Why do people give up on church?

Christians spend an awful lot of time thinking about how and why people join the church. But we rarely consider the opposite – all of those who leave. Every year, an entirely uncounted number of people give up on going to church. Some continue to believe and practice faith outside a worshipping community, others abandon Christianity entirely. Who are these people? What motivates them? Should churches change to become more porous or accepting of those deconstructing or considering quitting? And what, if anything, can churches do to try and either stop such people leaving or encourage those who have left back into the fold? Guests this week: • Katie Cross, lecturer in practical theology at Aberdeen University (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/people/profiles/k.cross#about) • Robin Stockitt, retired Anglican vicar, author of Leaving Church (https://grovebooks.co.uk/product/p-162-leaving-church-what-can-we-learn-from-those-who-are-done-with-church-2020/) • Olivia Jackson, author of Uncertain: A collective memoir of deconstructing faith (https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334063636/uncertain) Sign up to Tim’s church news Substack newsletter The Critical Friend here: https://tswyatt.substack.com/