Saying "Umm" to Church

For the past decade a bunch of research has been done on groups that have come to be known as "nones" and "dones".

Nones are people who have no religious affiliation, and never have even as children. Dones are those who have decided to walk away from organized religion (and often faith in general). Sociologists have been noticing that the number of nones and dones has been growing at higher rates that ever before - and in response many people in the Christian world have tried to figure out what to do about this trend.

More recently Mike Moore wrote an article for Christianity Today, which has been getting some attention, discussing what he calls the "Rise of the Umms". The Umms, in contrast to nones and dones, are "church-adjacent Christians [who] want to return to a local [community]—but they feel stuck."

And they have different reasons for feeling stuck. Some had their rhythms thrown off by the pandemic and are struggling to get back in the habit. Some have been hurt by the church or just generally turned off by the church due to witnessing racism, sexism, or other harms it has done. Others are struggling too much with experiences of suffering or poor mental health (exacerbated by the pandemic) to make the effort to return. And still others just feel too disconnected from their congregation after 2 years of online church and isolation to care to return.

The article isn't perfect, but someone putting words to this general phenomenon really went straight to my heart. As someone in ministry - and just as a general Jesus-follower - I have noticed the rise of the "umms" and I feel it in my bones. I notice it every Sunday morning. I think about the real people I haven't seen in over 2 years. I think about close friends I have who have been hurt by the church.

Don't get me wrong: I don't say any of this with judgement. I totally understand why people becomes umms or dones. But it's also still something I grieve.

For more reflection on this article check out these two podcast episodes that covered it:

Theology on Mission (season 7 episode 12) - "The Rise of the Umms"
In Faith and Doubt (April 12, 2022) - "Wrestling with Going Back to a Local Church"