Americans Are Losing Faith

2009 April 13

by Tyler

Last week Newsweek published a cover story titled “The End of Christian America.” A pretty ominous title if you ask me. The article has already come up in several conversations I’ve had in person and online.

The premise of the article surrounds polling information that says in 1990, 86% of Americans claimed to be Christians, whereas today only 76& claim that title. A 10% drop in 20 years, which is a pretty significant drop.

The author works around this idea of a “Christian America” in this way:

What, then, does it mean to talk of “Christian America”? Evangelical Christians have long believed that the United States should be a nation whose political life is based upon and governed by their interpretation of biblical and theological principles. If the church believes drinking to be a sin, for instance, then the laws of the state should ban the consumption of alcohol. If the church believes the theory of evolution conflicts with a literal reading of the Book of Genesis, then the public schools should tailor their lessons accordingly.

Read the full article HERE

A few quick thoughts of mine:

If his above description continues to describe how Christianity most commonly shows itself in America, then you can expect more people avoiding it.
If 76% of Americans still claim to be Christians, I think it would be fair to say that we aren’t in a post-Christian America yet. However, the days of Judeo-Christian values (I think that is what people call it) being strongly valued are long gone.
This is a rebellion away from religion.
The church hasn’t done a very good job the past 20 years.
I agree with Dan Kimball. He said that this is more of a rebellion against certain expressions of Christianity, not a rebellion against Christianity as a whole.

Any thoughts on the declining number of self-proclaimed Christians in America?

Filed under: the rest... Tags: Christianity

http://seth.heasley.net/blog Seth

Well at least we can rest assured Newsweek isn’t trying for self-fulfilling prophecy or anything…

That was a joke.

I also agree with Kimball. There’s much in American Christianity that needs rejecting.
http://mikeymo1741.blogspot.com mikeymo1741

I like your – and Dan’s – fifth point. I think people are less inclined to identify themselves as Christians, without necessarily not considering themselves Christians. Certainly there is a movement away from certain expressions of Christianity, and I wonder if the polling folks really understand that. Or… the poll could just be flawed. Knowing Trinity College is at the root of it, I wonder if that could be the case.

My thoughts:
http://mikeymo1741.blogspot.com/2009/04/were-not-dead-yet.html
http://mwalcher.auzigog.com Michael W

Something I noticed:

Atheists tend to consider the internet, and social media on of their homes. If you consider much of the media on the internet, a lot of it is a safe place for loud atheists to express their views (and not have to listen to the others argument).

Twitter is a great example of this, a new social networking platform, one that a lot of atheists have taken hold of.

But then Jesus appears on the top trends for a few consecutive days.

It isn’t to say that because one mentions Jesus, it is a Christian Nation, but just pointing out that atheists have said that this whole “Jesus thing” will eventually go away, or is starting to, but that really doesn’t seem to be happening.
http://ash-nits.blogspot.com ash

can you explain more specificially what you mean by this: “This is a rebellion away from religion.”

on another note- i do think our generation is moving our faith in a different direction than what our parents and grandparents have set in place- you’ve heard me say this before, we’re deciding that being a follower of the most high does not necessarily mean “christian” as it is listed in culture, we’re discovering what it means for us to be the hands and feet of christ, and that means we may not “claim christianity”- of course, newsweek will not take that into their stats b/c that’s not what they’re after. but i BElieve that this is part of the “drop” and rather than see it as a “drop”- i simply see it as a “shift.”
http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

what I mean by a rebellion away from religion is that religion can become a certain set of beliefs and an orderly way of living.
http://ash-nits.blogspot.com ash

well that is basically the actual def. of religion. one of my favorite quotes from a friend is “religion is spelled ‘d-o’ and christ is spelled ‘d-o-n-e.’” i think it’s a beautiful thing that shifts inside a person when the two are distinguished and i feel that our generation in particular is beginning to look for such a shift…if that makes sense
http://manofdepravity.com/2009/04/14/what-needs-to-change-in-christianity/ What Needs to Change in Christianity « man.of.depravity

[...] What Needs to Change in Christianity 2009 April 14 by Tyler Post One on the Decline of Christianity in America [...]
http://www.blogspot.hansenducksinarow.com Rachel Hansen

There are so many things that need rejecting and changing…I hope and see this pull towards the simplicity and authentic worship of the early church in Acts. Isn’t being “Religious” what the Pharisees were the best at? They had no heart pull towards Jesus…they were so into their religion–the daily “to do” list that was supposed to bring them right with God.

I think or hope Americans are rejecting this kind of Religion: A series of things that people feel they are supposed TO DO, without finding God in any of it.

As for those who are “loud”…this is a whole topic in itself. First, the loudest Christians aren’t always the ones we identify with the most. If we are called to humble ourselves before the Lord…being loud isn’t exactly what we are called to do. Now, of course this isn’t true of all Christians…but the “loud” ones, it may seem, we want to cringe when we hear some of the things they say.

Anyone else, who isn’t a follower of Jesus, they aren’t serving the King of Kings…they are serving the world, and their own self. So nothing is to stop them from throwing baseless accusations.

Just a few of my thoughts. Certainly intriguing article that makes one think…
http://manofdepravity.com/2009/05/27/another-take-on-the-fall-of-christian-america/ Another Take on The Fall of Christian America « man.of.depravity

[...] Take on The Fall of Christian America 2009 May 27 by Tyler Way back when, we discussed Newsweek’s cover story on ‘The Decline and Fall of Christian America.’ Since then many others have blogged on [...]