How Relevant is the Church Today?

As the Republican Party continues it's desperately flailing (or is that failing) attempt to repeal "ObamaCare" by playing the "Religious Rights" card; the past few days here in the U.S.A. have revealed a stark disconnect between the Church of Rome, it's American hierarchy, and the vast majority of citizens who describe themselves as Catholic.

For those of you not aware of the issue; it is, and it always seems to be (sounds of yawning inserted here,lol), the right of a woman to choose when and under what conditions she will conceive a child. The Catholic faith among others forbid the use of abortion or contraception under any circumstance, including incest and rape. "ObamaCare" dictates that when a church employer provides health insurance to it's employees, that insurance plan cannot exclude contraceptive devices or pharmaceuticals.
H'mmm I think we have a conflict brewing here folks...

Bearing in mind that not all employees of the church are Catholic, and that not all Catholics strive for large families, this mandate at least on the surface, seems entirely reasonable. To me.

Predictably the Church feels differently.
Not only the Catholics, but virtually every established religious faith has voiced their vehement displeasure with this new law, and are working feverishly with their allies in Congress to rid them of what they perceive to be the greatest threat to the continued relevance of their respective orders in this country.
"If women of our faith are allowed to choose how many children they will have; what happens to our church if they choose to have none?"

In America the reality is that traditional church structure has lost its ability to regulate behavior through rigidly conformist societal coercion. In example, a recent segment of NPR's "Talk of the Nation" fielded calls from Catholics representing two sides of the conversation: those who defy church doctrine by actively using birth control, and those who accept church instruction unquestioningly. Not surprisingly the number of Catholics using birth control in America mirrors very closely the numbers of women in the general population also using contraception. A clear majority of American women choose to exercise their reproductive rights through the regular use of contraceptives. Period.

So the first question becomes: Why is it the governments job to enforce church doctrine, when the church itself has so miserably failed? And thus the second question: If the church has to rely on a government to enforce it's doctrine on people who don't share those beliefs; how relevant to society is the church?

Speaking as a person of faith without affiliation to any church I find myself questioning the validity of any man's claim to a moral imperative that places himself between me and God. What I have witnessed in my fifty one years of life, is that people seeking power over others are the fiercest apologists for organized religion. Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist... all have had their fair share of hi-jackers using corrupted tools of their faith to bring misery and subjugation to the masses. Recognizing the fact that gullible, superstitious people constitute the easiest flock to lead; we have been cursed throughout history by those who will use the existing differences and rivalries of faith based factions to further their own selfish goals.

Be they patriarchs, politicians or Popes, ultimately it all comes down to relevance. That relevance is decided by you.