If you have not heard this headline yet, you will be hearing it soon. It was just such a headline that led me read the latest Pew Research Report on Religion in America. I urge you to read it too.
The overall conclusion in the report is that religion in North America is no longer declining and is actually on the rise. You can expect denominational leaders will jump on this kind of headline because most are desperate to hear some hopeful news. This is especially true given the past 20 years of steady decline in almost every denomination and especially mainline churches like the Episcopal Church. We have faced a serious decline in attendance with about 500,000 gathering on an average Sunday down from one million 25 years ago. Membership is down too but it normally lags behind the attendance trend.
We do have some optimistic voices in recent years that try to downplay our numbers. I have heard two phrases repeated a number of times. The first is that “Numbers are not everything and they do not tell the whole story.” This works as long as you do not think of numbers as representing souls and fellow members of the body of Christ. The second one is “The Church is not declining it is transforming.” This seems to be a comment favored among our most progressive leaders. Those who repeat this comments never seem to explain what that transformation is. It seems to imply transforming from something old toward something new or something bad into something good. It is full of hope but very little substance. Both responses sound good until each year’s parochial reports are tabulated.
Despite our leaders’ hope, the report is much more complex and nuanced and may not necessarily be that hopeful to Christian churches. Remember that the Pew Foundation studies overall religious views not only Christian churches although that topic is explored with interesting applications later in the Report. What does the report show about religious beliefs in 2025? Here is some summary information from it.
· Most Americans believe we are spiritual beings and have a soul. The number is close to 75%
· “Spiritual but not religious” is a growing demographic among us.
· Jesus is still highly regarded even among non-Christians.
· The percentage of self-reported atheists is gradually declining although their numbers have never been more than 6% of the population.
· Most Americans are willing to learn from other religions and spiritual traditions. This has greatly changed since the 1950s.
· Spirituality and Psychology (including popular self-help information) are often topics that overlap for many.
In other words, while church membership seems to be stabilizing around 20%, religious beliefs and spirituality are increasing. Contrary to much popular belief, Americans are becoming less secular not more. In conclusion, religion in American is complex and it is changing and moving toward more religious belief not less. Some churches seem to recognize this and are adapting to these changes especially in reaching out to younger people. Many churches, including those in TEC, are more focused on the current beliefs and attitudes of our aging membership.
This leads many who study these matters, like Ryan Budge, to believe that planting new churches with younger leaders may be our best hope and strategy for reaching newer and younger people. This is a topic I will explore in a later blog, but in my next one, I will be looking at what the report says about the current profile of an Episcopalian and asking you how closely you align with this. The answer to our current profile presents a serious paradox that I will explore.
