Beyond the Ordinary

Invisible singles: How churches can reach unmarried worshipers

By David Briggs

The pastor never seemed to mention unmarried persons in his sermons, so Kris Swiatocho started putting post-it notes on the pulpit before services that said: "Remember singles."

When the pastor found out the source of the notes, he asked Swiatocho to cut it out.  Instead, she began sitting in the front row, occasionally waving her arms during the sermon.

Her pastor finally got the message, and started including the experiences of singles from the pulpit.  But unmarried persons still are largely invisible in many churches, says Swiatocho, director of The Singles Network Ministries.

If congregations do not integrate singles into the life of the church, and pastors do not address their issues from the pulpit, "We're not going to feel welcome and we're not going to come," Swiatocho says.

Many singles are already voting with their feet.

While about half of Americans ages 15 and older are married, some two-thirds of worshipers ages 15 and older are married.  Young adults, who make up the great majority of never-married individuals, are particularly underrepresented.

Just 14 percent of adult worshipers have never been married, compared to the more than three in 10 individuals in the general population who have never been married, according to the 2008-2009 wave of the U.S.Congregational Life Survey.

Many observers say despite America’s changing demographics, including the rise in single parents and the number of individuals postponing or forgoing marriage, churches still focus most of their attention on married couples.

And it starts at the top, with the preference for married clergy.  Just three percent of Protestant pastors have never been married, the US CLS found.

So how can congregations do a better job ministering to singles?

First, it is not necessarily in building separate singles ministries.  Many of those ministries, popular in the 1970s and 1980s, did not last beyond the first generation of singles.

The shrinking and aging of many U.S. congregations also means fewer have the numbers of singles for such ministries.  And people who look to such venues to find partners now can do so at online dating sites.

 What does work for singles, as for any member of a religious community, is that they are integrated into the spiritual and social lives of the congregation, some observers say.

“Singles want to be valued members of a faith community, a faith family,”  Cynthia Woolever, research manager of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, said in an essay in The Parish Paper.  Her advice to congregations includes:

• Create connections: Offer events where everyone regardless of marital status is comfortable participating.
• Develop leaders: Check to be sure governing boards are inclusive, and encourage singles to seek leadership positions that match their talents.
• Increase visibility: Invite singles to be worship leaders. Question whether some tasks such as bringing up gifts for the Eucharist or lighting Advent candles are always given to "typical
  families."
• Welcome everyone: Include all worshipers in conversations before and after services. Consider having church gatherings around holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas so everyone has a place to go.

 Singles do not need a separate ministry, Swiatocho says.

"We don't want to be the stepchild.  We don't want to be the pathetic ministry on the side."  She says. "But at least minister to us. ... We're half the world."

If Christian churches are looking for a role model of inclusion, they do not have to go far.

"Jesus was a single,” Swiatocho says. “He was the greatest single who ever lived.  And he was a model of community."

 

Wanted: Cheerful givers to change the world

By David Briggs

The number 2,701,802 stands out in bold relief at the top of the website.

 Almost moment by moment, the figure steadily ticks upward, compelling virtual visitors to empty tomb, inc., to reflect on the number of children under 5 who have died since the beginning of 2013.

 John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, directors of the Champaign, Ill.-based research organization, placed the number front and center to remind church members that faithful giving is about much more than keeping the lights on in their sanctuaries.

 This month, in a new initiative to reverse decades-long declines in benevolent giving as a percentage of income, the Ronsvalles issued a call to mobilize church leaders in a campaign to ask 100 million Christians to donate $50 a year for three years to save the lives of global children.

 It will not be easy. After years of a recessionary economy, many congregations still struggle to balance their budgets.

In the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey, 29 percent of congregations reported an increasing financial base and 16 percent reported a declining financial base. Those numbers were nearly reversed in the 2008-2009 survey, with 29 percent of congregations reporting a declining financial base and just 12 percent with a brighter foundation.

Even in better times, empty tomb has found, the percentage of income donated by churchgoers has been declining. Their annual studies gathering data from major Protestant denominations has found giving as a percentage of income dropped from 3.1 percent in 1968 to 2.4 percent in 2010.  The decline has been particularly steep in giving to needs outside the local church, such as global missions.  Per member giving for benevolences as a percent of income was about half as much in 2010 as it was in 1968.

So who are the cheerful givers, and do they share traits that congregations can nurture among their flocks?

The 2008-2009 wave of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey offers insights.

