America Becomes Less Churched

Here's something that's probably giving those evangelical heartburn: america is becoming more unchurched- and the funny thing is that Christianity isn't really losing ground. But it's not exactly gaining any, either.

Not too long ago, Americans considered themselves pretty religious- you know, God and nobody else. You go to church on Sunday (or if you grew up in my Jehovah's Witness family, it was Sunday, Monday and Tuesday or Thursday night- depended on what congregation and Kingdom Hall we went to). But now, even the Bible Belt has become a bit less baptist, and the Rust Belt less Catholic.

All of this according to a new American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) released today. 15 percent of the population now claim no religion, and 40% say that they had no religious initiation- and that includes no bar/bat mitzvahs. The number of "nones" is expected to rise.

On a more personal level, I'm considering giving up Christianity altogether. After all, for 22 years, I've called myself a Christian, and before that, I was raised in a Jehovah's Witness family. I left the JW's when I was sixteen- and admittedly I've flirted with the idea of returning a few times. I was baptized as a Southern Baptist 22 years ago in atlanta- in fact, I attended First Baptist Church of Atlanta, the home of the In Touch Ministries. Charles Stanley is the senior pastor, and I did the Johnny-Good-Fucking-Christian thing- pretend to be pro-life; anti-gay; and conservative. But I've come to my senses, and gave up the gig. So, now, I think that I may call it quits on the whole ball of wax. Now, I'm not questioning the existence of the Deity, or even the Messiah. But seeing the news on scandals involving churches and priests, I'm wondering if it's time to quit the Christian ball game, and just have my own beliefs.

Click on the title for the USA Today story.

(C) 2009 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.