Intrinsic Religion

Being a pastor, or any kind of church leader for that matter, is a tough job (which I know from 18 years experience). And in light of the ongoing effects of COVID (emotional, physical, and otherwise), I've continued to ponder the future of the church in America. 

This has led me to consider the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic religious life (or in more technical terms, "religiosity"). 

What has led me to this? I've been asked recently to find resources in preparation for a podcast interview on whether scientific research backs up the idea that faith in God (or religion, more generally) is good for us.

From what I'm learning it's about how we approach our faith, or in the literature, our "religion."

Extrinsic or intrinsic religion?

The first, intrinsic religiosity, you do because you want to, and the second, extrinsic religiosity, because you're trying to please others. (By the way, I think this is what a lot of people are getting at with the "spiritual, but not religious" moniker.)

For a bit more clarity, I'll quote the article "Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Religiosity" that I recently read:

"The intrinsically religious see religion as valuable unto itself.  Instead of religion serving another motivation, religion provides the master motivation.

The extrinsically religious go to church with another end in mind (although likely subconscious). It may be making that new business connection or finding a spouse.  Or it could be psychological security, solace or self-justification."

Some mighty powerful words from the God-Man

If this sounds like Jesus and the Pharisees in the Gospels, it should. 

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth." Matthew 23:27

Jesus is en fuego in this passage--he really undoes the "Jesus meek and mild" thing. This topic must have meant something to him. And so it should to us. (Because it's so good, you might want to read all of Matthew 23.)

Something for the church today

So far I've presented the conclusion from the research that we need to be together. But what do we do in light of the current pandemic?

At some point, we are going to emerge from COVID-19 protocols, and as I've argued before, we're not "going back to church" as a culture. That ship has sailed. 

And yet... We do know that, overall, religious life is good for us. I'd be happy to use Christian "spirituality," if that lands better, but just remember that it's the social connections, the "sociality," involved in our lives that makes church so potent for psychological and physical health.

So, we'd better figure out a way to keep the connections, but also grow in our vision for God.

A coda: notes on a way forward

My solution in brief: Outsource the teaching, insource the discussion and hang out. 

In other words, from the scientific research the most important contributions the church can offer is physical co-presence, i.e., being together in the same room. Yes, virtual community can give us something, but we are designed to be together. So, what if not worried less about the content we deliver and let other worldclass thought leaders do that via YouTube et al., while we create more intimate places for discussion? Or at least shoot for 50-50? 

When the Church is a Gathering, Not a Building

"I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live" 

God declares this in Ezekiel 37 where our Creator causes dry, dead bones to come to life. I love this vision, and it animates this week's post because we're living in a time of COVID-19 dry bones, where church leaders might feel like they're in the midst more of death than of life. Even as we celebration Jesus's Resurrection, which is just around the corner...

Last week I ended here: As we look to the days when congregations can meet again in person, I believe there can still be hope if churches are willing to change. Maybe these dry bones yet will find new life. I think there's hope, even if we feel like the women, at the Cross, sobbing over the death of Jesus. As the preacher once proclaimed, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’!”

I move then the two suggestions in the previous post. First, there is hope for churches that integrate technology into their worship services. The key word here is integrate: This doesn’t mean simply sticking one camera on a tripod and filming what’s always been

done. I'll let the meme to the right do the heavy lifting on this one. 

One of the things I did this week was to find online links for a "virtual worship service site visit" assignment for the college class I teach on western religions. The research was was surprisingly edifying. For one thing, I pointed my students to the gorgeous livestream of Washington DC's National Cathedral online and also found a very hip and engaging online worship service through Hillsong San Francisco (no surprise about the hipness). Moreover, I'm excited by what I see already with worship leaders using montages of how people are spending their stay-at-home time and sharing those in virtual worship, like my pastor and friend Jeff Smith does at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Houston. 


My second point, however, might be even more important: There is hope for churches that emphasize relationships. I write this out of deep concern not for what we’re facing right now, but how we can use it to change the church for the better in the future. You might ask, How Body of Christ can withstand the coronavirus and actually become stronger? Too many worship services don’t help congregants connect with one another,

and it becomes a place where we simply see the backs of people’s graying and/or balding heads. 

I started last week by underlining the growing reality of religious "nones," those who no longer affiliate with a church or any other religious institution. On a Facebook post I was asked something like, What is the church's responsibility for an exodus from its pews? I thought it was partly implied in this statement from last: "Frankly, [the nones] found that it wasn’t worth their time to attend worship services." 

I don't want to sound too judgmental on my friends who are pastors! Still, I think many churches haven't lived into the relationships, the koinonia, that's part of the true meaning of "church" as the ecclesia, the gathering. We look at the back of people's heads during the worship service, and often don't do much to go beyond that. If church, as a gathering, will flourish when stay-at-home orders are lifted, we need to lean into the deep need we have for relationships.

(As a result of last week’s post, I’ve been asked if smaller communities may have an advantage. I don’t think they don't have a lock on this, but may have an advantage because it's more natural to have connections when you know everyone in the room. The key is whether relationships are highlighted.)


I believe the Church has a superpower (or perhaps, a gift directly from God's Spirit): the ability to unleash the awesome power of human relationality. And when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, and we can be in the same room, let’s exploit that.

I'll close with this, which is in fact the power of the Risen Christ among us when we come together:

We need to see the church as a gathering and not a building. The coronavirus outbreak is reminding us that of that particular truth.