Is Christianity in decline in America? When you examine the cold, hard numbers it is simply not possible to come to any other conclusion. Over the past few decades, the percentage of Christians in America has been steadily declining. This has especially been true among young people. As you will see later in this article, there has been a mass exodus of teens and young adults out of U.S. churches. In addition, what "Christianity" means to American Christians today is often far different from what "Christianity" meant to their parents and their grandparents. Millions upon millions of Christians in the United States simply do not believe many of the fundamental principles of the Christian faith any longer. Without a doubt, America is becoming a less "Christian" nation. This has staggering implications for the future of this country. The United States was founded primarily by Christians that were seeking to escape religious persecution. For those early settlers, the Christian faith was the very center of their lives, and it deeply affected the laws that they made and the governmental structures that they established. So what is the future of America going to look like if we totally reject the principles that this nation was founded on?
Overall, Christianity is still the largest religion in the world by far. According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, there are currently 2.2 billion Christians in the world. So Christianity is not in danger of disappearing any time soon. In fact, in some areas of the globe it is experiencing absolutely explosive growth.
But in the United States, things are different. Churches are shrinking, skepticism is growing and apathy about spiritual matters seems to be at an all-time high.
Before we examine the data, let me disclose that I am a Christian. I am not bashing Christians or the Christian faith at all in this article. In fact, I consider the decline of Christianity in America to be a very bad thing. Not everyone is going to agree with me on that, but hopefully this article will help spark a debate on the role of religion in America that everyone can learn something from.
Unfortunately, the reality is that most Americans spend very little time thinking about religion or spiritual matters these days.
Just consider the following quote from a recent USA Today article....
"The real dirty little secret of religiosity in America is that there are so many people for whom spiritual interest, thinking about ultimate questions, is minimal," says Mark Silk, professor of religion and public life at Trinity College"
This is backed up by the numbers. For example, a survey taken last year by LifeWay Research found that 46 percent of all Americans never think about whether they will go to heaven or not.
To most Americans, faith is simply not a big deal. This is particularly true of our young people. Those under the age of 30 are leaving U.S. churches in droves. The following comes from a recent CNN article....
David Kinnaman, the 38-year-old president of the Barna Group, an evangelical research firm, is the latest to sound the alarm. In his new book, "You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith," he says that 18- to 29-year-olds have fallen down a "black hole" of church attendance. There is a 43% drop in Christian church attendance between the teen and early adult years, he says.
But it isn't just young people that are leaving American churches. The proportion of Americans that consider themselves to be Christians has been steadily declining for many years. Back in 1990, 86 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be Christian. By 2008, that number had dropped to 76 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of Americans that reject religion entirely has absolutely soared. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans with "no religion" more than doubled between 1990 and 2008.
So what is going to happen if these trends continue?
Dave Olson, the director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, has made some really interesting projections regarding what is going to happen to church attendance in America if current trends continue.
According to Olson, only 18.7 percent of all Americans regularly attend church right now. If this number continues to decline at the current pace, Olson says that the percentage of Americans attending church in 2050 will be about half of what it is today.
Other research has produced similar results.
According to a study done by LifeWay Research, membership in Southern Baptist churches will fall nearly 50 percent by the year 2050 if current trends persist.
If you are a Christian, you should be quite alarmed by these numbers.
But what is happening to the faith of our young people should be even more alarming for Christians.
The American Religious Identification Survey by the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society & Culture at Trinity College is one of the most comprehensive studies on religion in America that has ever been done.
According to that study, 15 percent of all Americans say that they have "no religion".
That is up from 8 percent in 1990.
That is quite a change.
But the move away from religion is particularly pronounced among our young people.
One recent survey found that 25 percent of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 say that they have no religion.
Obviously the Christian faith is not winning the battle for the hearts and the minds of our young people. The cold, hard truth is that in America today, the younger you are, the less likely you are to consider yourself to be a Christian.
Large numbers of young Americans that went to church while they were growing up are now leaving U.S. churches entirely. A recent study by the Barna Group discovered that nearly 60 percent of all Christians between the ages of 15 and 29 are no long actively involved in any church.
But not only have they left the church, our young people have also abandoned just about all forms of Christian spirituality.
Just check out the results of one survey of young adults that was conducted by LifeWay Christian Resources....
•65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either.
•65% rarely or never attend worship services of any kind.
•67% don't read the Bible or any other religious texts on a regular basis.
If this does not get turned around, churches all over America will be closing their doors. When the survey above first came out, the president of LifeWay Christian Resources stated that "the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships."
But it is not just church that our young people are rejecting.
The reality is that they are also rejecting the fundamental principles of the Christian faith.
One survey conducted by the Barna Group found that less than 1 percent of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 23 hold a Biblical worldview.
The Barna Group asked participants in the survey if they agreed with the following six statements....
1) Believing that absolute moral truth exists.
