The New Front of Religion in Young America

With this blog post, I want to identify some thoughts I had, how the transformation of religion in America is leading to massive mega-churches. Churches with booming numbers with booming believers as they lead to a new face and front of religion in the US.
During this past week, glazing my eyes over at the sight of a computer monitor, I decided to read those two articles related to our paper due Friday. The article that most intrigued me was from the NY times, titled "The Soul of the New Exurb," written by Jonathan Mahler. This article highlights these growing mega churches in the US signifying the transformation, and increase of religious practices in booming cities among the young, married, white, middle-class conservative demographics in our country. The article was referring specifically to Surprise, AZ, a thriving town, thriving on a prosperous housing market, leading to a populous developing city. With this attraction for cheaper middle class homes in a thriving area for middle class couples, these conservative couples are being drawn to the city, increasing the population significantly. With this influx of a specific demographic, religious mega-churches have a great opportunity to recruit these new people who want to know more about the community, and the church. Hence, the advent of Radiant Church, founded in Surprise, AZ, recruiting these exact people I'm referring to, leading to the mass popularity the church has today.
The founder of Radiant church, Lee McFarland, saw an opportunity to build a successful church. When he came to Surprise to pursue this idea, McFarland came to a ''a radically 'un-churched' area.'' The article indicates that when he started to build this church he started to appeal to these families by sending out flyer's that attracted them, inviting them to Radiant. He needed a new modern approach to religion, to attract new members, instead on the traditional methods of church going. He says, ''You think church is boring and judgmental, and that all they want is your money?'' the flyer asked. ''At Radiant you'll hear a rockin' band and a positive, relevant message. Come as you are. We won't beg for your money. Your kids will love it!'' The church took of from there, the article informs, with its first Sunday meeting with 147 members, to its thousands of members steadily growing ever since. These religious practices appeal to this young front of America. The ways of practices, and the values presented at Radiant Church directly influence and target these conservative families, usually married and middle class, as the article suggests. Surprise, AZ voted in majority for Bush in the 2004 elections over John Kerry, if that doesn't suggest something, I don't know what does. This is a prime example of a mega-church in my opinion that is the new face, the new front of religion and politics in America. These churches populations are booming, the populations of the surrounding cities are booming, thus leading to an influx in church goers and recruiters in that city!
In the text, ''The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith,'' Alan Wolfe, writes that ''American faith has met American culture...and American culture has triumphed.'' The Radiant church appears to embody this claim, as well as my point for this post embodies this idea, that the massive front of American culture greatly involves American faith within it, as seen by the massive growing popularity of the Mega-church Radiant. 
The article identifies McFarland's long-term plan for his congregates at Radiant, which "involves much more than playing video games and eating dough nuts. He says that his hope -- his expectation, really -- is that casual worshipers will gradually immerse themselves in Radiants many Christ-based programs, from financial planning to parenthood and education, until they have eventually incorporated Christian values into every aspect of their lives." This furthers the notion that mega churches are the new American cultural front in terms of religious views, and that they hope to incorporate these religious views within peoples day to day lives in American culture. This highlights this root for modern American religion in our modern times.
To conclude my point, this mega church phenomenon is the new face of American mass religion. The article also says, " It's (Referring to Surprise) an attractive price (Homes)  for many families who are either trying to make the move into the middle class...which explains why the typical Surprise resident, as in many fast-growing exurbs, is a young, white, married couple of modest means."
This is my point here, this is the young generation making new families, this is the new face of America. This new front of American faith, which is mainly a conservative group in Surprise, AZ. The groups flocks to the community, attracting to the mega church there, and thus adding to the booming of the churches, therefore leading to this massive new front of prominent American religion in modern American culture. To me this exurban mega church, as well as many others, represents the future of Christianity in this country.

Works Cited:

Mahler, Jonathan. "The Soul of the New Exurb." The New York Times. March 17, 2005.

Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith. New York: Free Press, 2003.

YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnWg4wvwxpI


For some video for thought, here is a you tube video on a 20/20 investigation discussing the "possible rip-offs" or fallacies in these mega churches as the booming new front of American religion.