As people of faith we need to ask ourselves why the number of people who identify themselves as Christians is declining. According to a new survey released this week by the Pew Charitable Trust, 30% of Americans identify as “nones,” that is people who do not connect with any religion at all. The minority faiths of Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, etc., claim only 6% of the population.
The data also show that about 30% of the new generation switch out while only about 21% of previously religiously unaffiliated switch in, that is self-identify as Christians. Most of those who were raised in Christian homes, leave the faith in the age group between 15 and 29.
Why do people leave? The reasons given vary. They include clergy sex abuse, not limited to Roman Catholics, to be sure. Just look at the Southern Baptists trying to avoid the issue. Other reasons include narrow views of the world and morality, such as homosexuality and gender or not addressing issues like poverty and race. Some said they were more worried about money than God, not surprising in our age of greed. The real question for us as Christians is how we respond to the questions raised by this sharp decline.
Prayer for the Day
Puzzled by the fact that the world is not what it once was, O God,
We search for the anchor that only you can give;
Concerned that so many are torn by our own failings,
We search for a shore where we can stand on certain ground.
But you, O Lord, know that the harbor is our willingness
To speak to the injustice around us and establish righteousness.
In the name of the One who took on principalities and powers,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
In a quip that makes the rounds, Jesus preached the coming of the kingdom, but it was the church that came. All these years later, the way many of us are doing church is broken and we know it, even if we do not know what to do about it.
- Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor, from Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
The church is not a community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ himself who ahs taken form among people.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyr (1906-1945)
We wait for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.
Isaiah 59: 11