Chrysostom: Any excuse for absence is now deemed acceptable

An excerpt from a book I've been reading for an assignment. It looks as though casual church attendance has been a problem for a long time:

[John] Chrysostom notes that whenever dangers threaten or the pomp of Christian festivals attracts, "the forum will be empty and the churches full;" with congregations "resembling the broad expanse of the sea," but once emergencies and festivals pass, "not even the smallest part of that multitude gathers." Many worshipers' attachment to the church is of the most casual kind. Men who would never miss a meeting of their "club" feel no compunction about absenting themselves from worship, and even neophytes preparing for baptism play truant to attend the hippodrome. Some worshipers make little more than annual appearances ' and Chrysostom admits that all his "prolonged discourses" have "done no good" and that any excuse for absence is now deemed acceptable, from complaints about the summer heat to personal dislike of presiding clergy-men. [David Dunn-Wilson, A Mirror for the Church: Preaching in the First Five Centuries]

We ought still to be somewhat rebuked by the example of these low-commitment ancient worshippers: when there were emergencies and dangers around, they were more motivated to attend church, not less.