2) Believing that the Bible is completely accurate in all of the principles it teaches.
3) Believing that Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic.
4) Believing that a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or by doing good works.
5) Believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth.
6) Believing that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today.
Less than 1 percent of the participants agreed with all of those statements.
That is staggering.
But it is not just young adults that are rejecting the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
Even large numbers of "evangelical Christians" are rejecting the fundamental principles of the Christian faith.
For example, one survey found that 52 percent of all American Christians believe that "at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life".
Another survey found that 29 percent of all American Christians claim to have been in contact with the dead, 23 percent believe in astrology and 22 percent believe in reincarnation.
Without a doubt, the religious landscape of America is changing.
Over the past several decades, church attendance has been steadily declining, the percentage of Americans that consider themselves to be Christians has been going down, and the number of people that hold traditional Christian beliefs has been dropping like a rock.
So what does all of this mean for the future of America?
Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts below....
I sympathise with American Christians regarding the state of America. Although not an American, I am a Christian. However when we look at American Christians and the state of America, it becomes a case of “Houston, we have a problem”. The problem is that from about the 1850s onward, the American protestant churches began to preach that “the 10 commandments were done away with at the cross”. Hence American Christianity has also contributed to the lawless state of America.
BeenThere,
Where were these fake christians when slavery was began? Genocide of Native Americans? Jim Crow Era South? The unnecessary Civil War? Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII? All the current undeclared, illegal wars on Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Iran etc. etc.? Support of Opium trade in Afghanistan and Operation Fast and Furious which is about the shipping of guns to killers in Mexico and the importation of drugs from Mexico to amerika?
Christians had/have nothing to say about any of these things and they therefore have no moral high ground to stand on………….
Personally, I am overjoyed that people are turning away from primitive rituals and beliefs, as they do so much more harm than good. This world could do without any more Crusades or organized pedophilia rings like the Catholic Church.
Let’s forget ‘Let God into your heart’ and replace it with ‘Let reason into your brain’ !
Sirperry,
Sorry, but this asylum society is not about to allow logic, reason, and rationality to become the centerpiece of its functioning any time soon………
Can you give any examples of them doing more Harm then good? Because I see no harm in believing in any christian faith at all. Even if you are a non-beliver it doesn’t bring any harm or effect to you other then you are missing out on the love that God gives. I am Catholic so i find it to highly offensive. You have no right to srike at people beliefs. Your atheist? congratulations, but keep the criticism to yourself please. Having beliefs gives you kinder heart, so I see no harm that you say it causes. But by all means if you are so against it then tell me some of these “harms” because i would just love to hear them, because I am sure they will all be illogical or false. And being a Christian does put reason in your brain, Faith is even based upon reason. So you might want to put some reason into YOUR brain.
Sorry, but none of you have evidence that your god exists and last time I checked, there is not a decline in christianty in america (just look at all of the people in the crowd during the republican debate that applauded when netw gingrich refused to answer about his “open marriage”) If you get people to believe in absurd claims, then you can get them to commit attrocites.
Theres plenty of evidence that God exists, but thats not really your hangup now is it. Your problem with Gods existence has everything to do with your pride and your unwillingness to humbly accept the fact that there is an all powerful being to whom you owe your existence, and the thought of you having to give an account to him in the end is more than you can bear. ANYONE who says that they cannot find evidence for the existence of God, who transcends time and space is a fool. That is’nt my diagnosis, it’s Gods, and I agree. To say that God did’nt create the universe is to say that something came out of nothing, an affect without a cause, which takes more faith to accept than the concept of a Creator, not to mention the evidence of Gods existence based upon the FACT that OBJECTIVE ( not subjective ) moral values exist. But lets turn this around, if you say that God does not exist, present your evidence to support that. If not, then your points are all pointless.
why does Christianity depend on human sacrifice?
why is man so arrogant as to think that only death is the way his “sins” are forgiven?
as a person who believes christ did exist and had wonderful things to share with our world- i must admit that nothing scares me more than an evangelical christian. let us not confuse the difference between a belief in God, Yahweh, Nobodaddy, or whatever you want to call it- with greedy earthbound souls that use it to gain money and power. i hope we could see that if a person uses religion for personal gain of any sort, said person should in fact classified as evil. if so- and there is an ‘afterlife’- there may in fact be a less-than-comfortable place for the likes of the olsteens, falwells, and robertsons of the world.
god is there, and personal. god shouldn’t like banks (as his ‘son’ professed). god should be just, and i am sure he/she is. but god is not talking to you through a man/woman in an ampitheater asking for your loot. god is not speaking in lloyd blankfeins ear telling him to make money in his name. maybe ‘christians’ should start back at the roots of christianity and the works of God’s son- e.g. more benevolence and less greed- and people may start hitting the pews again
Michael-here is my experience. I get little to nothing out of going to church and even dread Sundays to some extent. I would like to talk about things other than events of several thousand years ago.
