The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life recently released a survey study of people’s religious habits. You can take a look at the USA Today article to find out more information on it. I’ve already read two blogs and two newspaper articles on this survey, so you can expect to see more of it in days to come.
One of the biggest things that came out of this study is that 44% of people have chosen not to stick with the religion they grew up with and have either moved to another one or dropped out of religion all together. Also, most evangelical Protestant churches are in decline according to this study.
I can already hear people crying out that the church will be extinct if this trend doesn’t stop. War talk will pop up; cultural war, that is. This action will only further alienate people who have not made a commitment to following Christ. It just seems so easy for evangelicals to see the glass as half empty when they hear stats like this one.
I read Eric Bryant’s blog about this article that really resonated with me. This “fluid faith” as the USA Today article calls it can be very beneficial because it opens the lines of communication about spirituality and life. I like Eric’s perspective that this study shows that a new day is dawning rather than believe that it’s the end of the world.
What do you all think about this?
With the information that is now available to anyone who has a computer and an ISP, It seems natural for there to be a shift in traditional beliefs. But I expect more people will abandon religion altogether as more information on the subject is assimilated and new social pressures begin to take hold.
I think that religion IS nearing an end here. Certainly, it will survive in less developed areas, but in the US we are seeing a cultural change that cannot be reversed.
Posted by epdavis | February 28, 2008, 1:05 amYes, religion is a passing phase in the development of human consciousness. Nice too see that research supports this Truth.
Posted by Harrison | February 28, 2008, 1:12 amI’m not surprised. The church of today is not relevant, nor has it worked to really adapt to cultural shifts.
Posted by Steve Tanner | February 28, 2008, 12:24 pmI don’t agree that religion is a passing phase. There always has been, and I believe always will be a need to connect with some higher power. Otherwise we are purposeless. What that means for the Christian church is that it needs to adapt the medium of its message in order to be relevant to the world around it. Unfortunately, too many churches equate medium with message. There are a growing number, though, that are trying to meet culture where it is and injecting its message.
Posted by henryjz | March 7, 2008, 1:09 am