Losing Our Religion

by Mike James

The dramatic drop in religious commitment in the United States may be one of the most foreboding indicators of where our country may be headed in the next forty years. Unlike similarly advanced technological cultures like Europe and Japan the U.S. has maintained more religious commitment. But a new book by Ronald F. Inglehart, a political scientist at the University of Michigan, suggests we are catching up to other secular societies.

When asked to express the importance of God in their lives on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “not at all important” and 10 being “very important,” Americans rated God at an average of 4.6 in 2017. That rating was down from 8.2 a decadebefore, according to an excerpt from Inglehart’s book, Religion’s Sudden Decline, in the September/October 2020 issue of Foreign Affairs.

Today the Democrats and Republicans are less characterized by their religious groups, but more so by whether their members belong to any religion at all. Only 38 percent of Democrats say they regularly attend religious services, while Republicans come in at 54 percent.

Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019 show 65 percent of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. The religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26 percent, up from 17 percent in 2009. The number of Americans who attend weekly religious services has declined from 52 percent to 45 percent over the same ten-year period.

Presently, 43 percent of U.S. adults identify with Protestantism, down from 51 percent in 2009. About 20 percent of U.S. adults are Catholic, down from 23 percent in 2009. Atheists now account for 4 percent of U.S. adults, up from 2 percent in 2009; agnostics make up 5 percent of U.S. adults, up from 3 percent a decade ago; and 17 percent of Americans now describe their religion as “nothing in particular,” up from 12 percent in 2009. Members of non-Christian religions also have grown modestly over the last ten years.

Why such a dramatic change in only 10 years? Inglehart sees the U.S. shift as part of a global trend found in 43 of 49 countries (containing 60 percent of the world’s population) that he studied. Social and economic development makes human survival easier. This ease in life may make the need for religion less important.

Social media might play a role in the decline of religion. Social media helps people set up communities and make friends which was something religion would help people do.

The demise of Christianity in the United States is not a good sign for what our future may hold. If Psalm 78 is an indication we could be heading for a momentous fall. The Psalm begins by talking about Israel hearing the teaching of God (verse 1). It goes on to say the Israelites teach their children about what God has done (verse 4). The Psalmist makes a point about one generation teaching the next generation about God and being faithful and loyal to God (verses 6-8). But Israel soon fell away from God and began to sin and rebel (verse 17). God continued to provide for Israel abundantly despite their sins (verses 25-29). Since Israel went on sinning, God had to punish them severely for their sins (verse 34). When they were punished they woke up. The Psalmist goes on to address the history of Israel up until the time of David and Israel’s glory days.

We know that soon after the height of Israel’s ancient history, the kingdom split into two parts and eventually the Northern Kingdom of Israel was taken into Assyrian captivity and later the Southern Kingdom of Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity. A remnant of these peoples did eventually return to the land, but the nation was never blessed by God in the way they were previously blessed.

Today the United States has achieved the greatest blessings of any country in history. Agriculturally, economically, technologically, militarily—and we could go on. The Bible tells us if we are Christ’s (Christians) then we are Abraham’s seed (Israel) in Galatians 3:29. The United States used to have a better relationship with Abraham’s God. It was never perfect because most Christians do not understand what God requires of them. But the history of the United States shows a closer relationship with YHWH in our earlier years than what we are showing today. Since God has not changed, it does not take much to recognize that God will be punishing this nation like ancient Israel of old if we don’t repent and turn back to Him.

I believe it is already too late. The signs and signals are indicating a further break in our relationship with God rather than an awareness of the need for repentance. The handwriting is on the wall; the die has been cast. When and how it will all come crashing down is idle speculation, but God will bring punishment for sin to those who claim Him as their God.

Sources:

“Americans are Losing Faith,” by Charles Lane, The Washington Post, August 25, 2020.

“In U.S. Decline of Christianity Continues at a Rapid Pace,” Pew Research Center, October 19, 2019, https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/.

“God Save America,” by Richard Just, The Washington Post magazine, November 8, 2020.