Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why? — A RESPONSE

"Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why?" is a recent (Sep 26, 2019) Atlantic article written by staff writer Derek Thompson on the rise of the "nones" (non-affiliated religious people) since the 1990s. He cites a sociology and religion professor, Christian Smith, from the University of Notre Dame for the reasons for this upward tick in this sector of society and religion. Professor Smith has come up with several reasons for the rise, with the three main ones being three historical events: the association of the Republican Party with the Christian right, the end of the Cold War, and 9/11.

Many "nones" are young adults disenchanted with the identification of organized, evangelical religion with the Republican Party. "Smith said it’s possible that young liberals and loosely affiliated Christians first registered their aversion to the Christian right in the early 1990s, after a decade of observing its powerful role in conservative politics." Additionally, the ending of the Cold War with atheistic Communism, adding fuel to the "nones" declaration of being unaffiliated with organized, evangelical Christianity and the Church. Finally, the attacks of 9/11 by radicalized Islamic terrorists made all fundamentalist religion suspect to the "nones." These and a few other incentives gave spectacular rise to the "nones" since the 1990s.

I find, however, this analysis wanting and shallow. It fails to recognize the inherently destructive tendencies of secular humanism in our American and Western European societies, societies that have discarded biblical religion and its standards for no religion and the moral decay of ethical standards. Abortion, same-sex marriage, the rise of the LGBTQ community, the rejection of ordained authority and the skepticism of the institutional Church have added fuel to the "nones" insistence of being "spiritual" but not institutionally religious. They have thrown out "the baby with the bathwater," so to speak. 

To the post-modern, post-truth age, there is no absolute truth, no binding ethics, no unwavering morality that cannot be challenged and then discarded. This has been well documented by Christian theologians and philosophers for decades now. We live, as Leonard Sweet would say, in a "cut-flower society," with no rooting and only a dim residue of Christian values and morés. This drives the heart throb of many "nones." They can therefore be "spiritual" without being biblical. They can own God without knowing the biblical God. They can practice in-house religion without attending the community of religion. 

The deeper problem has always been a failure of the conservative, evangelical Christian Church to offer a thoroughly thought out and biblically supported Christ centered world and life view on everything--from work to politics, from school to play. We have lost the truth that all vocations are God-callings to be served for God and under God's Word. Work has lost its foundational Christian ethos. Colleges have lost their Christian roots, opting for the secularism of an anti-God academic snobbery. Consequently, the "nones" have seen the Church fail them at defining and describing what real biblical Christianity is all about.

"Nones" cannot be reached by contemporary, hiphop music and Christian-light messages aimed to secure their interest in the Church once again. Many are finding their way back to solid, orthodox liturgy and biblical exposition where the Bible is studied, analyzed, explained and applied to their lives. The "old ways" are proving to be the "good ways" back to God and the Bible. 

I know these factors to be true from having a forty plus year experience as a pastor and a church health consultant for the latter twenty of those years. Working with many churches, large and small, and many different kinds of people professing faith in Christ, including young adults, I have found the above factors to be more of an explanation than Smith has given in his analysis of the "nones."

However, there is always hope to recover the "nones." Real authentic Christianity preached and practiced in our churches will help. Ridding ourselves of cultural Christianity and the hypocrisy that it spawns will also help. This is more than staffing food kitchens or providing homeless shelters where they are needed. This is good, but not enough to capture the "nones." We must once again offer captivating, encompassing Christ centered Christianity for them, wherever they call "church." The way ahead is hard, but truly worthwhile, especially for a generation that want to know God, the real, authentic God of the Bible.