Both Christian and secular publications document the fact that the influence of the Christian faith is on the decline in the United States - as it has been over the past several years. Some writers suggest that the American church is declining in size and influence and following the patterns that have been experienced in western European countries over the past century or so. While American politicians at all levels generally conclude their speeches with "God bless America" and a majority of Americans still say they believe in the virgin birth of Jesus according to some polling data, there is increasing evidence that the people of our country are becoming less religious.
As reported in a recent New York Times article titled "America Is Losing Religious Faith (written by Nicholas Kristoff in the August 23, 2023 issue), "They are drifting away from churches, they are praying less and they are less likely to say religion is very important in their lives. For the first time in Gallup polling, only a minority of adults in the United States belong to a church, synagogoe, or mosque." According to this article, authors Jim Davis and Michael Graham state in their newly published book titled The Great Dechurching, "we are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in the history of our country...More people have left the church in the last 25 years than all the new people who became Christians from the First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening, and Billy Graham crusades combined."
This "dechurching," as Davis and Graham write in their book, is impacting most all denominations, including evangelicals like Southern Baptists. In his NYT article, Kristoff continues to be a "pious nation by the standards of the rich world...Pew reports that 63 percent of American adults identify as Christian - but that's down from 78 percent in 2007. And in that same period the percentage of adults who say they have no religion has risen to 29 percent from 16 percent..." Kristoff concludes that if these trends continue, "by the mid-2030's fewer than half of Americans may identify as Christian."
Many local churches are reporting a decline in average worship attendance from pre-pandemic (2019) to post-pandemic (2022) - ranging up to 50 percent declines in average attendance depending on the congregation and location (and there are exceptions). At the same time, some churches report that they are reaching more people than pre-COVID 19 pandemic because of attracting new worship participants via live streaming of services. This is an interesting phenomenon, and only time will reveal the longevity and impact of these trends.
There are many ideas on the cause of the decline of the church in the United States. Some argue that many denominations have become too liberal and secularized with water-downed theology and compromised moral standards. On the other hand, there are those who rightfully point out that the declines are no longer limited to so-called mainline denominations and have come to include the more evangelical and conservative denominations. It can be argued that possibly a part of the problem is that some congregations and denominations in both the main line tradition and the conservative and evangelical tradition have come to place other pursuits above the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the change of loyalty to political leaders who do not reflect Christian character and values, the pursuit of materialism, the pursuit of political and social influence, the loss of a prophetic voice, the failure to preach the saving power of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world while also failing "to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God..." (Micah 6:8). Perhaps a part of the problem is that the non-Christian world does not see the church living up to the teachings of Jesus Christ and bringing the Gospel to bear upon all areas of life. Maybe - just maybe - the decline of the size and influence of the church - that is the community of faith of Jesus Christ - is because we are not being effective witnesses for Jesus Christ and the life transformation that He - and only He - brings to the world.
People need the Lord! Amen! People need us to be the "light of the world and salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13-16). The United States and the world are waiting for Christ-followers to reach out in love, mercy, and grace and to bring light to the darkness that is so prevalent.