised me is that no one from the churches they had attended visited either. (Catholic priests/lay ministers will bring The Eucharist but not necessarily even every Sunday and not to every single place, because they aren't enough volunteers to go around.)

To cut to the chase, about three years ago, I spent 2+ years going around to all the different mainstream Christian churches in my city (Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, etc.). I picked up Sunday bulletins and read through them. I spoke with members going into services and leaving services at the end (yes, I know I said this before). (I didn't do this EVERY Sunday, all morning long, for 2+ years -- but over that time I visited every mainstream church in my city.) And I learned that altho' the majority of the congregation is old and elderly, the churches offer nothing to them. No meetings, no classes of any sort, no nothing. And what was and is important (to me) is that churches mirror our society: we are invisible. And yet, in the churches, we make up the majority of the membership; we do the bulk of the volunteering; and we tend to contribute much more money than young/middle-aged members. And yet it's almost like we simply don't exist.

And when I asked my OP question, I wanted to see what you all had to say. And, then, yes, as one poster put it, I got long-winded, so I'm going to go back and edit my OP.

Last edited by Fran66; 06-16-2019 at 07:17 AM..
 
Old 06-16-2019, 06:55 AM
 
2,634 posts, read 3,681,887 times
Reputation: 5633
Oops -- looks like I can't edit my OP. I'm really sorry.
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