This just in from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29585222/
Apparently the number of professing Christians in the U.S. continues to decline. The percentage of Americans who claim no religion at all has now risen to 15%. It’s probably safe to assume that this number is even greater in larger urban populations outside the bible belt, like the greater Seattle area that I live in.
Quite frankly, this news does not surprise me. In general it seems that God is not really relevant to that many people in everyday life. As a Christian involved in leadership at my church and as a person out in the corporate workforce there is a stark contrast between those two contexts. The topic of God just doesn’t come up much at work. You might say that this is expected because people are focusing on work. But I don’t think that’s the case. Plenty of other non-work related topics come up during the day and are discussed at varying lengths, but on the whole, religion is not touched upon that often. This, I think is largely the result of a cultural norm that’s developed that declares religion as a taboo topic. Religion is not meant to be publicly discussed, but to be minimized and kept to oneself. Which is interesting, because even if I grant that religion is a personal thing, it does not then follow that we should discourage it’s public discourse. Public discourse if full of discussion of “personal” items. One need only look to the tabloids and entertainment shows on television. People enjoy discussing things that are personal to ourselves or personal about other people. We are persons after all!
But religion is put into another catogory. Personal, and undiscussable. Why? I believe it’s because religions, at least some, make absolute truth claims that can impinge upon each others freedom. Religion, and in particular, Christianity makes certain claims that just don’t sit well with today’s American. By and large Americans today want to live life in the best way we see fit. And the best way that we see fit is often at odds with what Christianity teaches. And thus, there is a push back against religion and perhaps against Christianity in particular, because it cramps our style. It restricts our freedom. And so we have rationalized God out of any relevant discussions in our lives, for to let him in is too dangerous to the authority of our own self-rule.
So then how are believers in Christ to respond in these times? Do we adhere to the cultural norms and shy away from bringing issues of faith into the public discourse? Or is there a way that we can lovingly push back against the prevailing culture and seek to demonstrate the relevancy of faith in public discourse. Ultimately if people aren’t thinking through these things, then God is dead to us. If Christians are content to keep their faith “personal”, then what we’ll have is a dying church, a fading light and an increasing irrelevancy of God. Scripture calls Christians the light of this world. But I’m afraid many of us would rather remain underground for fear of what others might think of us.