The fact that Saul consulted with the Witch of Endor, or that God and the Devil wagered at Jobs expense, or that some guy got swallowed by a fish has no meaning and I could care less as it relates nothing to my life here and now in 2012.
If I have to hear that same stuff year after year it gets sickening. I do not care about pontious pilot King Herod et al. They are dead and gone F-them.
How does my hearing about Jesus turning water in to wine help me? How about Jesus turning the rock in my yard to gold? WTF do I care about ****** that happened thousands of years ago?
I see the young leaving church as it is so mind numbingly boring that it brings tears to their eyes.
Gary:
You always say “show me the money”, so here it is….
The God of the universe loved you so much that He sent His Son to be tortured and to die to pay the penalty for your sins so that you could have eternal life.
What amount of money would you be willing to trade for eternal life?
Michael
So how does knowing this put food in my belly? Just pray the hunger away?
I mean money I can use to buy happiness and comfort in THIS life.
I do however, appreciate what you said.
Gary:
Read Deuteronomy chapter 28.
My guess is that your life currently sounds a lot like verses 15 through 68.
If you want your life to be much more like verses 1 through 14, turn to the one true God and start doing the things He tells you to do.
Michael
Michael-Why did God have to send anyone to save anyone? If he is all powerful then he can wave the magic wand and everything is perfect. No son needed to die on a cross. As I see it God CHOSE to have things be such as they were that HE needed to send a son to die fore our sins. Again the magic wand thing.
If God allowed there to be a devil then its his issue that he needs to save anyone. Again the magic wand thing. This is all gods choice.
Gary:
God is a God of perfect love but God is also a God of perfect justice.
For example, imagine a judge that would just let Hitler off for all the crimes that he committed.
Would such a judge be a “good” judge?
As a God of perfect justice, God has to judge our wickedness, but as a God of perfect love God also paid the penalty for our guilt Himself.
Michael
why does God hate amputees? he NEVER answers their prayers
http://whydoesgodhateamputees.com/important.htm
Gay Veteran:
Perhaps you have not heard of all of the amazing miracles that have been happening all over the world.
Would an eyeball materializing in the eye socket of a blind child be good enough for you?…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s3cTygLY0Y&feature=related
What about someone being raised from the dead after being in the mortuary for three days?….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WthZQtPtj20
What about a blind man being healed?….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMNLgJwYnu8
I could go on and on and on and on.
When atheists try to argue that God does not do miracles today I just laugh.
I have seen miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle.
Do yourself a favor some time and pull up some old Sid Roth episodes….
http://www.sidroth.org/site/PageServer?pagename=tv_archives
The stuff you will see on there will blow your mind.
God still does the same miracles today that He did back in the Bible.
If you don’t know about them, that either means that you are ignorant or self-deluded.
Michael
Michael, the video with the eyes reappearing is such a bad fake, it’s offensive. You should be angry that someone thinks you are fool enough to think that’s real.
The eye effect itself is amateur, a first-year animation student wouldn’t get a C+ for turning that project in.
Beyond that, there are close-ups of the girl, the healer, the mother, view of the audience from the stage, and wide shots. In the wide shots you should be able to see at least two other cameras on stage. The reason you don’t is because it was shot multiple times from different angles and edited together. Also, the acting is terrible.
God allows everyone free will, to choose what they want.
Satan (the angel formerly known as Lucifer) chose to rebel against God. Why? Because he wanted to be like God. Satan wants you to be like God. The problem is, Satan wanted the glory for himself. He became JEALOUS… ENVIOUS… and those other 5 of the 7 deadly sins.
He used that trick against Adam and Eve (read Genesis chapter 3). You know, “Ye shall not surely die… for in the day that ye eat thereof, ye shall become gods, knowing good and evil…”
And he uses that same trick to this very day.
Hi Gary, Why did He have to save us? Because He has such high standards (of Holiness)we in our fallen state are unable to reach those standards no matter how hard we try.Jesus as perfect God in human form is the only one able to.
Why doesn’t God wave the wand and everything’s perfect? I wish it was so. But he has given us the gift of choice and has himself chosen not to override our freedom of choice whatever it would be. By sending Jesus who took the punishment we deserve for those wrong choices,He has made the plan of recocilliation very clear, and for us, though not for Jesus, easy.
God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself….
That’s Grace!
When it comes to religion I agree with the socialist.
Hi Gary
Our Father allows His children to have free choice.
To choose which way they should go in life and what to believe.
The Lord Jesus is God and He loves His children very much.
Jesus’s children are the ones who believe upon His name as our savior and the Son of God.
Every man has a choice and the Father knows that the Holy Spirit can take the worse of the devil owned masses and cleanse them to be as Gold and white and pure in His eyes.
Did you know that 1000 years is to a day to the Lord.
