We’ve had much discussion lately about the “decline and fall of Christian America,” as the Newsweek cover story put it. That article was based on a survey showing the percentage of Americans calling themselves Christian dropped from 86% in 1990 to 76% earlier this year while the percent saying they had no affiliation jumped from 8% to 15%.
From the hoopla, one might have the sense people are driving straight from church services over to their secular humanist meetings.
But based on a new survey that came out from Pew Religion Forum, I’d like to pose a different theory: what we’re seeing is not a flight of the religious but rather the changing nature of the irreligious.
The Pew study founded that 79% of the currently unaffiliated –also known as “nones” in the survey–started off life connected with a religion. But get this: only 30% of “nones” who used to be Catholic and only 18% of former Protestants said they’d had strong faith as a child. This is true even for those who attended church regularly.
AFP/GettyIn other words, perhaps it’s not that the devout have lost their way, it’s that the nominally religious have stopped pretending to be religious. Perhaps what we’re seeing is not an increase in the number of “nones” but an increase in the numbers willing to admit it.
Another bit of evidence for this theory is that the rates of church attendance during this same period from 1990 to 2009 have remained stable. The pious are just as pious; it’s the more tenuously connected that seem to be fleeing.
That still leave the question of why those with a weak connection have drifted away rather than being drawn closer. When the stats about the rise in “nones” first came out, liberals and conservatives offered different explanations (surprise!) Liberals said overly politicized, intolerant, exclusivist preachers were turning people away. Conservatives said the decline occurred because folks were rebelling against the liberal mainline Protestant church’s emphasis on liberalization and inclusiveness.
The latest data seem to buttress the liberals more than the conservatives. Of the unaffiliateds, 17% had been raised as a mainline Protestant, while 22% had been raised evangelicals (27% had been raised Catholic.) What’s more, the reasons cited for the switch tend to reinforce the liberal interpretation. When asked why they left their childhood faith, survey participants’ three top answers were:
- “Religious people are hypocritical/judgmental/insincere”
- “Many religions are partly true, none completely true”
- “Religious orgs. are too focused on rules, not spirituality”
There’s one sign of hope for those wishing for a more pious population. One-third of the unafilliateds are still open to joining a church. They just feel they haven’t found the right fit yet
First printed in WSJ.com
posted April 30, 2009 at 4:45 pm
“We’ve had much discussion lately about the “decline and fall of Christian America,”
Well, no, actually, we haven’t. We got the Newsweek article and endless blogs by Rod Dreher bemoaning this perception, but we haven’t really had much actual “discussion” about it. Just mainly radical religious-right fear-mongering on the topic.
posted May 1, 2009 at 8:02 am
For anyone looking out there I’d recommend Unitarian Universalism … after 40 years unchurched I found a great home!
The only ‘problem’ is that many are so liberal … still it’s an interesting change to go from being a ‘commie-pinko’ at work to being a ‘borderline facist’ at church … that’s a joke
On a serious note it would be really healthy for the UUs as a group if more politically moderate/libertarian/conservitive folks would sign up
posted May 1, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Universalism in itself denies any of the essential doctrines of Christianity. Personally I believe it to be heresy. Christ never said all roads lead to Heaven and unless you confess Him, you are not saved.
I just read an interesting book by George Barna, called “Think Like Jesus.” He said that survey after survey has shown that Americans-including a huge majority of born again Christians and evangelicals not only do not know the bible, read the Bible but lack a biblical worldview. By Biblical worldview he means thinking like Jesus. Making our faith practical to EVERY SITUATION we face each day. Using the Word to make our decisions and not relying on what society says. That we act like Jesus 24 hours a day because we think like Jesus and not just part time.
I think the majority of Christians in this country do not think like Jesus, they let society influence them as to what is right and wrong.
Jesus backed up His worldview with action, and that is what Christians do not do today. Doing what honors God rather than man. Barna says, “It turns out that the Bible speaks loud and clear on this matter. God demands us to think like Jesus. He sites these scriptures…Proverbs 2:2-7 and Colossians 2:8. But how many Christians do this? If we had done this in the past, abortion would not be legal and we would not be in the sad shape that we are today.
Barna also says, “It seems that Christians are more affected by society than society is affected by Christians. Why? Perhaps because more than 9 out of every 10 born again Christians fail to think like Jesus, they think like the rest of the world, so they naturally behave like citizens of the world, too. They are not the salt and light that Jesus COMMANDS us to be because they lack the personal commitment and depth of faith that makes them truly changed, God-driven beings.”
posted May 2, 2009 at 7:28 am
I was raised in an evangelicals church. I left as a teenager because:
“Religious people are hypocritical/judgmental/insincere”
I was unaffiliated for many years. I attended a divorce recovery evening class at a mainline Protestant church. I never intended to attend church. I went with a group of people from the evening class to a weekend divorce recovery seminar at another church in a different city. Since everyone else was attending church, I went with them. The sermon was so much different than what I had listened to for many years as a child. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I eventually joined the church in my city, which was 12 years ago.
The divorce recovery class was an entry point for many unchurched singles that ended up joining the church. One woman in her late 40s had never attended church, in her mid 50s she became a pastor.
It was nice to find a church that was inclusive and accepted divorced individuals without making them feel unworthy.
posted May 4, 2009 at 8:35 am
“Universalism in itself denies any of the essential doctrines of Christianity. Personally I believe it to be heresy. ”
Yep sure does!! And yes it started as heresy in Europe (got people burned at the stake to prove it) … as did Unitarianism both in Europe and in Egypt/Syria and MUCH earlier on … sadly American UUs are only loosely linked to those fine people – philosophically descendant not historically descendant.
NOW modern UUs can be Christian as much as anyone else … they just don’t have to be … we are a covenantal religion not a creedal one — at least that’s my layman’s description … if you’re really interested there are explanations around the web much more eloquent than any I can provide.
“I think the majority of Christians in this country do not think like Jesus, they let society influence them as to what is right and wrong.”
I agree … and if more did then I think the world would be a much better … though perhaps more radical place.