Forty-four percent of people say that religion does more good than harm, while 19 percent said it does more harm than good for the U.S. An additional 35 percent said it does equal amounts of good and harm.

Since 2014, Americans have become less supportive of religious institutions across the board. The number of Americans who expressed a positive view of religious institutions dropped from 63 percent in 2014 to 51 percent in 2024.

There is less and less respect for the institutional church in our world at this time. There are many reasons and excuses why this is so. But I believe that the institutional church represents “holy ground” and that we need to know the reasons why this is important for us.. Come Sunday and let us appreciate and honor the places where we worship.