New Harvard Research Says U.S. Christianity Is Not Shrinking, But Growing Stronger

The Federalist ^ | 01/22/2018 | By Glenn T. Stanton

[SeekAndFind]

“Meanwhile, a widespread decline in churchgoing and religious affiliation had contributed to a growing anxiety among conservative believers.” Statements like this are uttered with such confidence and frequency that most Americans accept them as uncontested truisms. This one emerged just this month in an exceedingly silly article in The Atlantic on Vice President Mike Pence.

Religious faith in America is going the way of the Yellow Pages and travel maps, we keep hearing. It’s just a matter of time until Christianity’s total and happy extinction, chortle our cultural elites. Is this true? Is churchgoing and religious adherence really in “widespread decline” so much so that conservative believers should suffer “growing anxiety”?

Two words: Absolutely not.

New research published late last year by scholars at Harvard University and Indiana University Bloomington is just the latest to reveal the myth. This research questioned the “secularization thesis,” which holds that the United States is following most advanced industrial nations in the death of their once vibrant faith culture. Churches becoming mere landmarks, dance halls, boutique hotels, museums, and all that.

Not only did their examination find no support for this secularization in terms of actual practice and belief, the researchers proclaim that religion continues to enjoy “persistent and exceptional intensity” in America. These researchers hold our nation “remains an exceptional outlier and potential counter example to the secularization thesis.”

What Accounts for the Difference in Perceptions?

How can their findings appear so contrary to what we have been hearing from so many seemingly informed voices? It comes down primarily to what kind of faith one is talking about. Not the belief system itself, per se, but the intensity and seriousness with which people hold and practice that faith.

[rdl6989]

bookmark for later

[bitt]

oh, no...this isn’t gonna go over well...

[PhilCollins]

Thanks for that information. I was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Some of their pastors say that the Devil doesn’t exist, the resurrection didn’t happen, and/or gays should be able to marry and get ordained. Some of the same pastors wonder why people are leaving their churches.

[campaignPete R-CT]

I will trade you the LCMS, the Anglican personal ordinariate in Payson AZ and the complete works of john Wesley. I get the Byzantine Rite Liturgy and a first round draft choice. I will also take the Swedish lesbian bishops off your hands

[Albion Wilde]

Ping!

[Wm F Buckley Republican]

We left the apostate ELCA for the LCMS in th early 90s.

[righttackle44]

Why is anyone surprised? Christianity always grows and matures during times of persecution. Current estimates are that the Chinese Christian Church--not the churches recognized by the Chinese Communist government--is many, many times larger than the American church, and the American church will grow in these difficult times.

Those who deny the Supernatural nature of Christianity and the Church are foolish for doing so.

[OneVike]

Only if you count pro homosexual congregations as Christian.

The sad truth of the matter is that Christianity in America is dieing.

Don’t believe me? Just start visiting all the churches in you area and sit long enough to learn what they teach.

Many will come preaching in the name of Christ, but few will have the true Gospel.

‘’’’’”Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’’’’’ Matthew 7:23

[Albion Wilde]

The same was true in Luther's day, which is why he wrote the Lutheran catechism —even the Catholic church of his day was not keeping on top of correct preaching and teaching. A revival will come again here. It's time.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. —Matthew 16:18

[WildHighlander57]

From the article:

“...More Americans Attend Church Now Than At the Founding

What is really counter-intuitive is what Stark and his colleagues at the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion found when looking at U.S. church attendance numbers going back to the days of our nation’s founding. They found that the percentage of church-attending Americans relative to overall population is more than four times greater today than it was in 1776. The number of attendees has continued to rise each and every decade over our nation’s history right up until the present day. ...”

—very— interesting!!

[Hiskid]

Great news, AW. Thank you.

[PhilCollins]

My parents live in Prescott. They used to attend an LCMS church. Now, they’re members of an LCMC church.

[DeweyCA]

FTA: Pew reports that of young adults who left their faith, only 11 percent said they had a strong faith in childhood while 89 percent said they came from a home that had a very weak faith in belief and practice.

It’s not a news flash that kids don’t tend to hang onto what they never had in the first place. Leading sociologist of religion Christopher Smith has found through his work that most emerging adults “report little change in how religious they have been in the previous five years.” He surprisingly also found that those who do report a change say they have been more religious, not less. This certainly does not mean there is a major revival going on among young adults, but nor does it mean the sky is falling.

Add to this Rodney Stark’s warning that we should not confuse leaving the faith with attending less often. He and other scholars report that young adults begin to attend church less often in their “independent years” and have always done so for as long back as such data has been collected. It’s part of the nature of emerging adulthood. Just as sure as these young people do other things on Sunday morning, the leading sociologists of religion find they return to church when they get married, have children, and start to live a real adult life. It’s like clockwork and always has been. However, the increasing delay among young adults in entering marriage and family is likely lengthening this gap today.

These are encouraging stats. I had always heard that even Bible-believing churches were losing 60-80% of their young people. I grew up in a WELS Lutheran church, but never heard any good reason WHY I should believe any of it, so I quit going as soon as I went to college. A guy from Campus Crusade for Christ talked to me for an hour every week of my Junior year, answering my questions and doubts, before I finally became a Christian. Although I had grown up in a church, I had never been a Christian. I think that is true of many young people (like my two sisters). Apologetics really needs to be taught to our kids in today's secular society.