The “He Gets Us” commercials today during the Super Bowl were not new to me. I’ve seen them many times watching football recently. They are a soft spin on Jesus. A refreshing change to the fire and brimstone approach taken by so many Christian churches, particularly those of the evangelical bent.
Church attendance has been declining across the board in recent years in survey after survey. These ads are part of a new effort to correct that problem by rebranding what Christianity is all about.
Of course, not everyone sees the declining membership in Christian churches as a problem. Some people are actually relishing this trend as there is a backlash of sorts to the Christian nationalism that pervades the Republican Party. More and more people are just answering “none of the above” when asked survey questions about their religious affiliation.
Back to the ad campaign though. This is some expensive advertising. But will it put people back into the church pews?
I compare this kind of advertising to the military strategy of softening up the enemy before an attack by the infantry. It has an impact, though only as a first step in trying to win a battle.
I admit I kind of like the Jesus ads. A kinder and gentler Christianity if you will. Yet I find it hard to believe that it is the goal of this campaign given that it’s funded in part by the family who owns Hobby Lobby, a business that is in lock step with the religious right. Follow the money they say. Not surprisingly, these ads over the last months have not encouraged me to join any church.
I’m mostly curious what comes next in this “crusade” to increase church attendance, and more specifically, the increased membership that would translate into a revenue stream. Enthusiastic members are needed by all organizations, and especially churches because weekly giving is such a big part of what keeps them afloat.
Will evangelicals now storm the village squares, beaches and wherever else people congregate to recruit new members? Certainly not into the Christian congregations, though maybe they should start there. It might cut their losses before they move on to other souls in need of salvation. Not that they need my political advice. They do seem to be doing well on their own.
Whatever the next step is, what will people think when their softer, gentle, and loving Jesus brushes up against up the right’s penchant for power, racism, and white supremacy found in churches? That agenda is part of why people are fleeing churches in the first place.
If people do not find a kinder and gentler church, they may continue to wander in the no man’s land between seeking a spiritual path and the reality of the political, power grabbing side of the churches.
All organizations have beliefs, well defined or not, which motivate people to join or get reengaged. As to Christian churches, time will tell if the “Jesus Gets Us” does either.
Dan Stuhlsatz, a retired professor religion and sociology, a colleague and friend, recently weighed in on this point in an e-mail to me.
”My predictions re: this latest evangelical crusade follows from the question of how do they maximize recruitment without the abortion issue as their battle flag. I think that they have exhausted that issue as a means of recruiting religious “independents” — potential recruits who lack their religious fervor. And I can’t think of another, equally useful “call to arms”. And, just maybe . . . their naked true identity will become exposed without the cover of a truly polarizing issue.”
Bob Smietana, national reporter for Religion News Service, in an interview with NPR, says:
“the campaign is attempting to appeal to groups that may have felt excluded or repelled by the church in recent years, like members of the LGBTQ community, different races and ethnicities, those who lean more liberal politically, or people who have kept up with scandals of abuse.”
I don’t see this campaign making an iota of difference to these groups.
Mr. Smietana added that “I think spending that much money, again, is a kind of admission on their part that there’s a problem. And, you know, there is a problem for organized religion in America. It’s declining, congregations are declining.”
In a tribute to football on the day of the Super Bowl, it’s a “Hail Mary pass”. A desperate $1 billion dollar gamble to motivate the none-of-the-above, no church people to join the Christian soldiers marching off to war. Hopefully, in a kinder and gentler way.
Ken Grotewiel writes for the publication Our Sacred Democracy on Medium and is a Founding Member of the None of the Above Society.
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