Anxiety and Religion

Post Reply New Topic

I'm curious. Did any of you experience anxiety during church services and bible studies? I certainly did, and I quit going several months ago. My anxiety levels dropped precipitously.

What specifically made you feel anxious?

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Too many people. Too many people wanting to touch me all the time. Too much noise.

There are some traditions which are not that noisy, like the Quakers.

Which denomination are you talking about?

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Yes, they make a good breakfast cereal.

I like the oatmeal squares.

United Methodist

That explains a lot actually. My wife switched to SBC after going to church with me a few times, but was raised UMC. She is quite a noisy creature, but I can't really complain...

Seriously, though, this is interesting because I can't say I've ever been to a "noisy" United Methodist church. When I'd attend church with my wife's family, the service was highly stylized and ritualistic, but it was also extremely subdued compared to what I was used to--and the Baptist churches I always attended were very simplistic already in their worship style. The baptist church I attend now is the kind of church that would like to be more "charismatic" than it is, but only if we can agree that the music that the old people like is all we'll ever do. The UMC church I attended a few times used a lot of hymns that are probably familiar to most protestants across denominational lines, but it was nothing really remarkable. It was more like the chancel choir sang and the congregation just moved their mouths a little. I've been looking around at potential church jobs, and I've noticed that Presbyterian and Methodist churches are increasingly in need of worship leaders for a more "progressive" style of worship service. From my limited experience in Methodist churches, I find it hard to imagine a Methodist church service as being anything more than strictly liturgical, nothing at all touchy-feely.

But even within denominations worship styles are not necessarily uniform. They change with the needs of the congregation. This may not be what you want to hear, but if things aren't working for you at your current church, it's possible you might need to find another UMC church that is more comfortable for you. What I have generally found is that the older the congregation, the "calmer" things tend to be. Old-school church people are highly resistant to change, so you tend to have a lot of older, established churches where the membership has dwindled but still retains a dedicated member base that keeps things running. Newer churches with more progressive worship style and a modern, "general purpose" building do draw younger people, larger crowds, and make more noise. I'm not one to say which is BETTER, but we all have our preferences and individual needs that will ultimately dictate the kind of church we attend. Churches that attract a certain type of people--the elderly, disabled, or "differently wired" persons aren't necessarily the ones that have all the accouterments of active, growing churches. And a "growing" church isn't necessarily a "good" church, especially if it's growing for all the wrong reasons.

So churches that don't draw large crowds or are constantly growing their membership aren't necessarily "bad" churches, either. They minister to the needs of their communities, thus you have a certain "type" of person going to one church and a different "type" going to another. You should be able to find a good church home for you, even if it means you have to take a little time out of your comfort zone.

Looking for churches outside the church I was raised in was a rough experience for me. Oddly enough, I was able to find a small SBC church in upstate NY in the college town where I lived while working on my master's degree. It was WAY different from what I was used to, mostly because I'm from the southern US. But I was very comfortable there after a couple of weeks. The trouble I had finding good churches was one reason I pretty much quit going to church during my early college years unless I made a weekend trip home.

Part of why I quit going to church, a long time ago, is that going to church is about dealing with people. If you have a full time job, where you have to put up with a lot of people on a daily basis, many of whom you would much prefer not to associate with, then why bother with the additional stress of putting up with another group of people on Sundays?

On top of that, I eventually came to realize that church was silly. No-one is paying me to go, so why bother?

AngelRho has illustrated very good points here. It really is very dependent on two factors; the people involved and the denomination. You might want to avoid churches altogether though and embrace something a little softer like a bible study or maybe a small youth group [I'm unaware of the authors age at the moment but judging from the context I assume you're fairly young] ArrantPariah if you're still looking to embrace religion in one form or another there's a lot of hit and miss when it comes to interacting with large groups of people.

The conclusion that most people draw really is a simple trial and error process.

I'm personally done attending church except with the family. I find that religion is much more of a self exploration and I'm trying to take the most logical approach. Is anyone else here agnostic?

Religion is the why Science is the how.

In the inanimate insensate cosmos there is no purpose, hence there is no Why (i.e. to what end or purpose). Sh*t just happens according to fairly well defined laws.

ruveyn

Not anxiety. But discomfort. Provocation, abasement, pressure, constraint. One of my worst physical experiences in a social setting was in the church nearby.