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Originally Posted by justamere10
Where have all the Christians gone?
A recent article on FoxNews.com revealed the following:
1. The number of Christians has declined 12% since 1990, and is now 76%, the lowest percentage in American history.
2. Non-Christians are not particularly atheist. That number hasn’t budged and stands at less than 1 percent. (Agnostics are similarly less than 1 percent.) Instead, these individuals have a belief in God but no interest in organized religion, or they believe in a personal God but not in a formal faith tradition.
3. Americans are interested in God, but they don’t think existing institutions are helping them draw closer to God.
The writer of that article concludes:
"Today, the rise of disaffection is so powerful that different denominations need to band together to find a shared language of God that can move beyond the fading divisions of the past and begin moving toward a partnership of different-but-equal traditions.
Or risk becoming Europe, where religion is fast becoming an afterthought."
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/09/25/bruce-feiler-christians-americans-gone/
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While there may be a bit of truth to the writer's conclusion, the fact remains that he makes presumptions. Nowhere does he account for the increased diversity of the population. In recent decades we have seen the largest influx of non-Christian immigrants who follow a different religion, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam.
The data provided is insufficient. It provides no information regarding the increase in other religions, such as the aforementioned ones, which would correlate to higher numbers of East Asians, East Indians, various Middle Eastern and Europeans who are traditionally culturally Muslim (e.g. turks, albanians, etc.). This is not to mention other non-Christian cultures that may have increased.
So, if:
- the percentage of Christians has decreased
- the percentage of atheists and agnostics has "not budged" and remains the same
...then the US is not going the way of Europe as suggested by the writer, as Europe is experiencing numbers of people leaving Christianity in favor of atheism or agnostism.
Therefore, if the
percentage of Christians has declined and not gone to other religions or to atheism or agnostism, it would make sense that the
proportion (i.e. percentage) of Christians has decreased due to an inversely proportionate rise in the percentage of members of other religions. And those religions, for all we know (as the study revealed nothing about it) can be anything from new age religions to pagan religions to other major world religions like Buddhism or Hinduism or Islam.
I know that in my state I have seen a huge increase in ethnic groups like Indians and various asian ethnicities, as well as muslims. As a child I never saw much more than Christian Churches and Jewish Temples/Synagogues, yet now I see newer Jainist/Hindu/Sikh temples, Buddhist Temples, Islamic mosques, etc. It would make sense to me that the increase in cultural diversity in this nation has brought with it an increase in religious diversity as well, and it would only make sense that the percentage of Christians would decrease.
It's a typical Fox News alarmist article - they want to suggest that Christianity is waning in order to rile up ultra-religious (not ultra-Christian, but ultra-religious) conservatives into a frenzy so they can enhance their viewership. Very much like the "war on Christmas" non-story they came up with in the last couple years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justamere10
It is my personal opinion, from having participated on many discussion boards, that one of the major reasons so many Christians are becoming disenchanted with organized religion is because many ministers of religion, instead of teaching the beautiful uplifting things that come from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in their particular denomination, are teaching about 'evils' that are to be found in the beliefs and religious practices of other religious denominations. And in that manner paid professional pastors and priests are creating much of the sometimes vicious rivalry among otherwise sincere good-living followers of Jesus Christ who love and trust their Savior but have been taught to believe that only their own particular package of biblical interpretions and understandings will get you to heaven.
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I disagree. First of all, you're going on the incorrect assumption you've made, based on the fox news article, that people are fleeing Christianity in droves. That is not a valid assumption because a lower percentage can be attributed to increased religious diversity, as I explained above. I don't believe people are fleeing Christianity at any significantely greater rate than they have in the past.
Also, I think that while there are indeed scammers and liars amongst the vast, diverse group that can be called Christian "clergy", they account for less of the "defection" of those who call themselves Christians than those who leave because they never actually believed. In other words, many call themselves "Christians" because they are raised as "Christians" culturally and religiously but without an actual faith behind it.
I base that opinion on what I see and hear from others as well as from what I've experienced myself. Many who "leave Christianity" will absolutely pin it on some sinister, evil, hypocritical preacher or priest or denomination, etc. However, there are many, like me, who remain Christians despite the fact that we know there are some evil "Christian leaders" (who are phonies and hypocrites) out there. It's easy for people to find a scapegoat to justify their choice to reject Christ and "leave Christianity". But the fact is that they have made that exact choice.
As for your assertion that there is deep denominational division, I can say that my experience is that the division is nowhere as deep as you imply it is. The fact is that all orthodox, traditional Christian denominations, from Baptist to Catholic to Presbyterian to Greek Orthodox to Lutheran, acknowledge each other as brethren in Christ, as fellow Christians, and all agree on key essentials. The rivalry amongst them can be intense at times, but anyone who knows what a sibling rivalry is like would understand that the love underneath it all is strong and binding. I have not heard many who left Christianity and blamed it on the fact that there are so many denominations they don't know which one is "right"; and if someone made such a claim, it would be in pure ignorance, because anybody who understands Christiianity on the most basic level would understand that they are all "right" in the essentials and key doctrines, and they differ on the non-essentials, such as rituals, worship styles, missions and ministry methods, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justamere10
1. Do you think it likely that a significant number of people are leaving organized Christian denominations because their pastors and leaders are not helping them move towards a satisfying personal relationship with God?
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Perhaps. But that just exposes the ignorance and lack of understanding of such a person, if he or she is indeed relying on the pastor or priest to somehow manipulate him or her into "a satisfying
personal relationship with God". It's like blaming your marriage counselor for the breakup of your marriage; while the counselor may have been inept, the fact remains that your marriage was doomed because of your own, personal lack of relationship with the other person. A counselor can help people in a marriage to make the decision individually to change and fix the marriage, but really a counselor can't ruin what's already ruined.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justamere10
2. Do you think it likely that a significant number of people are leaving organized Christian denominations because of bickering about biblical interpretions and understandings?
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No. I think people who leave usually end up joining other denominations if they disagree with the one they're in, and I even know of people who will leave a church that has division and contention but only to go to another church of the same denomination. I think most rational people understand that churches are made up of imperfect human beings, and when those people behave inappropriately it's no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so they may leave that church but they will find a different one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justamere10
3. What can be done to lessen the interdenominational bickering and bigotry that is so commonly expressed on religion discussion boards?
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I'm not sure that there's a whole lot of inter-denominational bickering and bigotry; most of the bickering and bigotry is inter-religious. I think having a Christianity forum is very helpful as it gives Christians a place to talk without instigation from anti-Christians. I see a lot of good-natured discussion and argument in the Christianity forum. There's bound to be some bickering but I don't think it's nearly as bad as you imply; there's far more bickering amongst people of different religions (or non-religions, i.e. atheism/agnostism). Having an atheist forum helps, also. The only other thing that would help would be to add more forums for other religions, but most of them seem to generate little talk from people, anyway. But it would be good to have separate forums for Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Paganism, Satanism, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justamere10
4. What can clergy of all denominations do to help members of their flock draw closer to God?
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Obey God and preach His Word and His Gospel, which will involve preaching about sin and punishment as well as holiness, forgiveness, and salvation.
So where have the Christians gone? Nowhere, really.
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