Posted on 04/05/2009 3:13:11 PM PDT by Steelfish
The End of Christian America
The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. How that statistic explains who we are now—and what, as a nation, we are about to become.
By Jon Meacham | NEWSWEEK
Published Apr 4, 2009
It was a small detail, a point of comparison buried in the fifth paragraph on the 17th page of a 24-page summary of the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey. But as R. Albert Mohler Jr.—president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the largest on earth—read over the document after its release in March, he was struck by a single sentence.
For a believer like Mohler—a starched, unflinchingly conservative Christian, steeped in the theology of his particular province of the faith, devoted to producing ministers who will preach the inerrancy of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only means to eternal life—the central news of the survey was troubling enough: the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent
agreed
If people do not fear God, then the culture will disintegrate.
The culture *has* disintegrated. All of this happened in America a long time ago. Cultural momentum created the illusion that America was still predominantly Christian. I think we are about 15% of the population, to be realistic, and 30%, to be very optimistic.
FWIW, these figures seem to reflect regional changes in the Northeast most of all. The so-called Bible belt is not, IMO, becoming noticeably less Christian.
I couldn't have said it better myself. I've been saying for a long time that so-called "conservatives" have been emulating the liberals 'cuz they turn to the federal government to prohibit things they don't like (drugs, porn, queer marriage, abortion, etc.) rather than prating & working for a more Christ-like society.
Just like the liberals, they have been working from the top down rather than from the bottom up, & doing so has come back to bite them in the hind end.
Just like the liberals, they have worked @ giving the federal government additional powers that are not written out in the Constitution rather than letting the States decide these issues like the 9th & 10th Amendment requires....& look where we are today: a national debt of nearly $11 TRILLION & growing, w/ no end in sight.
The problem is that the liberal churches are the only ones who get to preach politics. These are the ones Hillary and Barack and every other democrat who never go to church, go to when they are campaigning. Totally fine for the libs to do this.
Everyone gets a stick up their butt when it’s a conservative church trying to do that.
It is an injustice that churches are not able to talk openly and honestly as they see it (except for the libs again) about politicians in their city, state or nation. We all know that freedom existed from before the founding of this country to 1954 with LBJ adding that law as a Texas senator to get certain non-profit groups off his back. He didn’t ever see it being used against churches but nobody ever changed it. that should be dumped and churches need to weigh in on political issues because there are always issues of morality behind political decisions, and that’s why half the time it seems Christians get duped: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
There are as many nuts preaching it up as down.
Churches need to get their kids out of the atheistic and secular humanist govrernment schools.
If Christian churches are to preach, there **most** important mission field is, first and foremost, their **own** children!
What a great way to say it! Just imagine: church members in every church across the USA starting their own school, w/ the “best & brightest” of the parents teaching the classes. That would mean more responsibility on the parent’s part, & so many other positive things that would benefit both the families & the kids in the long run, I think.
Stupid idea on my part, I know...but it sure sounds good.
James. James is the ultimate internal smackdown book for a church, IMO.
This is NOT the “liberals’ fault.” There isn’t anyone in the world who could pry me away from the Church. If I leave God, it’s MY fault and He knows it.
Christians have to do both politics and proselytizing. Or else we will get rolled over.
We cannot step aside and let the liberals write the laws. They will destroy traditional marriage. They will take away our free speech rights (like laws against quoting the Bible on gays). They will force doctors and pharmacists to aid and abet abortions, force gay and straight men to squish together in barracks, cram gay sex ed down the throats of our children in public schools, force semi-religious groups like the Boy Scouts to accept gays, force businesses to hire gays, and force EHarmony.com dating service to accept homosexuals (wait,they already did that in New Jersey!)
One CANNOT separate politics from religion, even if we want to. The anti-politics journalist Cal Thomas is a heroic Christian warrior. But he is totally deaf and blind on this issue.
Or maybe the church needs to get get back into politics. Maybe one of the reasons that people leave that church—that it is so unattractive to our young people—is that it appears so powerless.
And when the threat comes from the government, and it will come, that they are going to take away our tax exempt status we just might see the largest tax revolt since the founding of the country.
Or maybe we're to far gone for this already.
It is an injustice that churches are not able to talk openly and honestly as they see it (except for the libs again) about politicians in their city, state or nation. We all know that freedom existed from before the founding of this country to 1954 with LBJ adding that law as a Texas senator to get certain non-profit groups off his back. He didn’t ever see it being used against churches but nobody ever changed it. that should be dumped and churches need to weigh in on political issues because there are always issues of morality behind political decisions, and that’s why half the time it seems Christians get duped: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Indeed, that LBJ law needs to be dropped immediately.
Well, secularism (read anti-Christian) has become a religion too and this is what is being forced down kids at public schools and colleges who then go onto graduate and enter the influential professions of law, medicine, politics, and the media.
“Maybe if the Churches would get out of politics and get back to preaching this will be reversed. Too much reliance on Caesar to pass laws.”
My people have worshiped our Triune God in the same manner for better than 1600 years. It doesn’t get much more conservative than that...and we stay out of politics, rendering unto Caesar only that which is Caesar’s. The world will change when people experience that metanoia which only faith in Christ can bring about through the Holy Spirit. Involving The Church in the political affairs, left or right, of the world cheapens its spirituality and distorts its Christian message.
The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades
Self Identified Christians?
You mean like Obama and Pelosi? These people are not Christians just because they say they are. Real Christians are likely 50% or less of Americans at present.
I agree with your perspective — the federal government has become a monster — a politically correct monster stomping on our religious rights. We must fight that monster, armed with states’ rights and Madisonian arguments as necessary.
Unfortunately, too many Christians say that we should avoid politics altogether. Don’t speak up. Don’t organize. Be meek and mild. Don’t be like those obnoxious rednecks and rightwing ayatollahs like Falwell and Dobson.
But how in tarnation do we stop the liberal-media juggernaut without organization, strategy, and tactics?
I say it again, if we don’t fight, we get rolled over.
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