The Changing Religious Landscape in America

A recent study done by Trinity College indicates that the United States has become a less "Christian" nation (at least self-identified) in the past 20 years. The same study also shows that numbers for both evangelical Christians and those profession no religion are growing, while numbers for those who are "mainline" Protestants are decreasing.

I agree with William Donohue, president of the Catholic League when he theorizes that a societal shift towards individualism over the last quarter-century has a lot to do it: "The three most dreaded words are thou shalt not. Notice they are not atheists -- they are saying I don't want to be told what to do with my life."

I think we're largely a society which has embraced the rejection of authority in the name of self-directed freedom. As the generations pass by, I wonder if this phenomenon will get increasingly worse as the even-more liberated children of baby boomers and hippies will suddenly have to do a 180 and teach their children that some external boundaries are actually healthy and good. Of course, this is often done in the form of "I lived as a rampant individualist and my life was absolutely empty and miserable - don't make the same mistake as I did."

I found it interesting, though not surprising to see the continued fall of the mainline Protestant church. Some would say (cynically) that these churches have lost ground to evangelical churches only because the evangelicals have seduced people from their flocks with fancy presentation, hip music, and flashy programs. Maybe that's happen on some scale, but I think more of it has to do with the fact that many mainline Protestant churches have largely lost their way and Christ and the cross is no longer prominent in the preaching and ministries of these churches. As a result, many of the former mainline Protestant church goers have simply stopped going to church altogether.

If the key message for many of these churches is simply to "be good" and "follow the Ten Commandments", this becomes increasingly stale and almost indistinguishable from a center for ethical culture or good humanism. Alternatively, you could join a community service organization with people with the same values. The most healthy and thriving churches, I'd argue, need to aspire to the highest calling, which is making disciples of Jesus Christ through evangelism, discipleship and worship, with the components such as mercy and social justice flowing out of that worship. Otherwise, you run the danger of being the Key Club with an organ.

So some in the mainline Protestant church have simply left because what the church stands for is so ambiguous and not compelling. Others have left, drawn to a churches (often evangelical) which are providing not just spiritual food, but a resonating mission and purpose. The third category are those which have been turned off by evangelicals, which I think are largely the same as the first category.

As for the evangelicals (and I count myself as one), it would be wise to consider this as a cautionary tale: Stand clearly for that which is eternal significant and meaningful and have a vision which is focused on this - or risk becoming irrelevant.