Frances Fitzgerald on New England mega-churches
Frances Fitzgerald has had a long and distinguished career but it’s interesting that she keeps returning to the topic of religion in modern society. (Probably her most well-known contribution in this regard is her study of Jerry Falwell’s milieu.) Now she’s visiting a new megachurch in New England. (subscription rqd.) Two observations: 1. Even more than elsewhere, because of the density of Catholic life in New England as late as the 1970s, the target market for the megachurch is disaffected or lapsed Catholics. Of these there are many, and they may now be the single largest group of “religious” people in the region. One wonders if New England is the next Quebec (i.e. quite rapid collapse of Catholicism) or if the bottom has been reached. 2. It’s fairly rough sledding in New England for even a charismatic megachurch pastor, given a longtime regional suspicion (Catholic and post-Puritan) of “emotional” religion.
I wonder how many of his members are former Catholics? In that part of the world I suspect more than a handfull!
I live across the street from a “seeker” church. I was talking to their pastor (a former Catholic) one day and he laughingly told me that he doesn’t have to evangelize. Everytime (paraphrasing his words) the pope or a bishop does or says something stupid, he gets more Catholics attending and many eventually joining.
New Milford is not far from the New York border. Could the proximity be relevant?