The Good and the Bad of Losing Cultural Christianity
by Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition:
Earlier this spring, I took part in the “Culture Friday” segment on The World and Everything In It podcast. We discussed the Gallup “Houses of Worship” research that showed—for the first time in the eight decades of this survey—religious Americans to now be in the minority. Only 47 percent of Americans claim membership in a church, synagogue, or mosque.
The fading of cultural Christianity, even in traditionally Bible belt parts of the country, has stirred up all sorts of commentary, from the effects of expressive individualism on society’s thought patterns, to the syncretistic approach many adopt in terms of a more generic “spirituality,” and the privatization of belief that leads to conflict regarding religious liberty in the public square.
The Silver Lining in Christianity’s Decline.
Some church leaders see a silver lining in these results. Isn’t it better if the façade of a nominal, civil religion falls away?
Many a pastor in more religious areas of the nation has said something like this: “In my context, everyone thinks they’re already a believer, even if that’s just a label and not reality. When sharing the gospel, sometimes you have to get them ‘lost’ before they can get ‘saved.’” Seen in this light, if the nominal Christianity that is powerless to save and often inoculates people to the life-transforming power of the true gospel is fading, then so be it.
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