American Christianity In Decline

The latest newsstand edition of Newsweek magazine features a provocative article from the magazine’s religion editor, Jon Meacham, entitled “The Decline and Fall of Christian America”. Armed with results from several recent polls that gauge religious sentiments in the United States, Meacham argues that America is quickly moving toward a more secular future where societal norms and public policy will be shaped less and less by biblical concepts. Instead, he sees America as becoming a place where religion is increasingly private for most and increasingly unnecessary for many. In addition to analyzing poll results, Meacham also gives a thumbnail sketch of evangelical Christianity’s largely unsuccessful attempts over the last thirty years to make America a more “Christian” nation through political activism and popular elections. He celebrates these trends as he thinks that they will make the nation stronger and will make religion even more meaningful for the dwindling numbers who actually possess any religion. I found the article thought-provoking, and I want to bring a few of Meacham’s facts and statistics forward for consideration:

“… the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent.”
“… the number of people willing to describe themselves as atheist or agnostic has increased about fourfold from 1990 to 2009, from 1 million to about 3.6 million.”
“The proportion of Americans who think religion ‘can answer all or most of today’s problems’ is now at a historic low of 48 percent.”
“… terrible economic times have not lead to an increase in church attendance.” *

As we contemplate facts such as these, we begin to get a picture of a land in which people want “spirituality” that has no authoritative strings attached. It is sobering to think that there are 2.6 million more atheists and agnostics in the U.S. than there were twenty years ago. Over the last twenty years, over two million people have decided that there either is no god or, at the very least, there is no god who makes any difference. Apparently, even those who believe in God are increasingly convinced that their pastor and Bible have little to say that can make any difference in the problems of the world. Even a financial crisis and predictions of looming economic doom have not induced people to seek answers at a place of worship.

I am not, for the moment, concerned with how we have gotten to this place. Nor am I idealizing America’s past because, for better or for worse, it is past and we do not live there any longer. Furthermore, I believe that hanging on to a misty-eyed reminiscence of “what used to be” will keep us from addressing the days that the Lord has given us in the present. Right now, we probably know or come into contact with one of the people represented by these numbers. The question we have to answer is what are we going to do in light of the fact that we live in a world in which people are increasingly isolated from one another and are principally looking to their own preferences in order to guide them spiritually. What is the Christian call? What is the Christian answer to this age? Jesus challenged His disciples to “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5.16 [NAS]) This passage contains some strong clues concerning how we are to engage our world with the transforming truth of the gospel. I will point to two.

First: The essence of what we have to communicate to the world is an intimate relationship with God. Jesus says that God is our Father and that He takes personal interest in the details of our lives. It glorifies our Father when people see the relationship that we have with Him and find it attractive. Our message is not that we have better ways of describing God; it is that we know Him better because of our relationship to Jesus.

Second: The way that we share this truth with outsiders is through community. Jesus said that our lights can shine in such a way that other people see our good works. The way to which He is referring is not merely a set of ethical rules to live by, but a pattern of shared life that only God’s family has. To be literal, every time you see the word “you” in Matthew 5.16 you should think, “y’all” (or “you guys” for those outside of the South). Jesus is not simply speaking to a group of individuals and telling them that they each need to set about tending to their own personal “light”. He is speaking to a community and telling them corporately to relate, share, and live together in such a way that outsiders see it and glorify the God of that community.

According to Meacham, fewer people today feel that the Church has answers to the pressing problems that real people have to face. I believe that the Body of Christ has something vital to share with our world. We need to realize, however, that the answers people need are not simply words about life but a way of living life. Our message is not one that can be conveyed by any one individual or even a group of "individuals". It has to be carried by a community. To quote High School Musical, "We're all in this together." Our message is a relationship communicated through relationship. I pray that God will help us to demonstrate this way with increasing love and power over the days that are ahead.

* All quotes taken from the Newsweek article “The End Of Christian America”. Article can be accessed at http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583.