Megachurches as Megabusinesses

Churches portray themselves as holy institutions, in the world but not of the world. Is that true? Not necessarily. The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic church was exacerbated by the efforts of the church to cover it up and protect their reputation - the actions of an organization that is very much of the world. Very often, churches act in ways that differ little from large corporations.

Luisa Kroll reports in Forbes:

Welcome to the megabusiness of megachurches, where pastors often act as chief executives and use business tactics to grow their congregations. This entrepreneurial approach has contributed to the explosive growth of megachurches--defined as non-Catholic churches with at least 2,000 members--in the U.S. ... In 1970, there were just ten such churches, according to John Vaughn , founder of Church Growth Today , which tracks megachurches. In 1990, 250 fit that description. Today, there are 740.

Helping churches grow is a business in itself. There is even a publicly traded company, Kingdom Ventures, whose sole mission is to help faith-based organizations get bigger. ... No doubt, churches have learned some valuable lessons from corporations.

The more churches act like businesses, the more citizens may ask: why should churches be treated differently from businesses when it comes to things like taxes? The more churches act like businesses, the less people will be pleased at seeing megachurches in their communities.

Read More:

• Religion 101
• Books on Religion and Religious Beliefs