I largely agree with you. The only churches that are growing in the U.S. are the megachurches, where the bandstand has replaced the altar as a focal point and the pulpit serves to showcase the charisma of the preacher, not the proclamation of the Word of God. When you look at these spaces, it is striking that architecturally they resemble concert halls more than they do traditional houses of worship.

I also agree about how and why true religion is thriving in the developing world. I think that's precisely why Pope Francis speaks of wanting a "poor Church for the poor." It isn't just a matter of the poor needing us. It's also a matter of us needing them -- and, more to the point, of us needing the Christ that can only be found among the suffering and those on the margins.