Are churchgoers generally more closed-minded or just faith-focused?

Question

Do church peple generally just see stuff through the prism of their church or the Bible and not have a wider perspective?

MrOracle · Answer

Any belief system is by definition going to be at least somewhat close-minded, and churches are intentionally more close-minded than some other belief systems. That's the whole point. A religion, by definition, includes a set of rules and boundaries, and most of those sets of rules are hundreds, if not thousands of years old. That's not just western religions but all or nearly all religions.

Heck, if you believe in the concept of good vs. evil, you've immediately determined that a large swath of activities are bad and you shouldn't get involved with them. That is, from some people's point of view, close-minded. And that has nothing to do with religion.

No matter where you personally stand along the spectrum, there are always going to be people more close-minded than you and people less close-minded than you. You might think you have found the perfect happy medium but that doesn't mean that everyone, or even most, would even agree where you are, much less where they think you should be.

Some absolutely awful people who have done terrible things just think that most people just aren't open minded enough to understand them. Being more open minded isn't always a virtue.

ManOnFire · Answer

As a man of faith myself, I will openly say church going people - but especially evangelicals - are more often close-minded, yes. And they often adhere to their own ideas about the Bible and the world more than what the Bible actually says.

It's 2026 and 90% of churches still believe in the "rapture." They still believe the mark of the beast will be some kind of chip. They still think everything on TV and mainstream music is ungodly yet they listen to "Christian hip hop" and have no problem with preachers who have a secular image.

As you can imagine, I stay away from them🙂

Maybe_Maybe_not · Answer

I usually see quite a difference in views between spiritual and religious profiles, the former is not really practising religion, the latter does. And practising religion, setting religious faith in motion, is about looking at, sorting the world and people, through the prism of predefined rules to obey.

So, logically, that can not match nicely with open-mindedness. Because open-mindedness presupposes flexibility. Views that can adapt, change, being questioned and lead to answers outside of the book.

genericname85 · Answer

I would say maybe not "generally speaking" but definitely about things that relate to their faith, cause it's not just an idea they can dismiss easily. It's a whole lifestyle with a community attached and having to accept contradicting information about it would invalidate their entire blueprint of their life that they may have invested years or even decades into and probably large parts of their social circle too. It's like questioning their faith is trying to blow up the foundation of their life so they will probably defend it by being close minded about it.

Tamera952 · Answer

Of course they’re more closed minded. Always have been The church is always last to the table in-terms of social change. It goes with the territory.
I think it is like voluntarily subjecting yourself to ‘group think’ — I like to call it ‘gullibility with a halo’ because somehow they like to think of their particular prism as righteous or exalted, when it couldn’t be more opposite.

strateguy632 · Answer

no. atheists and agnostic interrupted me so they don't even hear the idea. they are 'more closed-minded' than us.

Hispanic-Cool-Guy · Answer

Most church goers just believe whatever the pastor or lying priest being saying.

Most of the people that go to church actually don't believe the Bible as its written.

A lot of people there just be faking.

Dargil · Answer

They (we) tend to see outsiders as breaking the rules and have to be reminded that Jesus hung out with unbelievers and sinners.

MrChinaski · Answer

The current Pope seems pretty open-minded, so 🤷‍♀️

usernameobvious · Answer

Some sadly treat it as a community or weekly social gathering I noticed it a few churches over time I began to suspect "most of y'all are just here to talk not to pray" 😕

KostasKouvalis · Answer

Catholics not so much and I don't know enough about Orthodoxes, but Protestants definiately do.

darkcloud1945 · Answer

We have sane people and crazy zealots practicing religion. There will always be someone doing good things and bad things in the name of religion, some days more than others

Kayla45 · Answer

A little of both I think

blackeagle007 · Answer

This is one touchy subject

beenherebefore · Answer

I am faith focused.

Are churchgoers generally more closed-minded or just faith-focused?

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