The Decline of Religion in the United States

Today, May 23, 2023, I saw two articles on the Internet concerning the decline of religion (especially Christianity) in the US. The first article reports the results of the General Social Survey, the University of Chicago’s research group NORC, the Pew Research Center, Public Religion Research Institute, and a 2022 study by the Survey Center on American Life. Statistics can be boring and sometimes misleading. However, they can also be revealing. The results of these surveys will not be surprising to those who are involved in churches throughout America.

• * Just under 50% of Americans are unwavering in their belief of God’s existence.
• * 34% of Americans never go to church, the highest figure recorded in five decades.
• * As recently as the 1990s, roughly 90% of US adults considered themselves Christian. Currently, 2/3 of US adults consider themselves Christian. Most of this decline is because of people who were raised in the church becoming disenchanted as they grew older. 
• * 27% claim no religious affiliation in 2022 (up from 23% in 2020 and 16% in 2008). 
• * The number who identify as White Evangelical Protestants has declined from 23% in 2008 to 13.6% in 2022. 
• * Roman Catholics who made up 16% of the population in 2008 now number 12.6 %. 
• * The only Christian group growing are the nondenominational Protestants who usually attend mega churches and make up 15% of the population.
• * Decline rates are most pronounced among younger people. 34% of Generation Z are unaffiliated with any church as are 29% of Millennials and 25% of Generation X. (Note that affiliation need not imply attendance or participation in churches.)

The second article I read was entitled “10 Reasons Why You Are Seeing a Decline in Religion in America.” It was based on an informal survey by Redditor and lacks the reliability of the surveys mentioned above. However, from my own experience in listening to why people have left the church (especially young people), I find the answers given to be right on target. The reasons are:

1. It stopped making sense.
2. Putting religion ahead of humanity. Jesus said we should love our neighbors and take care of the poor. Religion often perpetuates division, bigotry, and violence.
3. Asking questions gets you in trouble.
4. Lack of evidence
5. When it became about money–Matters of faith were eclipsed by the “Almighty Dollar.”
6. Reading (becoming aware of the wider world and those parts of church history which were characterized by violence, inquisition, persecution, and collaboration with forces of evil)
7. When things became nasty (threats of hell, the greed of mega-pastors, abuse of children and women)
8. Manipulation and Hypocrisy (living like the rest of the world six days a week and then being pious on Sunday)
9. Narratives/Theodicy (How can we believe in a God who allows something like child abuse and the Holocaust?)
10. Too many religions (How do we know which one is true? Today, depending on how one classifies religions, there are between 2000 and 4000 religions in the world.)
11. An additional reason given to the traditional ten is “lack of critical thinking.”

Observations: (I intend to write future articles fleshing out some of these thoughts. Each observation deserves at least one article of explanation.)