In the Lords time His child is only gone(given a life of 68 yrs) about two hours from the Fathers arms.
Just think if your little one was gone two hours away from you how much yelling and calling you wold do trying to get your child to hear so that you may find them and be with them.
People talk as Christianity as a religion .
Christianity has never been a religion.
It is based on truth and knowledge and wisdom which can only be received by the Holy Spirit by faith.
By faith you believe and are saved and throgh the Holy Spirit(which you will receive)you receive knowledge.
Knowledge then begets wisdom.
Then and only then can you become what the Father wants you to be for Him and for His pleasure, not what the world wants you to be.
True Christians are led by the Holy Spirit of God the Father our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Father chooses where they will go and who they will give their testimony to.
Whether it be a large mass gathered together or one individual in a field alone, miles from nowhere.
You are looking at 2 days since our God our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into the Heavens with a word for all.
For who so ever believeth on my name shall not perish but have everlasting life.
It has always been mans choice to be saved.
Peace be with you.
That is, if you can actually prove there is eternal life in the first place?
Xander:
There is a massive amount of evidence if you are willing to look at it.
For example, do you know that the God of the Bible told us specifically how many things in history would play out in centuries in advance?
A great introductory book on this subject is entitled “Discovering God” and it can be found here….
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983668132/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theeconomiccollapse-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0983668132
Michael
Michael,
How about peace for eternal life………….
Again, the problem here is’nt Gods existence, its the unwillingness to submit ones life to him. You have been given all the evidence you need to arrive at the conclusion that God exists and that the bible is in fact the inspired word of God. I, myself have even responded to your posts in the past with resources to help you find the answer, but you have not accessed them. because proof of Gods existence was never the issue with you. Unfortunately for you, you will not be able to plead ignorance on the day of judgment. You should spend some time in Romans ch. 1 & 2. Your own conscience will bear witness against you on the day of judgment ( Romans 2:15-16 ). You are exactly the same as the people who demanded that Jesus give a sign to show that he was Gods son after he had already provided them with all the miracles and signs they would ever need to believe. Ironically, you refer to the story of Jonah in your post, which is the only sign Jesus said they would be given. You don’t accept the word of God as truth because you know that it calls you to repent and live differently, which is exactly the problem the Jewish leaders had with Jesus, which is why they wanted him to produce yet another sign. You don’t WANT to believe because it means taking yourself off the throne and putting God there. You only see the world through a political lens.
you want god because you fear death
You fear the bible is true and the ramifications of what that means so you attack it and christians in an attempt to find peace, but without submitting to Gods plan, none will be found. I will continue to pray for you, that you may be saved. God bless.
Ahhh – but it does.
The examples you mention – the Witch of Endor, Jonah’s experience in the belly of the whale, etc. – are meant to teach us future (not so future now) generations about God’s love and laws to us.
Jesus’s temptations by the devil, after the 40 days of fasting, was one of the ultimate battles of faith. He (Christ) fought those battles on our behalf.
I’m not one of those “scriptures and passages” people, but I will tell you, that the devil came to Jesus and told him that if he was really the Son of God, to turn the stones below him into bread. Jesus replied, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from God”. I believe that passage is in Matthew, but I’m not sure. Of course, He could have very easily turned rocks into bread. But that would have defeated His purpose on this earth. There are two other instances mentioned, about similar temptations.
Just something to think about. Need to get back to the Patriots/Ravens football game now.
Peace to all
Christianity has never been a religion.
The Bible was never written for an worldly mass.
The Holy Spirit still lives within the Fathers chosen.
The Truth is still the Truth.
Why are you at wondering when it has been explained to you?
In the unveiling of Jesus Christ( the Revelations).
We are living in the last days The Day of Our Lord.
This has to come about for it is already been told.
The apostacy of the Laodicean church age.
The Lord tells us to watch and when we see these signs be glad for our redemption is near.
God our Lord and heavenly Father Jesus Christ is not in a building but is living in the people His children.
I would say if the church is getting vacant it is not because the people have quit believing and loving their Holy Father Jesus Christ but because His truth is no longer preached and the buildings called churches are filled with the ones who tickle the unsaved ears with what they want to hear and with doctrines of devils.
It does not take a preacher in a building to save the lost child.
We all can pray for our loved ones and for the safety of them and also we all need the wisdom that is received from the Holy Spirit to absolutely without a doubt know what we are to do in these last days.
May the Father watch over you and keep you all whole til His coming.
who cares? i think we’re better off without any religion.
Yeh I agree.You can Keep your religion.
If we walk in the light as He is in The light we have fellowship one with the other and the blood of Jesus His son cleanses us from all sin.1 John something.
Im thankful that its all about relationship.
The thing is that there is a great awareness going on. Young adults, especially, now ask questions that their parents perhaps never bothered to ask about religion. When there are no answers, it leads to believe that maybe religion is just baseless.
