{"id":301929,"date":"2019-09-08T18:18:32","date_gmt":"2019-09-08T22:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=301929"},"modified":"2019-09-08T18:18:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-08T22:18:32","slug":"is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Leave it to The New York Times<\/a><\/strong> to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional:<\/p>\n

\n

Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at Rutgers Presbyterian Church. But much of the time, so are Roman Catholics and Jews, as well as a smattering of people who consider themselves vaguely spiritual. Valerie Oltarsh-McCarthy, who sat among the congregation listening to a Sunday sermon on the perils of genetically modified vegetables, is, in fact, an atheist.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I never thought would happen,\u201d she said of the bond she has forged with the church\u2019s community, if not the tenets of its faith. She was drawn to the church, she said, by \u201csomething in the spirit of Rutgers and something in the spirit of the outside world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katharine Butler, an artist, was lured into Rutgers when she walked by\u00a0a sandwich board on the street advertising its environmental activism. Soon, she was involved in more traditional aspects of the church, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m doing this, singing away and all the Jesus-y stuff,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was wonderful to find a place larger than me, that\u2019s involved in that and in the community and being of service. It\u2019s nice to find a real community like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typically, the connective tissue of any congregation is an embrace of a shared\u00a0faith.<\/p>\n

Yet Rutgers, a relatively small church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, has rejected that. Sharing a belief in God\u00a0\u2014 any God at all \u2014 isn\u2019t necessary. Instead, the community there has been cobbled together by a different code of convictions, pulled in by social justice efforts, activism against climate change, meal programs for the homeless and a\u00a0task force to help refugee families<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Houses of worship \u2014 including Christian churches from a range of denominations, as well as synagogues \u2014 have positioned themselves as potent forces on progressive issues, promoting activism on social justice causes and inviting in the L.G.B.T.Q. community. But religious scholars said that Rutgers was reaching a new frontier where its social agenda in some ways overshadowed its religious one.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Read more.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is place where people wear buttons identifying their gender, where they pray variations of The Lord\u2019s Prayer using inclusive language, and where one of the members exclaims: \u201cThere\u2019s very little moralizing or the stuff that turned me off when I was younger.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leave it to The New York Times to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional: Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at Rutgers Presbyterian Church. But much of the time, so are Roman Catholics and Jews, as well as a smattering of people who consider themselves vaguely spiritual. Valerie Oltarsh-McCarthy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":301932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,49],"tags":[624,12735],"class_list":["post-301929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ripped-from-the-headlines","category-this-that","tag-new-york","tag-presbyterian"],"yoast_head":"\nIs this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leave it to The New York Times to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional: Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leave it to The New York Times to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional: Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-08T22:18:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/56\/2019\/09\/hudson-hintze-vpxeE7s-my4-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/\",\"name\":\"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-08T22:18:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-08T22:18:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\"},\"description\":\"Leave it to The New York Times to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional: Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\",\"name\":\"The Deacon's Bench\",\"description\":\"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\",\"name\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?","description":"Leave it to The New York Times to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional: Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?","og_description":"Leave it to The New York Times to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional: Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2019-09-08T22:18:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/56\/2019\/09\/hudson-hintze-vpxeE7s-my4-unsplash.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Deacon Greg Kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deacon Greg Kandra","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/","name":"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-09-08T22:18:32+00:00","dateModified":"2019-09-08T22:18:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970"},"description":"Leave it to The New York Times to find a church in Manhattan where belief in God is optional: Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/09\/is-this-what-church-looks-like-in-a-post-christian-world\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is this what church looks like in a post-Christian world?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/","name":"The Deacon's Bench","description":"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970","name":"Deacon Greg Kandra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Deacon Greg Kandra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}