Posted on 10/25/2019 8:07:30 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Do recent polls really tell the full story here in America? Is it true that Christianity is experiencing a serious, ongoing, numerical decline? Those polls could well be accurate, speaking of a major spiritual crisis in our nation. But there may be a different way to understand what is happening, one that points to separation and refining more than to backsliding and apostasy.
First, let’s look at the results of the most recent Pew Research Center poll.
As reported on October 19, “The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip. In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular,’ now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009.”
Additionally, “Both Protestantism and Catholicism are experiencing losses of population share. Currently, 43% of U.S. adults identify with Protestantism, down from 51% in 2009. And one-in-five adults (20%) are Catholic, down from 23% in 2009.”
Most significantly, “More than eight-in-ten members of the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) describe themselves as Christians (84%), as do three-quarters of Baby Boomers (76%). In stark contrast, only half of Millennials (49%) describe themselves as Christians; four-in-ten are religious ‘nones,’ and one-in-ten Millennials identify with non-Christian faiths.”
What are we to make of this? And do these figures truly indicate that Christianity is in numerical decline in America?
There is certainly a problem when it comes to the younger generations, which identify as Christians at an alarmingly lower rate than did their parents’ and grandparents’ generations.
That cannot be minimized or denied.
Yet, at the same time, “self-described Christians report that they attend religious services at about the same rate today as in 2009. Today, 62% of Christians say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month, which is identical to the share who said the same in 2009. In other words, the nation’s overall rate of religious attendance is declining not because Christians are attending church less often, but rather because there are now fewer Christians as a share of the population.”
And this is what makes me wonder about what these poll numbers really represent.
You see, as I travel around the country, I’m constantly speaking in congregations which are growing and multiplying. They are adding more services. They are expanding their buildings. They are planting new satellites. And, to my knowledge, they are not the exceptional, out of the ordinary, outliers. There are many others like them.
And it’s not just a matter of lateral transfer, meaning that they are growing at the expense of other churches, as members from Congregation A leave for Congregation B. That certainly happens, to some extent.
But many of these churches are seeing new converts on a regular basis, both young and old. And they are seeing lots of enthusiasm among their congregants.
One of my colleagues holds major rallies in different parts of the nation, and thousands of young people come flocking for days, eager to worship the Lord and hear the Word. They are hungry. They are thirsty. And they are representative of many others who recognize that “there must be more.”
Of course, some of today’s church growth is more a matter of numbers than maturity, as people respond to a consumer-oriented, watered-down version of the gospel that is not the gospel at all. So, the church buildings may be packed, but real disciples are few.
Yet there are plenty of other churches that are thriving and growing precisely because they are preaching a biblical message and precisely because people are encountering the risen Savior. Jesus is being exalted, as a result of which both the saved and the lost come flocking. People will be drawn to the fire!
What, then, are we to make of these poll numbers, which have been quite consistent for the last decade-plus?
Certainly, I have no desire to stick my head in the sand or deny reality.
But I wonder if the better explanation for the numerical decline is that formerly nominal Christians no longer identify as Christians at all. In other words, it is those who rarely attended church in the past and who had no real relationship with God who are now identifying as “nones.”
To be sure, this does not explain everything, and there are certainly many who are agnostic today who were passionate and committed in the past.
But based on my experience, and as I look at these numbers, I wonder if this is not what we have known to be true for decades now: Liberal Christianity cannot withstand the test of time, and so these churches will bleed members and decline. In contrast, a Bible-based, Jesus-exalting, Holy Spirit-welcoming assembly that truly cares about people will grow and thrive.
When you have a few minute, please read these two 2015 articles, the first titled, “The Terrible Failure of the Secular Gospel” and the second, “Why Conservative Churches Are Still Growing.”
In the first article, I referred to the insights of the German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg, who pointed out in the 1970s that, “Religion that is 'more of the same' is not likely to be very interesting.” Why would worldly people make a deep commitment to a worldly religion?
In the second article, I referred to a 1972 book by Dean M. Kelley, in which he wrote, “Amid the current neglect and hostility toward organized religion in general, the conservative churches, holding to seemingly outmoded theology and making strict demands on their members, have equaled or surpassed in growth the early percentage increases of the nation’s population.”