The two leading predictors of people who donate at least 5 percent of their net income to their congregation are age – people over 54 give substantially more – and involvement in the congregation. Having conservative theological beliefs was also a key indicator.

In analyzing data from more than 64,000 worshipers, US CLS researcher Deborah Bruce also found women, worshippers without kids at home and those who attend with a spouse or partner are more likely to fill church coffers.

Many of the non-demographic indicators were related to spiritual development and congregational life.

Frequent worship attendance, being in small groups, participating in congregational decision making, having a strong sense of belonging, sensing their spiritual needs are being met and agreeing that to a great extent worship helps them with daily living were linked to a greater likelihood of generous giving.

In a more focused survey on giving among 853 US CLS respondents, a sense of gratitude for God's love and goodness was the No. 1 influence on financial choices. Half of the respondents said God's love was a major influence on their giving. In comparison,  just 6 percent said the congregation's or the leader's urging to give was a major influence.

While an active faith is associated with greater giving, the issue of how well religious individuals walk the talk was raised recently when comedian Ricky Gervais, an atheist, mocked people sending their prayers to the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes, tweeting, “I feel like an idiot now … I only sent money.”

Yet the idea of personal faith being the foundation empowering the service of others is ingrained in most traditions.

Consider this declaration in a sermon "On the danger of increasing riches" from John Wesley, a founder of Methodism: "Do not you know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessaries for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud your Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?"

In a world where so many millions of people die from a lack of food or clean water or medical care, strengthening that historic sense of mission remains critical, as the Ronsvalles remind us.

The last time I checked, the number of children under 5 who have died this year was 2,832,174.

 

Gardens of earthly and spiritual delights

By David Briggs

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Matthew 19: 21-22

What delights us in this world?

Religious teaching encourages followers to discover true happiness in their faith, and in particular in the love of God and one another. A relentless consumer culture urges us to find meaning and satisfaction in material goods.

The 2008-2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey asked a series of questions on this topic to a random sample of 833 worshipers.

And the winner is ... our possessions.

Forty-two percent of respondents said they were "extremely delighted" with the things they own. There were no differences among Catholics, conservative Protestants and mainline Protestants, with more than four in 10 in all groups saying their possessions were a source of great delight.

Actually, the things they own was tied at the top of the list of extremely delightful aspects of their lives along with close relationships with family and friends. But there was not the same unanimity in this area among religious groups, with Protestants much less likely to say they were extremely delighted with such relationships.

What may be equally surprising as the value worshipers put on their possessions was the relative lack of satisfaction they reported with other central aspects of their lives. Consider these findings:

• Thirty-four percent of worshipers said they were extremely delighted with their own happiness.
• Slightly less than a third said expressed the same satisfaction with their spiritual lives.
• Twenty-eight percent of worshipers said they were extremely delighted with what they had achieved in life, the lowest level of satisfaction reported on any of the nine areas surveyed.

What areas of your life make you extremely delighted?

 

 

Thy sister’s keeper: Breaking the silence on religion and mental health

By David Briggs

The suicide of Matthew Warren, who fought a long battle with depression, is shining a light on the issue of religion and mental health.

His father, Rick Warren, the author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and a prominent pastor, launched a petition "to urge educators, lawmakers, healthcare professionals, and church congregations to raise the awareness and lower the stigma of mental illness … and support the families that deal with mental illness on a daily basis.”

Other Christian leaders also have seized the moment to call for an end to the shame and guilt associated with mental illness, and to encourage church members to respond with love, compassion and understanding.

"Churches need to stop hiding mental illness," Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, said in a post on the CNN Belief Blog.

How well churchgoers listen to these messages can have a substantial influence on the lives of millions of Americans suffering from various degrees of mental health issues, and address a glaring gap in congregational ministries, according to a growing body of research.

Several studies have indicated that belief in a loving God, along with the social support of being part of a congregation whose members care for one another, leads to positive physical and mental health outcomes, including lower rates of depression and anxiety and greater overall happiness.

While the subject makes many within the church uncomfortable - some fear admissions of sadness could be interpreted as spiritual weakness - mental health issues do not stop at church doors.

More than four in 10 worshipers said that within the past week they had a feeling of the blues they could not shake off, even with the help of family and friends, according to a 2008-2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey of 833 respondents. A similar percentage said they felt at least some or a little depressed in the past week. Some six in 10 reported feeling sad just within the last week.

