Local churches reviewed on Yelp

While searching for Catholic churches in Chicago on Google, I clicked a link, and it took me to a review of a local church on Yelp.  The same Web site that I use to find a good sushi restaurant or a place to get a decent manicure also lets users—thousands in Chicago—post their ratings of churches?  Yelp!

I guess I should be less surprised.  Back in the fall, I read an article about “mystery worshippers,” much like mystery shoppers, sent to evaluate everything from the friendliness of the congregation to the cleanliness of the parking lots.

Similarly, the Yelp reviewers post comments on the church along with their rating, on a scale of one to five stars.  St. Mary of the Angels in Bucktown gets the top spot among the fifty-or-so Chicago religious organizations on Yelp.  The church averaged a 4.5-star rating, with 21 reviews.

“Best catholic church ever!,” writes one reviewer.  “Beautiful, stunning architecture in a great neighborhood with plenty of parking.  Service is held not too early or late in the morning on Sundays and the clergy is fresh and professional.”

“The church itself is fairly conservative, but most anyone could enjoy a Mass here. The homily will speak to everyone!,” writes another.

As unsettling as it can be to see a religious group like a church, an institution that for many people takes on significance beyond the restaurants, stores and other businesses  that make up the bulk of Yelp’s site, evaluated in a secular space … the reviews were helpful.

People raved about the massive and beautiful church building itself, which I could see from a few blocks away despite the heavy downpour when I drove there last night.  They tipped off the church’s affiliation with Opus Dei, which I then read up on a little before my visit.  They referenced the diversity of the congregation and the church’s Polish roots, which was also a helpful fact to know (I tried to talk to some parishioners after Mass who ended up being Polish and didn’t know English well).

As Americans become more prone to switching religious affiliations than ever before, according to research released last month by the Pew Form on Religion and Public Life, churches are forced to market themselves the way businesses do.

Although online reviews may be relatively new to the Christian church scene, competition for believers has been around for a while.

It makes me think back to a book I read by religious scholar Peter Berger.  Decades ago, he noted that 20th century church-goers were growing more results-oriented, economically driven, and bureaucratic in their efforts to recruit and maintain their members:

Religion can no longer be imposed but must be marketed… Now, the religious groups must organize themselves in such a way as to woo a population of consumers, in competition with other groups having the same purpose.