As for the liberal churches, Kelley stated, “The mainline denominations will continue to exist on a diminishing scale for decades, perhaps for centuries, and will continue to supply some people with a dilute and undemanding form of meaning, which may be all they want.”
Does this explain what we are seeing today? Could it be as simple as this? Churches that no longer hold to the authority of Scripture, along with those which have the form of religion without the substance, are in decline, while those that seek to preach and live a vibrant faith are growing.
This much is sure. The old dictum of G. K. Chesterton is as relevant as ever, challenging today’s preachers and pastors and leaders and believers: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”
And that means the challenge for each of us today is clear: Preach the real gospel. Live the real gospel. And ask the Spirit to back the real gospel.
Do this with all your heart and soul, and you will never be disappointed.
I don’t need a stupid survey to demonstrate this...
> In Pew Research Center telephone surveys... <
Well, that might be part of the problem right there. I get these phone surveys occasionally. I just hang up. It’s none of their business what religion I am, who I’m voting for, etc.
I remember about 30 years ago there was a “man on the street” poll taken on this and I remember one woman’s response: “Of course I’m a Christian. I’m an american, aren’t I?”
That is, there may be an increase in ACTUAL Christians while, at the same time, there is a decrease in those that claim to be.
The survey was not done for you.
Scriptural END TIMES are often marked by a turning against God as referenced in Matthew 24 looking back on Genesis 6:
Matthew 24:
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Genesis 6:
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
They’ll never be able to count folks like me
I’ll make dang sure of that
I look at the media , the government and the church as one in the same entity- Prove me wrong
“...certainly many who are agnostic today who were passionate and committed in the past...”
passionate and committed?
BUT WERE THEY SAVED? answer, NO!
The language here is key. “Identify as”. Just like “trannys”.
“Identifying as” doesn’t make you a Christian. Just like “Identifying as” a woman doesn’t make you one.
You become a Christian by humbling yourself before God, repenting of your sins asking His forgiveness, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Not some phony prayer (you can’t fool an “all knowing” God), but really meaning it. Then and only then do you become a child of God, saved by faith, a “Christian”.
It’s not like becoming an Eagle, Moose, or Elk. It’s not becoming a member of “The Christian Club”. It’s a LIFE CHANGING profession of FAITH! A Holy act, from the depths of your soul to the heart of God!
Never say “never”, God may have other plans for you.
For later.
Churches in my area are closing up left and right.
The Methodist church down the road would get 400 people with a f/t pastor, now it’s 50 on a average Sunday and a p/t pastor.
Oh ... you’ve been counted.
“...ACTUAL Christians ... those that claim to be...”
Please, what is the difference and should a different word be used for one of the groups?
“Please, what is the difference”
—
The example cuban leaf cited in their post was someone who said: “Of course I’m a Christian. I’m an american, aren’t I?”
You should know the difference there, no?
Who reads this?
So IOW, this Pew research is doing research on the dwindling pew occupancy rate.
Would it be a hazard to guess that there is a vast underground current of non Church attendance but not necessarily Christians who refuse to attend churches that do not speak for them or their God given faith.
We should we all thank Martin Luther and the Gutenberg Press for printing scriptures which populations of Christians were not privy nor were given access to?.
In the first article, I referred to the insights of the German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg, who pointed out in the 1970s that, “Religion that is 'more of the same' is not likely to be very interesting.”
That certainly holds true for Mainstream Protestantism, which has been in decline for 60 years, and for other forms of liberal religion. But it also looks like evangelicals have lost steam in the past few years. Religious enthusiasm relies on "Great Awakenings," and between revivals, the enthusiasm wanes. That's not to say that their aren't still churches and believers, but they aren't attracting new adherents from the larger population at the rate they once were and don't have the confidence they once did. This has happened before, in the years between the mid-18th century Great Awakening and the early 19th century Second Great Awakening or in the years between the late 19th century awakening and the most recent late 20th century awakening. It's not the end of Christianity in America by any means. The cycle continues and, under other circumstances, we may see a new Great Awakening in the future.
As for me and mine, we are in church most every Sunday. Others can do as they please.
I think that you mean: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/
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