True Christianity in no danger of extinction in America

Is America (still) a Christian nation?

A cultural survey suggests Christianity is shrinking dramatically in the United States.

“The percentage of people who call themselves in some way Christian has dropped more than 11 percent in a generation,” USA Today reported this week.

“The Bible Belt is less Baptist. The Rust Belt is less Catholic. And everywhere, people are exploring new spiritual frontiers – or falling off the faith map entirely.”

The American Religious Identification Survey was released Monday, very much in the shadow of an Illinois church shooting and wrangling over America’s economic stimulus.

But the survey made a big enough splash for the Christian Science Monitor to announce “the coming evangelical collapse: an anti-Christian chapter in Western history is about to begin.”

However alarmist, the latter part of that sentiment may well be true and merits exploration.

But first, a reality check. Jesus Christ said this about his church: “… the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18 – KJV).

Followers of Christ have no reason to fret and panic that true Christianity is in danger of extinction in America or anywhere else. Christ will build his church however, and wherever, he chooses. His is a kingdom that knows no national, cultural or political boundaries, and it is being built up even now, not dismantled.

Be assured of that truth.

Nonetheless, as a Christian, I believe there is good reason to take this week’s religious news seriously and prayerfully.

First, the survey can remind us that not all who claim to follow Christ do, in truth, follow him. Secondly, this news also can alert us to a vast mission field right outside our front doors, where more and more of our neighbors are seeking truth, yet have little or no religious heritage.

Let me take those two ideas in order.

If there’s good news in the survey findings, it may be this: Perhaps we’re witnessing the unraveling of cultural Christianity – the dangerous notion that anyone who belongs to a “Christian” organization, or whose parents were Christians, or who simply chooses to call themselves a Christian is in fact a Christian.

“Religion has become more like a fashion statement, not a deep personal commitment for many,” said Barry Kosmin, one of the survey’s authors.

He’s right.

Our culture has robbed the word “Christian” of its literal meaning: a follower of Christ. So it’s no stretch to surmise that some folks reportedly leaving the Christian faith were never really Christians to start with.

If that assessment seems harsh, please know that God’s word states this more strongly: “… in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron …” (1 Timothy 4:2 – NKJV).

I’m astonished, but no longer surprised, to find so-called “Christians” who do not believe Christ is the son of God sent to atone for our sins, that the Bible is literally God’s word, or even that God is our creator. If you reject the historic pillars of the Christian faith, pillars established by its namesake, can you really call yourself a Christian?

Cultural Christianity is a dangerous heresy in America. Its demise, to me, is welcome.

Another reason to take this week’s news seriously is an implied call to evangelism. Statistics matter more to us when we consider that each number is in fact a person with an eternal soul. The real issue here is not demographics, but eternal life.

Jesus himself urges us: “… wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest” (John 4:35 – NLT).