The decline in Christianity in America

The decline in Christianity in America

Only one in every five members of generation Z considers attending church as very important for him/her (Barna Group, 2018). Over the recent past, American society has changed significantly as a result of factors such as the increased proliferation of technology and globalization. However, one change that is evident in American society is the significant decrease in the proportion of the people who consider themselves to be Christians. More importantly, fewer Americans attend churches regularly. This paper explores the decline in Christianity in the U.S in terms of the extent of this problem and the potential solution.

The Issue, Problem, or Observation

To begin with, the proportion of Americans who identify themselves as Christians has decreased, although the country’s general population is on the rise. For instance, there were 233 million adults in America in 2009, and 77% of them were Christians (Pew Research Center, 2019). This means that there were 176 million to 181 million Christians in the country (Pew Research Center, 2019). America’s population has increased since the poll in question was conducted. According to the Pew Research Center (2019), the number of adults in the U.S has increased by approximately 23 million since 2009. Ordinarily, there should be more Christians in the country as time goes by. Paradoxically, the current statistic suggests that there are now between 164 million and 169 million American adults who identify themselves as Christians (Pew Research Center, 2019). This statistic suggests that there has been a significant decrease in the total Christian population in the country.

Besides, the numbers of people who attend churches, synagogues and temples have decreased significantly over the recent past. The proportion of Americans who report having attended religious services once or twice per month decreased by 7% in the last decade (Pew Research Center, 2019). At the moment, only half of Americans say that they are members of a specific church. A recent study revealed that only 50% of Americans reported being members of a mosque, church or synagogue in 2018 (Jones, 2019).  This is a significant decrease compared to a few decades ago. On this note, 70% of Americans were church members between 1937 and 1976 (Jones, 2019). In the 1970s through the 1990s, the number averaged at 68% (Jones, 2019). Evidently, the number was not decreasing at an alarming rate until recently.

Why Is This Something That Need Analyzed?

The situation has changed significantly over the last two decades. The rate at which the number of Americans belonging to a church is plummeting is getting higher as time goes by. On this note, the rate of church membership in the country has experienced a 20% point decline since 1999 (Jones, 2019). As time goes by, fewer Americans are reporting belonging to a church, as evidenced by the following figure.

(Jones, 2019).

As demonstrated above, the proportion of the American population affiliated to specific churches is decreasing steadily over the years. This social change is followed by an increase in people who do not have any religious affiliation at all. On this note, the proportion of U.S adults who do not have any religious affiliation has changed from 8% to 19% (Jones, 2019). This means that many Americans are not changing their religions, for example, from Christianity to Islam. Instead, more Americans are cutting ties with religion altogether.

Another important trend is that more younger people are denouncing their religious affiliations in comparison to their adult counterparts. Age is crucial factor as far as religiosity is concerned. Jones (2019) asserts that the proportion of older Americans who are members of a church is far higher than when the younger Americans are concerned. This has always been the situation since time immemorial. In 2016-2018, 68% of millennials identified with a religion (Jones, 2019). The problem arises when more millennials consider themselves to be non-believers. For example, the Barna Group joined hands with Impact 360 institute to conduct a study in which they explored the level of atheism among members of Generation Z (Barna Group, 2018). This study revealed that the proportion of American teens who identify themselves as an atheist is on the rise. On this note, the study revealed that atheism among American teens is 13% in comparison to 6% for their adult counterparts (Barna Group, 2018).  If this trend persists, future generations are likely to score even higher in the atheism scale.

At the same time, thousands of churches are closing each year (Jones, 2019). Many churches are forced to close doors for lack of an adequate number of members. This is a serious problem since once a church closes, its chances of reopening is very slim. More importantly, the chances of future generations being raised in areas that have experienced a church closing its doors for good are higher. This means that the decline in Christianity in America can only get worse as time goes by.

