To anyone but the behavioral and social scientist (who wistfully may regret it), it may come as a surprise that religion as manifested by its organized institutions, namely the church, reflects the society in which it lives, rather than giving leadership to it. This fact is far from explicit in this volume, nor was it, so far as one could ascertain, the intent of the authors to make this point. Nevertheless, the failure of the church in meeting the needs of the aged is indirectly but amply documented for this superficial observer, who had suspected it all along. Therefore, it does not appear incongruous at all to have the authors, 2 social scientists, point out at length (15% of their text) to the church what it can do for the older person and remind it of its responsibilities.
"Church membership in and of itself seems not to be related