Where Have All the Christians Gone?

The number of people who claim no religious affiliation, meanwhile, has doubled since 1990 to fifteen percent, its highest point in history.

Christianity is plummeting in America, while the number of non-believers is skyrocketing.

A shocking new study of Americans’ religious beliefs shows the beginnings of a major realignment in Americans’ relationship with God. The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) reveals that Protestants now represent half of all Americans, down almost 20 percent in the last twenty years.

In the coming months, America will become a minority Protestant nation for the first time since the pilgrims.The number of people who claim no religious affiliation, meanwhile, has doubled since 1990 to fifteen percent, its highest point in history. Non-believers now represent the third-highest group of Americans, after Catholics and Baptists.

1) The number of Christians has declined 12% since 1990, and is now 76%, the lowest percentage in American history.

2) The growth of non-believers has come largely from men. Twenty percent of men express no religious affiliation; 12% of women.

3) Young people are fleeing faith. Nearly a quarter of Americans in their 20’s profess no organized religion.

4) But these non-believers 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.

The implications for American society are profound. Americans’ relationship with God, which drove many of the country’s great transformations from the pilgrims to the founding fathers, the Civil War to the civil rights movement, is still intact. Eighty-two percent of Americans believe in God or a higher power.

But at the same time, the study offers yet another wake-up call for religious institutions.First, catering to older believers is a recipe for failure; younger Americans are tuning out.

Second, Americans are interested in God, but they don’t think existing institutions are helping them draw closer to God.

Finally, Americans’ interest in religion has not always been stable. It dipped following the Revolution and again following Civil War. In both cases it rebounded because religious institutions adapted and found new ways of relating to everyday Americans.

Today, the rise of disaffection is so powerful that different denominations needs 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.

That was an article by Bruce Feiler. I found it very interesting. I wonder if he knows that there is a difference between those who are Christian and those who claim to be Christian. To be a Christian means to be Christ Like. It means to follow the steps of Jesus himself.

The question then becomes, how do I follow the steps of Jesus? Can I follow? Of course we can never be Jesus but we can be like him in a sense that we follow what he was taught. That is what it means to be Christ Like. To understand what he was taught, you have to look into scripture and understand what he taught. You have to look at scripture to understand what kind of man Jesus was or is...

Did Jesus fight in wars while in Earth? No
Did Jesus use Foul Language? No
Did Jesus commit fornication? No
Did Jesus get drunk? No

What the world does today Jesus would not do. Instead what he taught was love. Notice what is mentioned in the book of John starting at chapter 5.

Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.

“Happy are those who mourn, since they will be comforted.

“Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.

“Happy are those hungering and thirsting for righteousness, since they will be filled.

“Happy are the merciful, since they will be shown mercy.

“Happy are the pure in heart, since they will see God.

“Happy are the peaceable, since they will be called ‘sons of God.’

“Happy are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.

YOU heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say to YOU that everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

There is so much more in that wonderful chapter. To understand what Jesus was like, you have to study what Jesus was like. The fact that he came to Earth to Die for us should tell you what kind of man he was.

Compare Jesus to men today

Jesus the son of God who has power = not corrupted.

Man who receives power = corrupted

Jesus who has more power did has never allowed his power to hurt anyone, only to help. Men on this planet have murdered, raped, stole, you name it.

The title of his Article is " Where have all the Christians Gone? Well, maybe you aren't looking in the right place.........

7 million plus and growing...........

Till tomorrow.