Is America more Christian? Less Christian? Post-Christian?
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Is America more Christian? Less Christian? Post-Christian?
Let's be clear: while the percentage of Christians may be shrinking, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated. Being less Christian does not necessarily mean that America is post-Christian. A third of Americans say they are born again; this figure, along with the decline of politically moderate-to liberal mainline Protestants, led the ARIS authors to note that "these trends … suggest a movement towards more conservative beliefs and particularly to a more 'evangelical' outlook among Christians." With rising numbers of Hispanic immigrants bolstering the Roman Catholic Church in America, and given the popularity of Pentecostalism, a rapidly growing Christian milieu in the United States and globally, there is no doubt that the nation remains vibrantly religious—far more so, for instance, than Europe.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583?GT1=43002
ziggy- Moderator
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Re: Is America more Christian? Less Christian? Post-Christian?
Ziggy queried, "Is America more Christian? Less Christian? Post-Christian?"
Yes.
Yes.
Keli- Number of posts : 3608
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Re: Is America more Christian? Less Christian? Post-Christian?
Your decisiveness is admirable.
ziggy- Moderator
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Re: Is America more Christian? Less Christian? Post-Christian?
Zig,
The mainline denominations are in a free-fall. It would seem that they are aging and dying, and their children are more likely not to identify themselves as Christians.
I am a member of the Evangelical Free Church in America, which is growing. I believe the Southern Baptists are growing in population as well. The Episcopalians, UCC, Methodists, and American Baptists are decling precipitously.
Within the Methodist church, the more conservative/evangelical ones are doing the best, at least as far as Ohio goes, where I have direct information.
Some folks who were never evangelicals are admitting as much, others who never really believed in much of anything but were dragged to church by their parents or spouses are admitting as much, and those professing to be born again, according to the words of Jesus to Nicodemus, are going up as well.
So my diagnosis is that a nation cannot be a Christian nation as such does not exist. Only people can trust in Jesus Christ for salvation; a nation cannot "save" its citizens. As for the spiritual climate of the United States, I think it is likely getting worse, but that this does not bear out in the numbers, really. I am far more concerned with people pretending to be evangelicals than I am with people admitting that they are atheists.
The mainline denominations are in a free-fall. It would seem that they are aging and dying, and their children are more likely not to identify themselves as Christians.
I am a member of the Evangelical Free Church in America, which is growing. I believe the Southern Baptists are growing in population as well. The Episcopalians, UCC, Methodists, and American Baptists are decling precipitously.
Within the Methodist church, the more conservative/evangelical ones are doing the best, at least as far as Ohio goes, where I have direct information.
Some folks who were never evangelicals are admitting as much, others who never really believed in much of anything but were dragged to church by their parents or spouses are admitting as much, and those professing to be born again, according to the words of Jesus to Nicodemus, are going up as well.
So my diagnosis is that a nation cannot be a Christian nation as such does not exist. Only people can trust in Jesus Christ for salvation; a nation cannot "save" its citizens. As for the spiritual climate of the United States, I think it is likely getting worse, but that this does not bear out in the numbers, really. I am far more concerned with people pretending to be evangelicals than I am with people admitting that they are atheists.
SheikBen- Moderator
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