Religion is in decline because the internet has helped the spread of truth and people are waking up to what a racket it is, much like politics and economics.
That would explain why every tyrant from China to DC wants to control all content on the Internet! Dissent and questioning are unpopular with the DHS.
Strange that the most virulent atheists on this board are supporters of Shariah Law and the Muslim Brotherhood!
“Strange that the most virulent atheists on this board are supporters of Shariah Law and the Muslim Brotherhood!” Excuse me, where does that come from???
Michael,
Great article. It did bring to mind a survey that the old Redbook magazine published back in August of 1961 where 100 ministerial students were interviewed about their beliefs.
56% denied the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
11% did not believe in the divinity of Jesus.
2% believed in the immortality of mankind.
1% were convinced there would be a second-coming of our Lord.
Considering how long ago that was, one can only imagine the damage that has been done by those seminaries where the gospel and our Lord have been reduced and demoted.
Therefore it is not surprising in the least that the state of the Christian Church is in decline and that as it does so does it impact the health of this country which was founded on Christian principles. The whole of chapter 5 in the Book of Isaiah makes it clear that God will judge us and rather harshly indeed for not only our sinful behaviors as well as our apostasy. You cannot enjoy the fruits of God’s grace and then turn and reject his commandments and expect him to continue blessing you (St. John 14:23, 24).
The Gift
Time to leave Egypt land. Politics and religion are built on sand. The sands of time are now starting to shift. Jesus Christ died to give you a gift. It’s up to you to say yes or no that will be based on the salvation of your soul. Now is the time to get into the boat as spiritual Israel for you to stay afloat and tell others of this truly amazing news.
Will you help tell someone today?
Scott Sepanek
Author
Poems4TheSoul.com
Follow on Twitter & recommend to friends @Poems4TheSoul
email: scott.sepanek@yahoo.com
Pls pass this short message on to others & have them do the same. Scott
Let me repeat: There is to be a great falling away (happening now) before the end of this present evil age. Don’t be fooled. You don’t want to be numbered with those walking away. After the great falling away will be a brief period in which God separates His people from all those who chosen to reject His provision for reconciliation. You don’t want to be a part of this group, as these are headed into eternal exil in the outer darkness. Cling to Jesus, He is the only way to the Father. He is your only hope.
Michael:
have you ever heard of fraud? religious charlatans “healing” people and of course immediately asking for donations from the sheeple
Gay Veteran:
I have been healed by God.
Am I a fraudster because I was supernaturally healed?
I am amazed that anyone still doubts healings in this day and age.
Michael
Dear All,
Why do Protestants insist on calling themselves Christians?
I indirectly ask this question on the website http://www.capd.com.au and I give my reasons for arguing that they certainly “are not followers of Jesus Christ” and should not call themselves Christians.
The word ‘Christian’ means ‘Catholic’ – it describes a person who follows Jesus Christ. Catholic = Christian; Christian = Catholic!
Most Protestants have extreme prejudice against the Catholic Church, the Catholic Bible and Catholic people, in general.
If Protestants actually followed Jesus Christ should they not at least read from the SAME BOOK of SCRIPTURES that Jesus Christ used i.e. the Septuagint? Or, if they don’t read Greek, at least from its closest English translation? English speaking Catholics mostly use the Douay-Rheims Bible which is the English translation of St Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.
I am not saying that St Jerome only used the Septuagint as his main source when he translated from the Old Testament (which contained those seven extra books that Jesus Christ and His Apostles quoted from) but he did include those seven books in his Latin Vulgate Bible – compiled in 382AD-404AD.
It could explain why the American Economy is in ‘free-fall’?
May God Have Mercy on us all!
Lawrence (aka Laurie) Myers, Christian Activist, Sydney, Australia 26 Jan. 2012
I believe in Christ, not “religion.” Christ, not religion, is the way the light and the life. The Body of Christ (that is, believers), not a “church,” is the group of which I belong (but I do go to a local nondenominational much of the time). I support Christianity, not Churchianity!
Yes, there is a falling away, a strong delusion, and a luckwarmness (read Revelation on the church of Laodecia and also read 2nd Thessalonians), and now it is hitting the US hard…but what do you expect when “christian” politicians like Santorum and Gingrich (as well as the Mormon Romney) are constantly pushing for war for Israel’s sake?
I blame Christian Zionism–which is the doctrine that holds sway in probably a majority of Protestant churches (esp. megachurches), at least as much as I blame atheism for this sad state of affairs. But I also blame “feel good” “prosperity gospel” and “the social gospel” as well.
To the author: you just might come to the conclusion that all of this has been foretold in much of the New Testament…God knows exactly what He is doing!
And, oh yeah, denominationalism too. Catholics don’t need to be hating Protestants and vice versa, but many “Christians” do exactly that. and let’s not forget Christian Identity, that most racist and anti-Semitic groups as well.
