Our Changing Religious Landscape

Faith in the Public Square
Lompoc Record
March 9, 2008


The United States is among the most religiously observant nations in the world, with nearly 80 percent of us professing some form of Christian faith. We are also one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world.

While in theory this isn't a Christian nation, the dominant religion has been, since colonial times, Christian. That theoretical dominance continues to this day, but things are in flux, especially among the Protestant majority. The longstanding dominance of Protestantism is being eroded by a number of forces, some of which lie outside its control.

One of Protestantism's strengths and weaknesses is its diversity. When we think of Protestantism, there is no monolithic form that comes to mind. It can be liberal or conservative, politically active or apolitical. Some believe in evolution, others don't. Some are pacifist and others support the nation's military policies. It includes Episcopal and Pentecostal, Baptist and Methodist, and much more.
This diversity has allowed Protestantism to flourish in the midst of America's embrace of religious freedom. But things are changing. A half century ago, about the time I was born, two-thirds of Americans or more were Protestant, with what is known as Mainline Protestantism being the largest component of this majority. Roman Catholics, with about 25 percent of the population, made up the rest. When I was born, late in the 1950s, the country was at the tail end of a decade of “religious revival” that coincided with the end of a popularly supported war and the beginnings of a baby boom. At that time, nearly 60 percent of the population was actively affiliated with a Christian congregation. That was then, but today things have changed. The question is: Where are the trends leading?
Questions about the nation's changing religious identity were raised recently in a groundbreaking report published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The study focuses on America's religious landscape, and its release was hailed on the pages of America's magazines and newspapers, including this one. Although all manner of people are interested in demographic studies like this - from advertisers to political advisers, religious leaders and clergy are the ones most interested in it. The report, which is based on interviews with 35,000 people, tells us some things many of us already knew or suspected. It reminds us that things are changing and that our allegiances are fluid. We may still be religious, but there's a growing number of those who, whether religious or not, are choosing to be unaffiliated.

The most telling statistics come from the nation's young adults - those aged 18-29. While 51 percent of Americans continue to be Protestant, only 43 percent of young adults make the same claim. The percentage of Catholics in America has remained relatively stable over the decades - standing at around 25 percent - but that stability is largely the result of increased immigration from Roman Catholic countries. Nearly a third of those raised Catholic are no longer Catholic - leaving about 10 percent of the population as former Catholics.
So, what's happening? The first thing to note is that many of us have been switching our religious allegiances. About 28 percent of us have changed the religious affiliation that we grew up with; if we count Protestants who have switched denominations, the number climbs to 44 percent (a number I think might be conservative). Although I've been a life-long Protestant, I'm part of that 44 percent. My own faith journey has taken me across the denominational and theological spectrum, so I understand the trend.

It's that growing number of “unaffiliated” (16 percent) that gets the attention of most religious leaders. It's not that our nation's young people are becoming atheists or agnostics. Despite the seeming popularity of vocal and often strident atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris, there are very few atheists in our midst (1.6 percent). Most are simply nothing in particular - some are spiritually inclined, while others aren't. Where these numbers are growing the fastest is among young adults under 30 (24 percent). That number is greater than the number of evangelicals, mainline Protestants, or Roman Catholics of the same age. It raises huge questions about the religious direction of the nation.
Now the nation isn't in danger of becoming a secular bastion like what we've seen develop in Europe. Just listen to the God-talk of our presidential candidates - that should be enough to dispel the idea we're becoming an irreligious society. But things are very fluid and the trend is away from institutionalized religion - especially on the West Coast.

Dr. Bob Cornwall is Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc and may be contacted at faithinthepublicsquare@gmail.com or c/o First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA 93438.
March 9, 2008

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