Christianity's decline (?)

Recent headlines trumpet news about a Christian decline in the United States, which makes it sound like things are spiraling down for religious people. But like so much that appears in the mainstream media, it is not all bad news. In fact, there is much positive that is going on in the world of religion.

These negative reports talk about Christians becoming fewer in our society and those with no religious affiliation doubling in percent of the population. But almost all of that change occurred between 1990 and 2001. There's been no change since then. Nearly two-thirds of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation also say they believe in God, so this is not some hard core secular group. In fact, a recent study found that two out of every five religiously unaffiliated people still say religion is important in their lives. In addition, these unaffiliated people have a very low retention rate, meaning that people don't stay unaffiliated for long. Most people who were raised without any religious affiliation now belong to one religion or another. In comparison, over three-fourths of all people raised as Protestants are still Protestant.

A new book offers much encouraging news. It's called God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World written by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge. They say Christianity helps newcomers to the Sunbelt form communities, helps ordinary people deal with alcoholism and divorce among other problems, and helps people in the inner cities deal with trouble around them. They say it is the Christians who are looking after the homeless and the drug-addicted: "Where is the atheist homeless shelter? Atheists are only interested in themselves." They believe modernization does not lead to secularization; instead, it leads to a search for meaning, which includes an emphasis on God. They have found that evangelicals are rediscovering the life of the mind and starting to produce intellectually stimulating work again. In addition, they discovered the number of people saying that God is central to their lives is going up. In other words, there are more people serious about their faith.

Other findings are also inspiring for religious people. One author notes that young people are getting more involved in the fight against abortion. The Gallup organization recently reported that for the first time since it began asking in 1995, the majority of Americans have embraced the pro-life position. Immigration has helped the Christian faith in America. Asians and Hispanics have flocked to theologically conservative churches.

So things are not terrible for Christianity here in our country. In fact, those who maintain the faith seem more serious about it, a good sign.