Simon Cox Blog: The State of The Church in America: When Numbers Point To A New Reality

Monday, 12 September 2016

The State of The Church in America: When Numbers Point To A New Reality

Before you dismiss research as unimportant, read this. If facts are our friends, then it's time we listen to them for the good of the Church in America.

The polls are in and the news is bad for the Church in America.

Christianity is on the decline, Americans have given up on God, and the “Nones”—those who have no religious ties—are on the rise. It is indeed true that parts of the Christian Church in America are struggling, while a growing number of Americans are far from God.

As the former head of a research firm that studies the church and culture, I often tell pastors and other Christian leaders that “facts are our friends.” Surveys and other polls are a bit like running a series of tests during an annual physical. The scale, stethoscope, and blood tests don’t lie. There is no positive spin on your increased weight, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Research data gives us a realistic picture of our health—rather than the overly optimistic view we’d prefer.

What the Numbers Tell Us (If We Will Listen)

So what do the numbers tell us about the Church in America?

Overall, the Church’s influence on Americans is beginning to fade. A growing number of Americans have given up on God—or at least on organized religion. They have become “Nones,” a term popularized by Pew Research. And their numbers are growing.

Pew’s 2007 Religious Landscape study, which surveyed 35,000 respondents, found that about 16% of Americans claimed no religious affiliation. By 2015, that number had grown to 23%, almost one in four Americans.

Gallup, another well-respected national firm, gives a wider view of the rise of the Nones. In 1967, Gallup found that about 2% of Americans—or 1 out of every 50—claimed no religious preference. By 2014, that number had grown to 16%, or about 1 in 7.

Pew has also tracked the ...