Put it all together and that’s why the numbers of Christians in the US are declining.
The problem with u americans, you have very little choice, your white arrogance and xenophobia closed your eyes to other religions.
I guess u know everything about islam, you know,those people in the desert who bleed your economy trillions of dollars….
Buddhism/taoism..a religion that never needed to send an army to china,that humbled the industroous chinese and japanese….why bother with voodoo magic turning water into wine and walking on water when the buddhist taoist believed a stone minkey fly on clouds and turned their heaven upside down and wrestked with the buddha..
Not to mention hinduism..which is ridiculed by the west as archaic due to its caste syste with its rich histpry of endless battles between demonds and gods..such as the Ramayana which will make the stories of jesus and the bible tales little more than third rate literature..the rich tales of hinduism is perfectly illustrated on the walls of angkor wat way before the christians had their empty cathedrals built on loot from he new world…
Indeed humans have a strange sense of beliving in the unseen or concepts in life..that is why heathens use gods and goddesses to represent elemsnt of life..god of agricuoture and god of commerce…soemthing that is missing in chsristianity which is why christians are easily buffonned priests who,perverted christian ideals like ursury….on the other hand…the gods and goddesses of buddhism retain their ideals for thousands of years unchanged…hence you see the ideals of confucianism that is is imbued into taoism/buddhism continue to shaoe chinese cukture today for exampke education, hinduism hadtheir sarawathy goddess to propagate education among hindus ..even islam despite a monitheist have prophet mohammad represent a businessmen,a huband, a king and even an economist which guide muslim life…for example islamic finance which structky ban ursury is now an emerging financial tool for the world..
What does christianity offered..even christmas is the birthday of the son god of old Romans? Colonialism….ethnic cleansing and two world wars and yes the wars in the middle east..the chinese are not impressed that the christiansb that forbade ursury succumb to debt and being cowed by zionists until today..the muslims continue to fight tooth and nail to send your crusaders back home in coffins or jobless on the street.
Christianity has exhausted itself after the end of colonialism and the rise of ursury based colonialism that is contrary to christian principles….what is christianity to the americans?
Shouldn’t it be said that the “Church” is the people who follow Jesus Christ and that that means to live like Him and keeping all the commandments as well as doing that which is “good”? Church is NOT a building where people congregate and so to claim they are a “Christian”; “Christianity” is a living/doing “Church” that is a/the way of life for all claiming such.
Empty pews in a “church” may be the sign that God really doesn’t like “mans” way and because most have forgotten His (Gods)way.
Defining “Christianity” lightly is the real problem in the hearts of man. Especially since all who claim it are to live a holy life but may not truly live it because of reasons unaware/aware.
Do peoples works, or even any part of their works show forth the “faith” that they claim? Does any know what “works” are?
All I see today in this lust for sin world are mostly liars. People want to “look and claim” the part (Christianity) but rarely does any truly live it.
People play the game that God should give them what they want when they want it, and He should do what they want Him to do how and when they want it it done, but they themselves shouldn’t be expected or required to behave and not sin. You should get the picture.
It’s the evil game of the lie I am me and so God should give and do because…
It is the sin problem in peoples hearts that is the problem. People wanting and claiming something (Christian)that they are not and for any reason and foolishly thinking it is okay as long as they speak it and/or “look” it.
As you can see from “The Shocking Decline Of Christianity In America” and in the whole world, fake is fake. A lie is a lie no matter how well disguised as “Christianity”.
If you want His (Gods) blessings more frequent in your life and/or country/world then maybe you should start by talking to God and really learning what “works” are and living them. Here one should know because they read The Holy Bible, and do because they love God.
Have we attempted to make (subjugate) God to be our slave because we don’t get it because to get it would mean to admit our ignorance, our selfish greed, our lies, our sins and from such things repent? I guess maybe there is little or no repentance coming from any in any true form or this article would not even exist.
And what part of the narrow path do people not understand? Or is that they want a payday without working?
Can any nation exist long under God? Under lies and all forms of deceit? Let us do a real thorough check of where our hearts really are. Be it with God and His ways, or our ways? Which do we really serve?
It has to be Gods way in and for our life or we lose it all. We lose any claim to “Christianity”, we lose our “Nation”, and we could lose everlasting life.
God has given us His word. What have we given?
I am not sure if it was already said in the comments as I could not read them all… But only wanted to add that Christianity has seen its steepest decline in the past 20 years or so.
The primary causes for this are i) access to the internet, which broadens once perspective about different people or cultures, and further is a very lively place for debate with no stone left unturned. I think the young people who grew up with the internet (Millennials) and also, though slightly less a factor, the generation before them, have or will abandon Christianity. There is too much information out there to consume. Yes some is wrong or has some ill-intent. But mostly, the young people will grow to understand the reason man adopted religion and the history of Christianity, and when shown against the backdrop of the world today, these individuals will know that it was a tool for times before us.
