Young people in general have just had it with the American Church, as have so many progressive older people.

I mean, I have a personal stake in this because as a gay man the American Church (with some distinct exceptions) treats me and the people I love like dirt. The judgment is ever present and ever nauseating.

Take the church people who say they accept us LGBTQ folks by comparing us to prostitutes and other sinners Jesus ate with. They act confused when we take offense at being compared to social outcasts, wondering why we want nothing to do with them.

We watch even nominally progressive denominations like the United Methodists urge everyone to show grace and love toward overt homophobic bigots. We see they value their institution more than actual human beings they say they support, and we despise them for it.

Young people are over it. They want nothing to do with a religion that seems to be organized around principles of social superiority and rejection of those who don’t make the cut.

They’re over the sexism, the homophobia, the self-righteousness. They’re over the politicization of religion. They look at pervasive church-people support for Donald Trump and they shake their heads and say not us, not ever, we’ll have nothing to do with that.

I think they clearly observe a lack of morality and decency among church people. Which is why in my opinion, the pews are emptying and will continue to empty unless something BIG changes.