However, in part because of the stigma attached and in part because the nature of their illnesses makes it more difficult to be part of social groups, many of those who could benefit from the support provided by congregations are more likely to stay away.

The 2010 Baylor Religion Survey found depressed people were much less likely to attend religious services or read sacred texts.

What may be even more striking is the apparent lack of concern many congregation members show for the issues faced by others in the church.

Consider these US CLS findings:

• Four in 10 worshipers said other congregation members rarely or never let them know "they love and care for you."
• More than half of worshipers said their fellow church members either once in a while or never "talked with you about your private problems and concerns."
• More than four in 10 worshipers said non-clergy in their congregation rarely or ever even expressed interest or concern in their well-being.

The congregation should be a safe place for those who struggle, Stetzer said.

"Christians believe the church is the body of Christ—the hands and feet of Jesus—and that means going into the darkest places and the toughest situations to bring light. It means walking with those who are suffering, no matter what the suffering looks like."

Social support is a major factor that helps to prevent depression, Dr. Harold Koenig, a prominent researcher on religion and health, said in an interview.

In particular, the support found in congregations, where love of neighbor and caring for one another is integral to the faith, “is a major part of … why religious people have better well-being,” said Koenig, director of the Center for Theology, Spirituality and Health at Duke University.

What is needed moving forward is education, both of the nature of mental illness and the value of reaching out and listening to those in need, Koenig and others say.

Matthew Warren was not able to overcome his depression, even with medical care and spiritual support. But his painful journey may light a path for people of faith to relieve the suffering of others in their midst, whether they struggle with their physical or mental health.

"I would hope that with this event this would encourage more people to talk more about it,” Koenig said. “Maybe events like this are wake-up calls to the evangelical community and to others.”

 

Praying for Our Country

 

By Ida Smith-Williams

 Many people may know about the First Saturday of May representing the greatest two minutes of sports, at least in Louisville.  It’s the day of the Kentucky Derby!   But many people may not be aware of what the first Thursday in May represents.  In 1952, President Truman declared an annual national day of prayer and in 1988, the law was amended, permanently setting the first Thursday of May as a national day of prayer.  All Americans, regardless of their religious or political affiliation, are encouraged to pray on this day.   This Thursday, May 2, 2013 is National Day of Prayer and that got me thinking about prayer. 

How often do worshipers pray?  Nearly seven out of ten worshipers spend time daily praying on their own (68%).  This percentage of worshipers has stayed steady since 2001.  

What do worshipers pray for?  Three-quarters of worshipers pray daily for themselves or their family members (74%).  Fewer than three in ten (29%) worshipers pray daily for world peace or an end to war, and one-quarter (26%) pray daily for an end to world hunger or poverty.

 

Do national and international events influence prayer?  When asked if they prayed more often than previously because of national or world events in the previous five years, three-quarters of worshipers said they did to some extent (75%).  Few (17%) increased their pray time a great deal.

  

Do prayers make a difference?  Three out of five worshipers think prayers make a difference regardless of events (62%).  When asked “because of national or world events in the past five years, to what extent have you doubted whether your prayers made a difference?” only one in ten had much doubt about the effectiveness of their prayers (9%).

I hope you take time on Thursday and join me in saying a prayer for our country. 

 Please visit the National Day of Prayer Website to learn more about this event.

 

Ready, Set, Go Green!

 

By Ida Smith-Williams

Earth Day originated on college campuses in 1970 as a way to bring environmental issues to the national agenda.   Today, more churches and places of worship are joining the movement.  It’s a good fit spiritually and financially for churches to emphasize and act as a role model in caring for one of God’s greatest creation, the Earth. 

Churches are going green in lots of ways.  Some are including energy-efficient features in construction projects, recycling printed materials, eliminating use of Styrofoam coffee cups, serving organic coffee and local foods, and opening community gardens, to name a few.

On a recent survey, PC(USA) congregations were asked about their environmental ministries.  Each was asked if it had a stewardship of creation, “earth care” or other “green” committee that focused on environmental issues.  While relatively few congregations (13%) reported having such a committee, those that do, focus their environmental energy in many ways.  One third of congregations with a committee that focuses on environmental issues celebrated Earth Day in 2010 (36%; compared to 9% overall).   Half are interested in becoming certified as Earth Care congregations (51%; 6%), and three in ten conducted an environmental project to make their facilities more “green” (29%; 5%).  

The full report can be found here.  

