Why are Men not in Church?

Possible Reasons Why Men Are Not In Church

As I thought on how to answer the topic, why are men in Barbados not really going to church? A lot of other questions streamed into my mind such as is it my local church that I am looking at? Is it all churches across Barbados? Are there other factors such as:

• There are more women than men on earth? 
• Is it that women are more religious than men? 
• Is it because the Church caters to women more than men?

 I looked online to see what I can gather and based on “The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World” by Pew Research Center, the studies seem to suggest that women are generally more religious than men, especially among Christians. Also,  “religious traditions and workforce participation, play an important role in shaping the religious gender gap.” 

There are many issues online as to why men are not coming and even the study itself doesn’t give a fully definitive answer to the question. However, the study gives possible suggestions as to why. Therefore, I looked at the factors that I observe around Barbados, although I currently do not have the statistics to back this up.  Regarding Men’s ministry within the Church, some do function, but some don’t, and we do the same order of service but when it comes to the range of activities and retreats, then the women do well on this. Persons who have jobs are more likely to miss out on the sessions due to timing considerations across both genders. 

Based on my observation having attended some of the churches that are charismatic in nature across Barbados, typically you see women leading in worship, in leadership doing almost everything and the songs and worship are very emotional and there is not much time for logic and reasoning. Then there is the dreaded ‘church hurt’ that could possibly be the factor for men. 

In Barbados, demographics and such statistics in the Church do not matter as much. We just run a service, hallelujah, amen, and go home. Without much statistical knowledge of who is making up the membership of the church in some cases. When was the last time I heard a church do a census on their body or even if the pastor would sit down with members and assess where they are at? Although some churches may do that, the majority just run services without much consideration about the needs of the membership, especially without due regard for their gender.

If the church is like a hospital like I went to today for my mother, then the tracking of information is necessary to reflect that you can proceed to care for the person from a medical point of view, thus it should be the same in spiritual matters as well. Most of our men today are not at church but outside our society as the whole are becoming godless and there are “fish” on the hook waiting to be reeled in but we have got to do the cleaning once they come in. Yes, it is laborious and messy but it has to be done, or else the fish will be no good. To this end we are not going to get the men if we don’t have something to offer them when they come in and see that, there is no men’s ministry, there is no skill training, there is no action.

There is the factor that person’s view the church as a place of hypocrisy and even insensitivity as pastors spiritually/emotionally  ‘beat up’  the men in their sermons while living a double standard life themselves. Most importantly, another study by Lifeway Research Survey, suggests that church members seem divisive, judgmental, and hypocritical. The world is becoming more progressive, and some men do not even grace a Sunday school lesson.  With persons in Barbados, looking at Christianity on the whole as being Eurocentric and out of touch with Afrocentric needs.

Other factors could also include the onslaught from those with an atheistic agenda, whereas in schools and the world at large,  you cannot even quote the Bible in some places without facing jail time. Although this has not occurred in Barbados yet, we may soon progress to this degree if we are not careful to address the issues in the Church and the nation.

Perhaps, I must look at this question differently, what is the church? “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV. If the question is concerned with persons coming into the building that we call the church, then the reasons above listed would suffice. If we look at the Church as each member being responsible for each other and being an encouragement, having mentorship, and biblical discussion then that is where the biblical men would be. Even the person who does not know God will at some point bring up the Bible and that is how we can win the men, by being authentic and not bound to a building but to be committed to building community. In Barbados, one of the major reasons why you may see a lot of men going to the Masonic lodge for example is the brotherhood, if I wanted to join by now, I would have done so with the guarantee of a permanent good job. Does the Church see the mission that includes helping a man to get jobs and grow businesses? Are we only practicing the faith at the place where we all assemble? We do need a place to assemble as an organization would to function but where the men are to be found in the workplaces, streets, supermarkets. Why not implement programs within places where men would gather like football, rallies, or have work-based fellowships around things that interest men?

In conclusion, where are the men not in the Church? Maybe they are in rum shops since for every two churches you will see a bar nearby. They have camaraderie and a sense of brotherhood in the bar mates that they hang out with routinely.  The bartender is their sort of counselor who is non-judgemental and accepting. The solution would be to go where they are and have something to offer them when they come to the building we so desperately want them to attend every day. Jesus sure did and His twelve disciples changed the world.