Religion is an important part of American society. Americans need religion now more than ever as the country is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. Religion gives people hope in times where everything seems to be falling apart. Evidently, Americans are losing their trust in organized religion. More importantly, Christianity has shaped the direction the country has taken throughout history. McCusker (1969) asserts, “From the Declaration of Independence to today’s coinage, God and religion have had an important part our nation’s history and in shaping its characters” (p. 1). Throughout history, American leaders have turned to the Bible to achieve specific goals, for example, when it comes to inspiring their followers, justifying their actions, or as a refuge from their tormentors. McCusker (1969) argues that President Bill Clinton carried with him an “Oversized, photo-op-ready Bible to indicate his penitence” when he was accused of lying about having a romantic relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern (p. 1).  This example demonstrates the special role Christianity plays in America’s society.

What Is the Question that Needs Answered?

The important question that needs an urgent answer is, what is the way forward now that almost half of the Americans are not affiliated to any church? Religious scholars have a difficult task of trying to diagnose the current problem pertaining to the decline in Christianity in America. These scholars need to answer this question, what has happened in the last two decades that accounts for the surge in the rates at which Americans are cutting ties with their religions all together?  One of the emerging trends regarding changes is religiosity in the country pertaining to the decrease in church membership being higher among Catholics in comparison to their protestant counterparts. On this note, 76% of Catholics identified with a specific church approximately 20 years ago but this number now stands at 63% (Jones, 2019). However, not all religions are losing their membership at an alarming rate. For example, Jews and Mormons have had an almost stable church membership over the years (Jones, 2019). It is important to know why these religions seem to maintain their membership while others, such as Catholicism, become less popular in the country.

The other emerging trend, as far as religiosity in America is concerned, is that the millennials have a weaker attachment to religion in comparison to their older counterparts (Jones, 2019). Religious scholars need to examine the factors behind this trend. The study in which Barna Group joined hand with Impact 360 institute may be the missing link in helping religious scholars understands the sudden increase in the number of American teens who consider themselves to be atheist. On this note, this study revealed that American teenagers have a higher possibility of citing the problem of suffering and evil as a deal-breaker for them in comparison to their older counterparts (Barna Group, 2018). As such, youths are having a big problem understanding why good and loving God allows evil to exist. Thus, religious leaders should take opportunities such as the current coronavirus pandemic to explain to their followers and the masses why God allows bad situations such as the one the world is currently grappling with to occur. People need reassurance that suffering is an essential part of being human. At the same time, millennials are losing interest in Christianity since they believe that science has refuted too much of the Biblical content (Barna Group, 2018). Christian leaders need not to preach only about salvation and heaven. Instead, they should dedicate more time demonstrating to their followers how science and religion can coexist. Besides, many Christians are cutting their ties with their religion since they believe that there is no way of confirming if God is real (Barna Group, 2018). God is the central figure in Christianity. As such, when more Americans have a problem believing in His existence, there is a high probability that a significant proportion of them will denounce their religious affiliation.

(Barna Group, 2018).

Conclusion

To sum up, the United States is experiencing massive transformations, especially when it comes to the issue of religiosity. Over time, more Americans are denouncing their membership to any religion. More importantly, younger persons are cutting their ties with Christianity in greater numbers as compared to their adult counterparts. This trend is worrying since young persons will shape the future of the country not only economic-wise but also as far as the religious foundation of America is concerned. Going forward, religious leaders should carefully scrutinize the available data pertaining to the shifts in the country’s religiosity in order for them to make more informed decisions on how to increase the number of Christians in the country.

References

Barna Group. (2018). Atheism double among generation Z. Retrieved from https://www.barna.com/research/atheism-doubles-among-generation-z/

Jones, J. M. (2019). U.S. Church Membership down sharply in past two decades. Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.aspx

McCusker, J. (1969, December 31). Decline in religious faith has an impact on the economy. Retrieved from https://www.heraldnet.com/business/decline-in-religious-faith-has-an-impact-on-the-economy

Pew Research Center. (2019). In U.S., decline of Christianity continues at rapid pace. Retrieved from https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/