Back in the ’50s Pete Seeger wrote & recorded the song, “Where have all the flowers gone?” (later made famous by Peter, Paul & Mary.) I have adapted that phrase to the report just released by the Pew Forum. The difference is, instead of “flowers,” we should be asking where have all the PEOPLE gone?

The report states that “44% of Americans now profess a religious affiliation that is different from the religion in which they were raised.” Further, “16.1% of adults say they are unaffiliated” — which is 8.8% more than say they were unaffiliated as a child. Put more distinctly, “12.7% of the adult population… [say that they] were raised in a particular faith but have since become unaffiliated with any religious group.”

All of this raises a great many questions for those of us in church leadership:

• What has changed in the past generation that has “turned people off”?
• Where are these people turning for spiritual guidance and support?
• What can we do to reverse this trend?
• What are some of the things that may help retain people today?

There are likely many other questions that you have. Why not add a comment to this post with your question(s) and possible ideas / answers.