In modern Western culture we've killed God and I think we're learning what the consequences of that mean.
Past a certain point, if a religion wants to survive, it must renew itself, otherwise it risks becoming irrelevant.
I bet there would be more people in church if the pastor said: hey, forget about the Bible, forget about the angry, prideful and violent "man in the sky" of the old testament. Forget about the old laws. Forget about the Pope.
Instead, go within. You don't even have to pray or bow down to anybody. Just be silent and still your mind. Jesus told us that the "kingdom of heaven" is within us, so that's what we going to explore today. And if you don't believe in Jesus, then that's cool, too. Let's go beyond beliefs and dogma and simply connect with ourselves and be present in the moment.
It generally doesn't work, because you can be present in the moment playing golf or sleeping in much more easily. if you try and make a chess club essentially without chess, why bother?
When Jesus spoke about churches (ekklesia), he wasn't referring to a building, an organization or leadership structure or rules. He did not speak about "sunday school", singing songs, or any or that.
He was talking about a spontaneous gathering of people who felt "called out of the world to follow him and serve God". It's not like he told his disciples to go ahead and start this "Christian" religion and build the buildings that people would go to every Sunday like clock work.
We are the product of culture and memories. A lot of people have a negative association with religion for a lot of different reasons, but that doesn't mean these people are not spiritual and would not appreciate meeting other like-minded individuals in a non-judgmental environment.
Churches are not drawing people in, not even their prime focus group. Despite indoctrinating kids from the crib.
The few mega churches that actually work, are obvious scams. Jordan Peterson doesn't go to church because he doesn't feel like the preacher actually believes in jesus.
There is something deeply fucked up within Christianity that makes it difficult to sell. I can't put my finger to it.
Atheists and agnostics don't get together every week to talk about God not existing.
There are meetup groups and such now but usually there is some common interest, activity, etc. which is a higher barrier to entry than "I'll come and say we mostly believe in the same thing that neither of us can prove."
A church community does have the unique characteristic that anyone can participate regardless of age, personality, or talent.
Many churches still have little to no female clergy. Some have dress codes, some don't. And what you have to choose from depends on where you live: They all might be pretty conservative.
Your barrier of entry is set too low. It isn't that we say we mostly believe in the same thing: It is that you must act like you believe it and not be any of these sorts of people. If you don't fit in the mold, you can't be yourself here. This makes it a bit difficult to form bonds with others if you aren't in their mold.