Why do some people not go to church every Sunday, but consider themselves VERY religious?

Tanya, I see two different aspects to your question, or two ways to read your question.

At first I thought that you were referring to people that have become disenchanted with organized religion in general and have decided to follow their spiritual goals independently from organized religion. Such people are simply looking for what spiritual input they can find that feels right to them and haven't found it in any of the churches they have seen. So they develop an attitude that been religious or worshipful can be best served with your own study, prayers, meditation, communing with nature or some other form of personal worship.

Then there are those that simply wandered out of the path, became inactive, for one reason or another. They are entirely different. Perhaps work schedules pulled them away, or moving to a new location and church was no longer convenient, or perhaps they were hurt by someone and so didn't feel like going for a while until they gained the habit of not going. These people still feel in their hearts that they belong and still proclaim their faith, but just don't have the priority to fit church into their schedule any more.

For the second group, the lack of attendance will ultimately weaken their spirituality and their faith will diminish and eventually be lost.

The first group can probably maintain themselves longer because they have an inner drive or faith that smolders and needs only to be fed by the right message to become a bright flame again.

The second group can only become stronger if they gain some inner faith that will turn them into a group #1 person or if they finally get over whatever turned them off in the first place and go back to the trough of church and get spiritually fed again.

For most people, weekly church attendance in necessary to maintain our inner spirituality. We need constant reminding of how we should conduct ourselves to become what we were intended to be.

All of the above is dependent upon getting the right message from the right source. If the wayward person tries to come back and all they get is the same message that drove them away in the first place, then they will leave again and probably not come back. So getting the right message to the wayward people, those not attending, is essential to both groups.

I can understand the motivations of both groups and know that the right message will cure the malaise, apathy or ennui coming from both sides.

I never attend Sunday services but I love Jesus very much and am actively trying to do all that I can to follow him and build his kingdom. I attend a house church but if there wasn't one in town I would not attend a traditional service. I don't believe that they serve the body very well at all. In fact I think that a lot of churches do a disservice to the kingdom by encouraging passive spectators rather than active participants.

Some people just respect Jesus. They aren't really interested in giving up all that they are for him. Going to services just seems to hard for them. That seems lame to me. While I don't attend services out of principle, I think that I'm a minority. Most people just don't understand what a faithful Christian life means. They're disenfranchised by traditional churches but have not committed to finding an alternative.

I was brought up just like you, in that we went to church every sunday whether we felt like it or not. I attend church but not as often as I once did. I think the reason is that I consider myself more Spiritual than Religious at this point in my life.

I love going to church but do not feel guilty if I miss a sunday service. God understands us and what we need at any given time. Sometimes it's nice to stay quietly at home and do my praying there instead.

I don't know much about Baptist or Methodist doctrines. But I do think it's more important to be close to God than it is to never miss a church service.

Anyway, that's just my experience on this one....Blessings!

I think it's a matter of semantics really and definition. What does being "Religious" or "spiritual" mean to you? TO me someone who is "religious" tends to be typically CHURCH GOING but someone who is spiritual does not necessarily imply a church goer.

To me spirituality is far deeper and more important than being RELIGIOUS. A truly spiritually minded person has the right intent and HEART, implies sincerity and wisdom, personal relationship with the Lord, true, pure in heart, genuine. Whereas in my mind a religious person is just that RELIGIOUS - they talk the talk but don't often WALK THE WALK of a truly SPIRITUAL person. BUT see, that's just my perspective on the word(s).

Going to church every Sunday is not always terribly important to people nor is it terribly stressed in ALL denominations or churches. To me NOT going to church on Sunday would just be implausible and not even acceptable to me! SUNDAY is about church, worship, fellowship, reverence and remembrance of God and His Holy Day - but I've seen that to ALL Christians this is not the case. I don't judge them for their view of it either - but the DIFFERENCE is dramatic between those who DO and those who DO NOT emphasize Sunday Church going.

I think there may be two (at least) possible reasons

- semantics - their definition of 'religion' may not entail attending any specific meetings

-and in some sects of christianity, there is the belief that "God's power' is inately manifest within the person/individual without having to follow a specific line of authority (for example the way Aaron received the priesthood).

to me, either line of thought eliminates the necessity of church attendance and so it's relative importance.

My dad told me "going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in the garage makes you a car". I've met some of the most religious and spiritual people who rarely or never attend church services and I've met some of the biggest hypocrites who act like their world would come tumbling down if they missed a week. One of my favorites is the one who insisted she needed Sundays off to attend church, openly scoffed those who "worked on the Sabbath" and bragged about her affairs with married men.

the denomination or religious genre doesn't matter. Faith comes from within.

"The Kingdom of God is within you..." You don't have to be a christian to take those words to heart. A person can be very religious/spiritual without setting foot in a church/temple/mosque ect ect...

I dont go to church every week mainly because it is 40 minutes away and sometimes i just want to hang out with my husband(he is agnostic) instead. If you ask Jesus to forgive you and tell Him your reasons...He will work with ya. I am religious but I dont pretend to be perfect or pretend to know everything in the Bible. I just know He is real.

Claiming to be a Christian and not going to church is like claiming to be an athlete and not going to the gym.

I think it's a form of rebellion against the authority of God, personally - or an outward demonstration of an inner turmoil thru lack of self-worth, past mistakes, etc.