REVrant 34.6 - Survey Finds Religious Landscape in Flux

Survey Finds Religious Landscape in Flux - AOL News.

The linked AOL column suggests that nearly half of Americans leave the religious faith of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.  The common denominator in the report is the constancy of “change.”

Here’s a quote – "It does seem in keeping with the high tolerance among Americans for change," Lugo said. "People move a lot, people change jobs a lot. It's a very fluid society."

Bottom line – it seems unrealistic to expect that post-moderns will stay with the religious faith tradition of their childhood for their entire lives.  (Unlike my wife and myself!)  I’m sure that many of you are like I am.  You’re still in the same theological and spiritual camp you started in.  We are apparently a growing minority.  Our “holding power” is apparently gone.

Clearly, this has dramatic ramifications for the way we look at attrition rates in church population – a group in constant flux.  I’ve heard for years that it is quite normal for students who leave for college to leave “the church.”  Apparently, they aren’t the only ones who are taking this path.

Comments

[Wes Folsom]

Then again, there are those like me, who were raised in a mostly "unchurched" environment, spent some years in a mainline church environment (Methodist; Presbyterian), came to real faith there but moved on to the Bible-based environment of the Evangelical Free church and (at last) FBC!!

Seems to me that is "flux" in the right direction!!

[Darren Mansur]

I was raised United Methodist (kind of. At least that is where we went when we went to church.

It seems to me that the denominations who have "changed" their message and style the most to be "relevant" have lost the most congregation. Whereas the non-denominational (Bible-teaching) churches have gained the most. Hmmmm...more to be said for the Word of the Living God.

Several years ago I got the tapes of your first sermon series at FBC, and I was amazed at the consistency of your style, your thought, and your relish for preaching the Word. Thank you that through it all, you have remained true to your calling.

DDM

[Jeff Baxter]

Hey Bill, It has been fun to frequent your blog the last few weeks. As you know, this one hits close to my heart. I am praying that my book coming out in Feb.09 called "The Long Haul: Following Jesus into College and Beyond" with Zondervan will address this issue of students staying close to their faith when they graduate from high school (okay a little plug for the book). I am praying that it would be more "normal" for them to stay close to Jesus, than to leave him, only to return when they are married and have kids. Thanks for this posting and the AOL resource.