The young Christians won’t make hasty judgments… and it will take a little time. But the “fellowship” of the church which is losing its competition with the internet, and the unexplainable views of the bible which contrast respect and love for all individuals (i.e., Jesus’ message absent among too many evangelicals today) will be essentially the young people will see a new light: That of reason.
The second reason is because of hypocrisy of those who call themelves Christians, especially in the past 12 years. George Bush was known to be a Christian and he courted the evangelicals. His term is responsible for so many travesties against the Constitution, and also for harms done to this country, all in the name of fighting “terrorism”. The war on terror grew beyond what was reasonable… the wars were not explained to the people, the mainstream media does not over views people find on other news sites that originate in other countries… etc. Bottom line, it is clear that America is getting worse and worse…. and it was done largely with a Christian at the helm — this doesn’t mean I spare no contempt for Obama, as he is truly no better.
I do not think it salvageable… once knowledge is let out from the dark — and in this case, once it is distributed… The notion of any faith, no matter how ingrained it might have been in you, will ultimately succomb to reason.
Many people defending Christianity and in pronouncing it is the end, and saying the country is dying… are all too focused on their faith to care about this Country…. we may feel like a Theocracy… but this country was not intended to be one.
And, if I have to say it one more time (!!!) — the founding fathers were the farthest thing from “primarily Christians”!!!! They were deists or unitarians or atheists — who might have attended services as it was customary. But in examining the writings of Madison, Jefferson, Franklin, Monroe, etc. not one of them holds their faith, whatever it was, very high. These were definitely men of reason — NOT men of God.
Further,
Society needs religion for numerous reasons. Mainly because value systems are based on religious texts. First, it helps regulate human behavior. It teaches people to be self-sufficient and the virtues of taking care of one-self while making it an option to engage in charity. This produces a spiritually guided work ethic that societies have been built on. Religion helps instill cooperation in people and discourages selfish behavior when the good of the many is at stake.
The main importance for religion is it gives you something to believe in other than yourself. Without the Law of God, the highest authority we as mortals are expected to uphold is the Law of Man, which has been proven to be far from perfect time and time again. There has to be something that we measure ourselves against other than each other. Even if there wasn’t a God (which I believe there is), having the idea of one helps in more ways than it hurts. This makes even a fictional deity worth worshipping. The values taught in the Bible can help make you a better person just as the teachings in other religions can as well.
Society comes apart at the seams when God is neglected. Remember, God never turned his back on us. We have so don’t forget that. If wars are conducted under the guise of false-prophets who slander the name of Christianity by using it as the mascot for their evil wars and corruption realize it isn’t the idea of religion itself that caused that. People with their selfish agendas corrupt it and the gelatin minds that are fooled into accepting it. There’s nothing wrong with the ideas; it’s the people. That’s why I don’t go to church because my relationship with God is personal. Another reason why you never see me with my crucifix necklace outside my shirt. Always tucked underneath.
Dear Readers,
No well-informed Christian person can believe in the following absolute statements:
2) Believing that the Bible is completely accurate in all of the principles it teaches.
4) Believing that a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or by doing good works.
There is much that Protestant people believe that is just not true. On my website http://www.capd.com.au I seriously question whether Protestants are even Christian!
The statement – 2) Believing that the Bible is completely accurate in all of the principles it teaches – depends on what version or translation one is reading. No Protestant Bible is accurate – for a start they exclude seven books which have been accepted by Catholics since the Council of Rome in AD 382. The best English translation of the Bible is the Douay-Rheims Bible – if Protestants started reading it they would not be Protestants for long.
The other statement – 4) Believing that a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or by doing good works – requires some modification. It is true that no person can enter Heaven by JUST doing good works. It is also true that no person can enter Heaven UNLESS they have performed good works.
These days only 1 in 1000 Catholic persons actually believes and practices what the Catholic Church has traditionally believed and taught.
In my opinion, the US has no future if Protestants do not convert to the Catholic Faith that is practised by the present Remnant of the Catholic Church – namely the 1 in 1000.
Yours in Christ, Laurie Myers, Christian Activist, Sydney, Australia 7 March 2012
What does this decline of Christianity in America mean? Here are some key bullets about the future of America:
1. A Rise of The New Age Religions (Generally a Mixture of religions combined into one religion)
2. The rise of Paganism, or Eastern Religions
3. A slow gradual expanse towards science, empiricism, logic, and reason to explain the objective claims of the universe, such as the origin of life, and the origin of the universe.
4. Supernatural explanations will continue to be replaced, with natural explanations, such as abiogenesis, replacing supernatural design. People will be more open to agnosticism, on claims they do not know.
5. The rise of fringe Christian groups, where they try to combat this, by whatever means possible, to stop the decline of Christianity.