Interested in making a difference?  Here are a few places to start:

Energystar.gov/congregations – Download educational and promotional materials that help motivate your congregation

National Council of Churches Eco Justice Programs – This site provides links to funding sources for people who are interested in finding ways to conserve energy but may not have the finances to do so.

CoolCongregations.com – Currently offering a contest to win prizes in categories of energy efficiency, renewable energy, grounds and water conservation, and helping congregants lower household energy use.  Take the challenge! 

 

How can congregations compete with demands of youth sports?

By David Briggs

Talk to pastors about youth sports, and few will not have stories lamenting how some children and their parents in their congregations are missing on Sundays due to a child's softball tournament or softball game.

The 2008 Faith Communities Today survey found school- and sports-related activities, more than driving distance or work-schedule conflicts or other potential obstacles, were the biggest challenge to regular participation in church. More than a third of congregations said it was somewhat or quite a bit of an issue.

In an in-depth study of 16 Protestant congregations, more than half of the pastors interviewed said competition with sports was one of the main reasons fewer people were attending their churches. In focus groups with members, many also identified children's sports activities on Sundays as the main reason more people are missing, researcher Stephen McMullin reported in the current issue of the Review of Religious Research.

The challenge for congregations is how to respond. And it is not an easy one. Say or do nothing about parents who choose youth sports over church and the losses will continue. Draw a line in the sand demanding parents choose one or the other, and many young families will walk away.

One way many congregations have responded is to offer additional services. This gives people with busy schedules, including parents ferrying kids to sporting events, more options to attend.

More than one in five congregations in the 2008-2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey reported starting a new worship service in the past five years.

Many congregations also offer their own sports programs.

Twenty-two percent of congregations in the 2008-2009 survey said they offered sporting activities or teams. In addition, more than half offered other social, recreational, or leisure activities.

This combination may beneficial. In the 2010 Faith Communities Today survey, more than two-thirds of congregations who said sports and fitness programs were a specialty of the congregation reported more than a 10 percent growth in attendance from 2000 to 2010. In contrast, only a third of churches with no athletic programs reported such growth.

“Any time you can include programs that are of interest to people in the community, that is an advantage,” said Cynthia Woolever, research manager of the congregational life survey.

But much more can be done by the church to be a light to its own members and the community, say some scholars and observers.

"The church hasn't thought deeply about this," said John White, director of the Sports Chaplaincy/Ministry Program at Baylor University. "We simply said, 'World, we'll capitulate in how you do sports."

He advocates developing a theology of sports that emphasizes the positive values of athletics, while also criticizing its negative aspects, including unbalanced family lifestyles.

Religious education about athletics should begin at an early age before kids and their parents make decisions about travel teams and other ways they will be challenged to balance sport and faith in their lives, White said.  The church can also partner with other community group that share similar concerns about the excesses of some aspects of youth sports.

In his study of declining congregations, McMullin also visited two rapidly growing churches for comparison purposes. The pastor of one rural Canadian Church with  an average Sunday attendance of 600 is a hockey coach in the community, and encourages people in the congregation to be active in sports organizations.

“So it’s not like we’re going to win against the culture; it’s a reality. So we try to partner with people and help them understand that,” the pastor said.

At the same time, the pastor said he will “challenge our people that when sports and God collide in terms of church, when sports and God collide every Sunday, if sports wins every time you have sent a message to your kids that could damage them spiritually forever. And that you better have God win sometimes. I try to make that balance.”

In deciding how to face an increasingly pervasive culture of sport, the best advice for congregations may be simply to not sit on the sidelines.

 

Key to a spiritually alive church: Support your fellow church members

By David Briggs

My wife and I had just moved to Fairfield County in Connecticut, and were searching for a church. We were impressed when as visitors to an Episcopal congregation, the priest invited my wife to work with other volunteers at a craft fair.

She looked forward to the opportunity to meet people in a new town. Until it was time for lunch, and all of the women from the church working with her went to eat together, leaving only my wife behind to staff the table.

We never went back.

In a religious world that can often seem hierarchical, from clergy leading services to regional and national offices making decisions that impact local churches, the significance of the role played by each person in the pews can often be overlooked.

Yet a growing body of research is showing how worshipers treat one another can have a significant impact on the congregation and the spiritual life and physical health of its members.

In a new study using data from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, researchers found informal support from church members was more associated with spiritual growth than worship service attendance or belonging to formal church groups.

Conversations before services or at church suppers may be even more effective than Bible study groups or Sunday School classes in that they provide give-and-take opportunities with trusted companions that can directly address the spiritual needs of individuals, say researchers Neal Krause of  the University of Michigan and Cynthia Woolever of the US CLS.

