Posted on 05/10/2018 10:49:53 AM PDT by Simon Green
The nation’s religious makeup has shifted dramatically in the past 15 years, with a sharp drop in the number of Americans who say they’re members of a Protestant denomination – still the nation’s most prevalent religious group – and a rise in the number who profess no religion.
On average last year, 36 percent of Americans in ABC News/Washington Post polls identified themselves as members of a Protestant faith, extending a gradual trend down from 50 percent in 2003. That includes an 8-point drop in the number of evangelical white Protestants, an important political group.
Reflecting the change among Protestants, the share of Christians overall has declined from 83 percent of the adult population in 2003 to 72 percent on average last year. In the same time, the number of Americans who say they have no religion has nearly doubled, to 21 percent.
Catholic self-identification (22 percent) has held steady during this time. The share of adults who identify with another form of Christianity – including Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons and Greek or Russian Orthodox, for example – has risen modestly, from 11 to 14 percent.
This analysis, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, is based on a very large dataset – 174,485 random-sample telephone interviews in ABC News and ABC News/Washington Post polls conducted from 2003 to 2017. We focus mainly on 2003 and 2017 data, including 7,185 and 5,017 interviews, respectively.
Among all Protestants, 56 percent currently say they’re evangelical or born-again; that has held essentially steady since 2003, with virtually equal declines in the number who say they’re either evangelical or non-evangelical Protestants, down 7 and 6 points, respectively.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Remember: there is always a remnant.
God told Elijah that he had reserved 7000 in Israel who had never bowed to the Baals.
In Thyatira there were those who had not learned the “deep things of Satan”.
Even Sardis had a few people who had not soiled their clothes.
We were flatly told that there would be a falling away at the end. We must be like the disciples who stayed, who when asked if they were going to leave too they replied: “Lord, to who shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
It has been, to be blunt, easy to profess Christ, even profitable to profess Him. Though not everywhere. But there is again coming a time when men will only be able to profess Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Take courage. God has something for each Saint to do. Until we do it, if indeed we are really disciples, we may as well be immortal and though the world rages He can preserve us to accomplish all He has for us to do to His glory. Even the manner of our departures can be part of what the good works that He has prepared for us to walk in them are.
Jesus like His people to be clingy.
“likes” ... not “like”
At the same time those professing no religion has almost doubled, from 12% to 21%. That's a significant change in only 15 years.
Amazing how Christianity can survive and then thrive in places like Russia and Poland where it was officially suppressed for decades, whereas here where it is constitutionally protected it seems to be dying on the vine.
The Enlightenment had to get here eventually.
Given all of the above, and more these statistics come as no surprise whatsoever.
On the up side, biblically and theologically sound, Christ-centered, Gospel centered, evangelical pastors and churches that have not abandoned "the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints" (Judea 1:3) are growing and thriving.
It is a drop in mainline, essentially non Christian denominations.
The evangelical Bible believing Protestants continue to growjust clearing out the dead wood.
I'm one of them.
FMCDH(BITS)
Thank you for this post.....it was good to read and eased my very soul..... God is good and seems to meet us along the way in the most unexpected places. Thank you again.
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