6. America, will focus more on globalism, and the idea of the 21st century political ideology, versus the 18-20th century idea of politics.
7. Religious ideas, will continue to more as mythology or allegories, rather than literal truths.
8. The church and state separation will be in danger, as Christians (or some other religious group) might try to use the government to get special favor for a religion, via the political process.
9. The churches will re-engineer the bible, to fit the modern day, so that they can remain in business, but this will lead faster to the demise of Christianity.
10. Christianity, and other religions, will become a pseudo-psychology, sociological function, versus being a message of the divine.
11. Atheism/irreligious, and non-Christian based religions will continue to grow, in marginal feats.
12. Christianity will become the minority, but not anytime soon.
13. Scientific advancement will make people, more trust worthy of science, and scientist, and experts, rather than religious experts.
14. Christianity, and other religions, will continue to be marginalized.
15. Christianity, and other religions, will have less authority in society, in America.
16. Christianity, will have an increase in members, during the economic downturn, but after that, it will lose numbers, but even with that, Christianity will have a decline.
17. Christianity, will lose its credibility, as core doctrines, will be shown to be faulty.
18. America, will become more like a European economic system.
19. Some Christians, will become hopeless, as Christianity, continues to decline.
20. America, will not be the only super power in the future, there will be competing ones.
21. America will continue to become more secular.
22. Christians, will change their interpretation of the bible, to fit the modern day.
23. The Catholic Church, will continue to remain the leading sect.
I have been a life long Catholic. Because you are a Cotholic and Christain does not mean to never struggle with the super-natural part of the faith. We all do to some degree! But what is undeniable is the value of the faith. If Jesus Christ was not the son-of God, which we has Catholics believe, he had an incredible wisdom. If you think back the barbaric nature of the world 2000 years ago, where ruler relied on torture and fear for their own selfish interests, Jesus Christ changed the world. His words healed in a time were blood and torture were an everyday occurance.
The primary focus of Christians is love and charity to our fellow human beings. It is all about living in peace with one’s self by making the right decisions and conducting ourselves as Jesus would have wanted. Stop the condeming, the bad mouthing, killing, torture and fight our self centered and ego tendencies, and adopt and bigger approach to our lives. Live for something other than material possessions and money, over filling our stomachs with food and alcohol, and and spend our days badgering and bad mouthing others to make ourselves look better. There is an inner peace with many Catholics, and it stems from following Jesus as our example. Jesus condemned sin, but never the sinners. He told the sinner to go and sin no more!
George Carlin (who was a Catholic as a young man and later rejected his faith) does a skit about being a Catholic. He esentually make fun of Catholics and Christians. Yet, him and his wife were both strung out on drugs and alcohol and living in the back seat of a car! I think I will continue my Catholic Faith, because I know the teachings will lead somewhere meaningful, and not to the bottom of a bottle of booze!
Being a Catholic is a fantastic experience! Yes, it take effort, thought and disipline! Sonething completely lacking in America right now! But the rewards are many! Conducting your life in a meaningful way and with an inner peace! Maybe there should be an survey on the streets of Chicago of the number of people at peace with themselves? Where do you turn to when the waves get rough and high? Booze, eating, abuse, anger, revenge, drugs, yelling, screaming, hitting, bad-mouthing, gossip?
The Catholic Faith is challenging in the most important way! It is challenging specificlaly about ourselves! It is easy to talk about the fault of others, not so easy about ourselves! The next time you read the bible or go to church and listen to the gospel reading, really think about what is really being communciated! The wisdom may surprise you!
CHURCHES THAT HAVE TRIED TO REBUILD AFTER FIRES ARE NOT REBUILDING, ESTABLISHED PARISHES ARE HITTING THE CONGREGATIONS HARDER FOR MORE MONEY THAN EVER, OR SIMPLY CLOSING DOWN! YOU CAN ONLY GIVE SO MUCH IN HARD TIMES AND THEY DON’T SEEM TO GET IT..BECAUSE WHEN YOU GIVE WAY BEYOND YOUR MEANS IT IS SUPPOSE TO COME BACK TEN FOLD…WHEN IT DOESN’T ,REALITY SETS IN AND FUTILITY BECOMES EVIDENT…WE LOSE JOBS ,HAVE LESS MONEY, AND LOSE PATIENCE WITH THE LORD!WE SEE EVIL PEOPLE PROSPER EVERY DAY, AS WELL AS SOCIOPATHIC LIARS AND USERS,HEART BREAKERS CRUSH THE KIND, THE SOFT OF HEART! THEY LAND UPRIGHT MOST OF THE TIME~NO WONDER THE RANKS ARE THIN…AND THE”LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAY” THING HAS WORN THIN FOR THOSE WHO STRUGGLE, HURT AND ARE ALONE, DESPERATE OR ON THE FRINGES!
Crazy Christian Bible Bashers