1. Much of the above reflects the end of Christendom and the cynicism and suspicion of the postmodern age. Christendom refers to an alignment of churches with culture in which both share in the wealth, power, and influence of a system. Such a partnership can rarely reflect the alternative Jesus came to bring as the church increasingly becomes “of this world.” This arrangement began in the fourth century CE with the Roman Emperor Constantine and has characterized and plagued Christianity for over 1600 years. 
2. Science and religion need not be in conflict. Fundamentalist religion fears the truth of science. Scientism (not science) assumes that materialism and naturalism are correct in assuming that only what can be measured, observed, and replicated is real. There are many Christian theologians who are open to the discoveries of science (including evolution, the age and expanse of the universe, quantum physics, etc.) And there are many scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, who are theists. 
3. Harmful and misleading beliefs about the Bible contribute to much of the ignorance and closedminded of conservative Christians. The Bible is not infallible and inerrant and never claims to be. And it certainly doesn’t reflect any notion of “plenary verbal inspiration.” It is a human witness to the presence and activity of God in the world within the limitations of cultures stretching over possibly 1800 years. 
4. We moderns and postmoderns have trouble with the metaphors, symbols, poetry, and narratives within the Bible. The Early Church Fathers understood that metaphors, poetry, and stories are methods of revealing deeper truths than factual data could ever do. Virtually all cultures, except our own, recognize that something can be profoundly true without being factual. The opening chapters of Genesis, stories like Job and Jonah, the messages of the Hebrew prophets (all prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures is in the form of poetry), and the parables of Jesus are examples of profound metaphorical truth which need not be factual. 
5. The church over the centuries has been involved in inquisitions, persecution, torture, murder, war, and oppression. It has also been a civilizing influence on society with its contributions to science, hospitals, aid to the poor, education, human rights, and an awareness of the ineffable. (An atheist prof in the university I attended who specialized in English history asserted that “John Wesley civilized England.”) An eye-opening book which corrects some of the stereotypical assumptions regarding some supposed evils and failures of the church is David Bentley Hart’s book entitled Atheist Delusions. I dare you to read it!
6. Both science and theology, when they are at their best, are self-correcting. Scientists jettison theories which no longer can accommodate new discoveries. That’s why science is always changing—it grows with increased knowledge. Theology should also be self-correcting. A God who is eternal and infinite can never be captured or limited by mere human reason. We grow in our understanding of God, and part of that growth comes from discoveries in science, the arts and humanities, philosophy, and experience. It’s not that God changes; it’s that our knowledge and experience of God can grow to better approximate the true nature of the Divine. Theologically, Christians are illuminated by the Holy Spirit which reveals more and more of the unfathomable truths about God. In the words of Richard Rohr, we must “transcend and include.” We include what is essential but deepen and broaden our understanding and practice of such essentials while being open to new truths which may come from the infinitely flowing spring of God’s interaction with Her creation. 
7. Churches operating out of fear, exclusivism, and dogmatic certitude are incapable of sharing, inspiring, and enhancing the authentic love of God—a love which is unconditional, indiscriminate, self-giving, and everlasting. Psychology has demonstrated that we cannot love what we fear. As I John says, “God is love, and perfect love (God’s kind of love) casts out fear.” 
8. Churches which threaten people with hell have totally misunderstood the good news of Jesus Christ. The actual word “hell” does not occur in the Bible. It’s an English translation of a variety of words, none of which means the everlasting torture of people with no hope of deliverance. Many of the Early Church Fathers viewed “hell” as remedial and restorative in nature and preached that ultimately all humans (indeed, the whole universe) are destined for healing and transformation. The word in Greek for this universal salvation is apokatastasis. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, who was given the title “Father of the Fathers,” was a proponent of apokatastasis. (He and his brother Basil the Great were taught by their insightful sister Makrina.) Because of the influence of the later Augustine with his thoughts about original sin and predestination (which were intensified by John Calvin and his followers), Western Christianity is virtually ignorant of this early perspective in eschatology. However, this ancient hope is being revived today all through Christianity as we become aware of the wisdom of the early church. 
9. Many fundamentalist and conservative Evangelical ministers have never been exposed to the theological options available within the Scriptures and church tradition. In their bible schools and seminaries, they are indoctrinated instead of being educated regarding the rich theological legacy of the church (much less contemporary theological thought). Other ministers pursue very little theological edification once they finish their ministerial degrees. Too many “mainline” ministers lack the courage of speaking the truth in love to their congregations. As biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann says, “They cannot speak the truth they know they should because they dare not speak such truth.” Too many pastors fear the consequences of being prophetic and authentic about the gospel. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of parishioners are never made aware of the richness and beauty of the Christian faith. They receive a truncated and distorted version of what should be good and transforming news. However, ministers are not the only ones at fault. There are those in the pews who want a convenient and comfortable religion which demands little. They prefer to be vaccinated with just enough Christianity to keep them immune to the real thing. 
10. Jesus did not come to form a new religion which would further divide humankind. He came to show us how to be fully human as children of a God whose eternal nature is love. In his incarnation, he took into the divine self all of humanity and all of creation. As Colossians says, “In him all things hold together.” Through such solidarity with God, we experience emancipation from evil, death, and our false selves. We and the whole of creation are loved into our healing and transformation and are destined to “partake of the divine nature.” (II Peter 1:4).

The good news Jesus lived and proclaimed and which the early church experienced and shared must be rediscovered today if American churches are going to survive and be authentic.

Churches which forget this good news have little to offer which corresponds to people’s authentic needs to be human, to find purpose in life, to experience community, and to discover joy. The good news Jesus lived and proclaimed and which the early church experienced and shared must be rediscovered today if American churches are going to survive and be authentic. Too many of us never learned the awesome beauty of “the old, old story.” We have been hoodwinked by a deluded theology which anyone with sense and sensitivity should reject. 

11. I am not optimistic about the institutional church. I am, however, immensely hopeful regarding the Body of Christ. We must be willing to relinquish what is not of God and which no longer serves any worthy purpose in order to receive the new from God’s hand. And my guess is that once we do so, we will find ourselves closer to the original good news Jesus proclaimed and lived. Instead of playing church, we will become the Body of Christ truly following Jesus. Such faithfulness, courage, and love will offer hope to this broken world which remains the object of God’s unfathomable and unending love.