Josh Vonhof
Professor Choi
ECON 320
11 September, 2022
Week #3: Blog Post 1
Adam Smith’s argument that diversity among churches is a good thing is certainly a very different take. Many Christians often view competition among different churches and different denominations as a bad thing, and rightfully so. Romans 12:4-5 is a passage of scripture often associated with this issue. In these verses it states that “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all others” (New International Version, 2011, Romans 12:4-5). Paul makes it abundantly clear in this passage that church is to be one unified body, although the members do have different functions within that body. Despite this very clear statement from Paul, the American church today is very much still divided. According to an article by Donavyn Coffey, it is estimated that “there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the U.S. and a staggering 45,000 globally” (Coffey, 2021, para. 1). This is certainly not the unified body that Paul was illustrating. With so many different groups and denominations of believers, competition is sure to arise. Just as competition arises between different sports teams or different schools of theology.
The evidence is largely in favor of the fact that churches certainly compete with one another. This is not meant to be a blanket statement that describes every church. There are certainly churches that are looking to grow the body of Christ, but there are certainly plenty of churches also looking out for their own best interests as well. Scot McKnight writes that there are two major signs of competition between churches. The first is “the act of wondering how big or how many are attending another church and the second is the inner disturbance of wanting to win (in the game of numbers)” (McKnight, 2014, para. 1). There is no doubt that churches are keeping track of attendance more-so now than they ever did before. One source states that "72% of churches report online attendance weekly” and the numbers are likely higher for in-person reporting (How Church Leaders Are Measuring Online Church Attendance, n.d., para. 4). Given the ease of accessibility in today’s technology driven world, it becomes very easy for churches to compare their attendance with others and compete. Landsburg defines efficiency as “the most efficient producer of a good is the one who produces it at the lowest cost, where costs are defined in terms of forgone opportunities” (Landsburg, 2013, pg. 35). In the case of churches, efficiency would represent the cost per person that attends the church. Essentially, there are costs associated with running a church from paying the pastor and staff, to the equipment used for praise and worship, and beyond. Therefore, the church that can get the most people attending each service at the lowest cost per person would have the comparative advantage. And while it seems ludicrous for a church to look at things in this light, the evidence seems to point to the fact that it is happening. As Paul writes, the church should be focused on becoming one body as opposed to competing with one another.
References
Coffey, D. (2021). Why Does Christianity Have So Many Denominations? LiveScience. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html
How Church Leaders Are Measuring Online Church Attendance (n.d.). Vanderbloemen. Retrieved from https://www.vanderbloemen.com/blog/how-churches-measure-online-attendance
Landsburg, Steven. Price Theory and Applications. Available from: MBS Direct, (9th Edition). Cengage Learning US, 2013.
McKnight, S. (2014). Competition Among Churches. Patheos. Retrieved from https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2014/03/06/competition-among-churches/
New International Version (2011). Bible Gateway. Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012%3A4-5&version=NIV