Several other studies also uphold the benefits of this type of positive social support within the congregation.

For example, a study of older adults over time found that greater spiritual support appeared to be associated with having fewer doubts about religion. In contrast, older people who encountered more negative interaction with other church members reported having more doubts.

 Those people who have negative experiences with others also are more likely to suppress those doubts, an action associated with less favorable health, researchers Neal Krause and Christopher Ellison of the University of Texas at San Antonio reported in an article on “the doubting process” in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

 In a separate study on self-forgiveness reported in the Review of Religious Research, Krause found results suggesting older adults who were more satisfied with the emotional support they received from church members were more likely to forgive themselves than those who were not satisfied with the support they received.

 At their best, what worshippers say to one another at coffee hour or in the grocery store reflects the prayers they recite during services.

When other church members model messages of love and forgiveness that are at the foundation of a faith’s teachings, it reinforces belief and the value of being part of a congregation, Krause says. If the messages are contradictory, with church members gossiping about or criticizing one another, it can place those beliefs in question.

Amid other pressing concerns such as church finances and programming, congregations need to evaluate how members are expressing their faith in their relationships with one another, Krause advises.

“Are the people in our congregation getting along? Are they supporting one another” are among the questions that need to be asked, he said.

The choices members make when they are together matter, whether it is to offer spiritual support in an environment of trust and mutual caring or even for a group of church friends to decide to go to lunch in two groups so a newcomer will not be left alone at a church fair.

It is in those settings, Krause says, "where the real business of religion takes place.”

 

Egging It On

by Ida Smith-Williams

Regardless of denomination, this coming  Sunday will mark one of the highest attended Sunday worship services nationwide.  According to Jim Davidson, a sociology professor at Purdue, church attendance increases about 25% on Easter.

Keep in mind that there will be lots of new people visiting in your congregation who may not attend any other time of the year. Recognizing and greeting these new people and following up with them after their visit is important. 

Worshipers in a sample of Presbyterian congregations were asked  about what most impressed them  when they first visited their current  congregation and what made them want to come back again.  Their top five answers were:  friendliness of the people; overall worship experience; quality of the sermon; music during worship; and the sense of God’s presence.  For growing churches, worshipers citing a “sense of God’s presence” was not as common  as the personality or style of the minister for their return to the church.

Churches that grew were most likely to recognize their visitors. First-time worshipers were more likely to say they were greeted by people seated near them, by the pastor, and by an usher or other greeter.  

Worshipers attending growing churches for the first time were almost twice as likely to say that they were contacted after their church visit.

Visitors in growing churches were also most likely to be greeted by numerous people.

Easter is an opportunity to grow your church.  Grab those new people and “egg” them on to visit again. 

The role of congregations in reconciling faith and doubt

“Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” - Theologian Paul Tillich

“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” - Gospel of Mark 9:24.

The wounds of the Oklahoma City bombing were still fresh, and the rescue worker quietly, almost apologetically, admitted to a group of churchgoers that he wondered where God was as he stood amid the rubble where so many innocent lives were buried.

Almost immediately, others gathered around the table jumped in to tell the man not to question the sovereignty of God. One minister said he thought the people died for a city and a nation that needed to experience love overcoming evil. A laywoman said that "Satan's worst" was more bombs and more people killed, but that God intervened with quick action by law enforcement.

Not long after, the rescue worker slipped away from the group without a word.

Expressing doubt may be a staple of Scripture, from the Book of Job to the plea of Jesus as he faced his death "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" But it still unsettles many religious people, who fear that it demonstrates a lack of faith.

And that fear, when expressed in judgmental attitudes to others struggling in their own spiritual journey, can alienate churchgoers dealing with doubt, and contribute to problems from loss of social support to depression, research indicates.

In contrast, listening to and supporting others in their moments of doubt can foster a healthy relationship with the divine that enables human beings to talk honestly with God. Many end up with a stronger faith by working through rather than suppressing mysteries such as the deaths of innocents, some scholars say.

What is clear is that those who doubt are not alone.

In a survey of 834 respondents to the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, more than three-quarters of worshipers said they often or sometimes had doubts about the teachings of their faith. The uncertainty was spread across every faith group, with two-thirds of conservative Protestants and more than four-fifths of mainline Protestants expressing at least some doubts.

