Christian America in Decline
Newsweek‘s Jon Meacham, writing in the periodical’s April 13 issue, has brought forth the issue of “The End of Christian America.”
In his essay, he argues that Christian America is in decline. He goes by the numbers indicated in the 2009 American Religious Indentification Survey; of interest to many are the following observations:
1)the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent.
2) while the unaffiliated have historically been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, this pattern has now changed, and the Northeast emerged in 2008 as the new stronghold of the religiously unidentified.
Who would have guessed that the homeland of the Puritans and witch-burning – the very wellspring of American religion – would have lost its soul?
Now, we find ourselves seriously considering the prospect of a post-Christian America. As Meacham notes, anti-theocratic liberals are rejoicing and expressive religious conservatives are less than gleeful. And while we have yet to see what effects this will have on public policy, such as Roe v. Wade, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.
Is Nietzsche’s God slowly dying?
To answer your question: no. I would hardly call 15% of the country not identifying with a religion “The End of Christian America.”
So what? In twenty years, the number of Christians declined 7%. Big deal. The author seems all too anxious to signal the end of Christianity. Really makes me question his motives.
I’m not sold on the whole, “America is losing its religion schpeil”
The northwest and the northeast (supposedly the athiest hubs of America) are also, I hate to say it, the big liberal sections of our nation. Many Americans, including those that live in the heartland, would disagree because they are the evangelical hubs of America.
I think Jon Meacham, a liberal Episcopalian, was talking more about a “certain brand” of Christianity dying than Christianity as a whole being extinguished. What Jon is talking about is the influence of conservative, right wing Christianity is on the decline in America, but as for “vague, spirtual Christianity that loves Christ but not Christians” is still going strong. Religiously unidentified is good, but being religiously identified…not so good. Zeyad, people are still religious, just not in a clear cut, doctrinal way. All in all, it’s very post modern, lol.