Here's more bad news for those who think bad times prompt people toward religious observance.

Now, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, in a study of numerous polls looking at church attendance, finds:

… While the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed over half its value since October 2007, there has been no increase in weekly worship service attendance during the same time period.

This echoes the findings of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which interviewed 1,000 people a day throughout most of 2008 about their physical, emotional and economic well-being.

Gallup found that the economy, while having such drastic effects in so many other aspects of life, has no statistically measurable impact on how important religion is in people's lives or in their church attendance. READ MORE

Perhaps this is better news than it seems.

According to Gallop it does not have a negative effect either.

Does that mean that genuine faith transcends circumstances and is neither shaken nor stimulated by negative news?

Perhaps the emotional urgency to address these difficult times in hope of finding more open hearts and minds is misplaced. Perhaps the spiritual hunger of people is completed unrelated to the circumstances of their lives.

Addressing felt need, human hurt, and common anxieties is always called for as part of the church's mission. However, any ulterior motives such as dramatic growth in attendance is, perhaps, not encouraged by the research.

We touch human need because compassion demands it and Jesus called us to do so,

Therein lies the opportunity of economic downturns. It is the opportunity to serve.