Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
Home> Volumes> Volume CHR Vol.62> Article
Research Article

An Analysis of the Megachurches and Its Association with the Rise of the 'Nones' in the USA

Yu ZhuSt.Mary's University*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Religion, as a part of human culture, continues to permeate and influence the lives of human beings. Similarly, the social transformations and growth that people witness also act in the atmosphere of religion. This article takes the contemporary emerging religious phenomenon of the ‘Megachurches’ in the United States as the research object, and attempts to analyse the changes or tendencies in the field of religion that are taking place in today's society in a multicultural setting, and how a modern religion has been born in response to the age, together with the shedding of and confrontation with the previous religious traditions. A notable feature of the new contemporary religions that this article explores through a study and critique of the megachurches is the ‘secularisation of religions’. It is argued that the secularisation of religions is an indication of their development in line with the times and in turn characterises the cultural context of the ‘weakening of religious identity’. This is an essential factor in the birth of contemporary religions and in the inevitable contradictions that arise between them and traditional religions.

Keywords: Megachurches; contemporary religions; secularisation; the ‘nones’ in America
Published: December 12, 2024
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.18137
Volume: CHR Vol.62
pp. 21-26
Download PDF

References

  1. Hartford Seminary, Hartford Institute for Religion Research. (2020) Megachurch Definition. http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/definition.html.
  2. Robinson, E. (2019) Christianity and the Mega Church: Soul Winning or Competitive Business. Christian Faith Publishing, Meadville.
  3. Martí, G., Mulder, M.T. (2020) Capital and the Cathedral: Robert H. Schuller's Continual Fundraising for Church Growth. Religion and American Culture, 30: 63-107.
  4. Grizzard, K.E. (2020) The Influence of Charismatic Worship Forms in the Local Evangelical Church in the 21st Century in the United States. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2670.
  5. Hellemans, S. (2012) Tracking the New Shape of the Catholic Church in the West. In: S Hellemans & JBM Wissink (Eds), Towards a New Catholic Church in Advanced Modernity. LIT Verlag, Münster, pp. 19-50.
  6. Thumma, S., Travis, D. (2007) Beyond megachurch myths: What we can learn from America’s largest churches. CA: Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
  7. Wuthnow, R. (2009) Boundless faith: The global outreach of american churches. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  8. Rah, S.C. (2009) The next evangelicalism: Freeing the church from western cultural captivity. IVP Books, Downers Grove, Ill.
  9. Letamora. E.J. (2019) Financial management in some Botswana Pentecostal Churches. https://ubrisa.ub.bw/handle/10311/2027.
  10. Canda, E.R., Furman, L.D. and Canda, H.-J. (2019) Spiritual diversity in social work practice the heart of helping. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford u.a.
  11. Hirschman, C. (2004) The Role of Religion in the Origins and Adaptation of Immigrant Groups in the United States. The International Migration Review, 38: 1206–1233.
  12. Goh, R.B. (2011) Market theory, market theology : The business of the church in the city. Postsecular Cities : Space, Theory and Practice.
  13. Montague, J. (2013) The Law and Financial Transparency in Churches: Reconsidering the Form 990 Exemption. Cardozo Law Review, 35: 203-265.
  14. White, S.C. (2009) Internal Controls and Regulation of the Not-For-Profit Sector: Increasing Transparency for Churches. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2155.
  15. Alston, E.B. (2017) Corporatization of the Church Compromises Christian's Priorities, Purpose, and Practices. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/1592.
  16. Yahanpath, N., Pacheco, P. and Burns, E. A. (2017) Discussing a balanced scorecard for one local independent New Zealand church. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 15:1-19.
  17. Zuckerman, P., Galen, L.W. and Pasquale, F.L. (2016) The nonreligious: Understanding secular people and Societies. Oxford University Press, New York.
  18. Burge, R. P. (2021) The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going. Minneapolis, Fortress Press.
  19. Stark, R. (2023) The triumph of faith: Why the world is more religious than ever. Simon and Schuster, New York.
  20. McClay, W.M. (2001) Two concepts of secularism. Journal of Policy History, 13: 47–72.
  21. Turner, B.S. (2016) Religion and modern society: Citizenship, secularisation, and the State. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.