https://www.npr.org/2023/07/14/1187460517/megachurches-growing-liquid-church
All the fear mongering about "Madrasas recruiting jihadists..." and the constant harping about "XYZ wanting to institute Sharia law in the US!" is really starting to concern me given the rightwings propensity for projection.
Churches are getting desperate for young people I was at a street fair and they were passing out "jesus loves you" pamplets that look like sticker books for kids, classic early indoctrination...
Anyway this sneaky old lady comes up to my 6 year old with a small book with a big yellow smiley face on it and says "hey another child droppd this can he have it".
Me assuming it was a smiley sticker said sure..
Opened it after she walked away it was talking about how amazing jesus is and you can only make it to heaven if you go the THIER Church.
I then later saw her at that churchs booth at the fair passing out this same little books, fucking sneaky had to have a talk with my child to tell him how that lady was a sneaky snake and ultimately she just wanted money.
The sociologist comparing megachurches to Walmart is a particularly apt comparison given both entities exist solely to feed on the general public.
no surprise here. small churches have been dying off for decades, and everyone is going to the larger churches that have more services and resources that their small church wasn't able to afford.