Why the drop?

I just read on Drudge that the percent of people who believe that Jesus was really resurrected from the dead has dropped from 77% to 64%. Here are some of my reasons to explain this.

First, it may be a statistical error. It wouldn't be the first time that numbers were twisted as a result of the question asked or the people selected to respond.

It may be the church's fault. So many Christians are told what to believe, but few are told why they should believe it. That's where apologetics comes into play--a rational defense for the Christian faith. Too many churches fail to spend time developing the mind of their adherents. When was the last time you heard your pastor talk about philosophical, scientific, or historical reasons that backed up Christianity?

The statistic may also be due to the general culture. Our society has become cynical to any religious answers to life's problems. We have science to solve everything, right? Our kids are told the evolution is true, thus displacing the need for a God. Religion has been set aside for "spirituality," whatever that means.

In addition, we may have been brainwashed by the media. I know it's a favorite target of conservatives, but there's an element of truth here. Consider yesterday, Easter. Google highlighted a picture of Cesar Chavez rather than anything about Jesus. Mass media hesitates to focus on any positive religious values. Read Bernie Goldberg's book Bias, where he lays out the case for political and religious bias among the elite news organizations in America.

There's also the problem of compartmentalization among Christians. Here's what I mean: followers of Jesus read the Bible and pray on Sunday, then live like the rest of the world Monday through Saturday. They don't understand that their faith is a worldview that has something to say about the rest of the week. What does it mean to be a Christian lawyer, nurse, actor, farmer, etc.? Again, the churches have done a poor job getting people to carry their faith out into the world after the Sunday service is over. If we showed the world that the Christian life is a worthwhile one to live, there might be a more willing acceptance of the key belief in Christianity--the resurrection of Jesus.

Are there other reasons why belief in the resurrection has dropped? Probably, but these are the ones that came immediately to my mind.