Ed Stetzer offers an insightful break down of the latest Pew Religious Landscape Report (summarized here). The short version is this: Nominal Christianity is on the decline (with the majority of those raised in Mainline denominations defecting to an “unaffiliated” status), but within the larger category of “Christian,” there is a shift towards evangelical faith.
Here are a few nuggets:
- In 2007, 51% of U.S. Protestants identified with evangelical churches. That figure grew to 55% in 2014.
Fifty percent of all Christians now self-identify as “evangelical” or “born again,” up from 44 percent in 2007.- In 2007, 44% of American Christians, who made up 78% of the U.S. population, identified themselves as evangelical. In 2014, 50% of American Christians, who make up 70% of the U.S. population, identify as evangelical.
- From 2007 to 2014 the number of evangelicals in America rose from 59.8 million to 62.2 million. Though as a percentage of the overall population, evangelicals declined by 0.9% percent based on denominational affiliation…the percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as evangelical rose from 34 to 35% over these seven years.
Bottom line:
1. Society as a whole is becoming less Christian. But within the larger category of “Christianity” there is a shift toward “Evangelicalism.”
2. Those who seek to practice the Christian faith and take the Lordship of Christ seriously are a stable (though minority) population.
3. Those on the margins are preferring to drop the “Christian” label in favor of the “unaffiliated” moniker. This may be explained by the fact that there is no longer much (if any) societal pressure to say you are a “Christian.”
Read Stetzer’s entire piece.
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