In the wake of the recent mass murder of children in a Connecticut elementary school, it may come as the no surprise that the problem of evil in a world overseen by a just and loving God is a leading cause of doubt. More than half the respondents to the congregational life survey said the presence of evil caused them to have doubts about their religious faith.

So how does doubt make a difference in the lives of individuals?

The research picture is mixed, with some studies over the past few decades reporting seemingly contradictory results.

On the positive side, studies have associated aspects of religious doubt with principled moral reasoning, reduced prejudice and spiritual well-being, researchers at Indiana Wesleyan University reported in an article on adolescent religious doubt in the Journal of Psychology and Theology. They also noted some studies have linked religious doubt to higher levels of anxiety and depression, low commitment to religion, less social support and greater distrust and intolerance.

When faced with doubt, much of the research does reveal, however, the value of having positive  relationships with others at church.

In one study of older adults conducted in three waves from 2001 to 2007, researchers found that over time, people who receive greater support and attend Bible study groups are more likely to seek spiritual growth when faced with doubt.

 But people who have negative experiences with others are more likely to have doubts about religion. They also are more likely to suppress those doubts, an action associated with less favorable health, researchers Neal Krause and Christopher Ellison of the University of Michigan reported in an article on “the doubting process” in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Churchgoers who encounter conflict and derision when they express doubt may find this “especially painful because it may involve feelings of shame and guilt. Shame and guilt may arise because people may feel as though it is wrong to question fundamental aspects of their faith,” Krause and Ellison note.

In their study on adolescent religious doubt, Indiana Wesleyan researchers said that a process of exploring different ideas and asking basic questions can be seen as a healthy part of psychological development.

Instead of condemning all doubt as unbelief, the researchers suggest parents and adult caregivers in the church affirm young people who doubt, and give them some “elbow room” for exploration.

“Practically speaking, … some adult caregivers in the church will need a more balanced perspective  on religious doubt enabling them to respond to the doctrinal uncertainty, questions, and hesitations of religious youth as opportunities for discussion, exploration, and growth, not only as threats needing to be silenced,” the researchers said.

In other words, doubt not only happens, for many people asking questions of God is an integral part of their spiritual journey.

What churchgoers may want to consider is not how to deliver people from doubt, but how not to be led into the temptation to judge, rather than embrace, their sister or brother on their journey to understanding.

 

Challenge for next pope: Reaching out to Catholic women

By David Briggs

There are two gender gaps in many U.S. congregations.

One gap is the stained-glass ceiling in many churches. While social and cultural changes have allowed women to reach the top in numerous secular arenas, the 2006-2007 National Congregations Study found women lead less than 10 percent of congregations.

The second gap is that women greatly outnumber men in the pews. The 2008-2009 wave of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey found that 61 percent of worshipers were women, the same ratio as in the 2001 survey. Just 2 percent of congregations do not have more women than men.

As researcher Cynthia Woolever has pointed out, the imbalance is not due to the fact that women live longer than men. It shows up in every age group, with women making up 61 percent of worshipers ages 45 to 64, 60 percent of those ages 25 to 44 and 57 percent of people ages 15 to 24.  

And women in many other ways are more active in their faith lives. Women are more likely than men to pray daily and say religion is very important in their lives, according to the Pew Forum’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.

But there are signs the second gap may be fraying.

As U.S. Catholics await the election of a new pope, one area of concern is new evidence that non-Hispanic women are no longer so different from men in their spiritual practices.

In 1987, more than half of Catholic women reported attending Catholic Mass weekly, compared to 38 percent of men. By 2011, the gender gap was gone, University of New Hampshire sociologist Michele Dillon reported at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. She used data from the American Catholic Laity Project, a national survey taken every six years since 1987.

And, for the first time in the 2011 survey, women were less likely than men to say the Catholic Church was among the most important parts of their lives. They also were less likely to declare, “I would never leave the Catholic church.”

If tension over women’s exclusion from leadership roles is in part driving the diminishing gender gap, it is unlikely that issue will be resolved soon. None of the candidates mentioned as possibilities for the papacy would be expected to allow women priests.

What do Catholic worshipers think about that topic?

In the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, 43 percent of Catholics said they support the ordination of women, and 22 percent said they were unsure of where they stood. Just one-third opposed women priests.

At the same time, most Catholics in the pews indicated they would be OK if their next minister was a woman. Fifty-six percent said they would be accepting or very accepting of a woman leader, while just 14 percent said they would be “not at all accepting.”

Something for the next pope to think about?