Rugged individualism is the sea we Americans swim in. Our culture is about the rags-to-riches Horatio Alger, the pioneering Daniel Boone and more recently the iconic dissenter Steve Jobs.
John Chandler
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Classic Baptist doctrinal distinctives of “the priesthood of every believer” and “the autonomy of the local church” pre-date American individualism. But they also dovetail with the American ethos to the point that it can be hard to distinguish one from the other.
Researcher George Barna (a.k.a. “Eeyore”) says, “America is headed for 310 million people with 310 million religions,” he says. “We are a designer society. We want everything customized to our personal needs — our clothing, our food, our education. Now it's our religion.”
Barna’s gloomy point is to highlight the rise of those who “make up God as they go.” These self-proclaimed believers claim the Christian label but shed their ties to traditional beliefs and practices. Here’s Barna’s snapshot of U.S. adults who, in a typical week, say they:
• Read the Bible outside church: 1991 — 45%; 2011 — 40%
• Volunteered at church: 1991: 27%; 2011 — 19%
• Attended adult Sunday school: 1991 — 23%; 2011 — 15%
• Attended worship: 1991 — 49%; 2011; 40%
• Accept Jesus and expect to be saved: 1991 — 35%; 2011 — 40%
• Call Bible “totally accurate” in all principles: 1991 — 46%; 2011 — 38%
• Define God as all-knowing, all-powerful ruler: 1991 — 74%; 2011 — 67%
With individualistic “designer faith” on the wax, denominational brands appear to be on the wane. LifeWay Research reinforces these findings: A recent survey of 900 U.S. Protestant pastors finds that 62 percent predict the importance of being identified with a denomination will diminish over the next 10 years.
More deeply than the shrinking influence of denominational “brand loyalty,” though, is the reshaping of what counts as Christian. “Works for me” is a fine criteria for picking a restaurant. But unless faith is like a salad bar, where you can pick some items to suit you and leave others out, the deeply individualistic trends of designer faith threaten to corrupt the heart and soul of what it means to follow the God of the Bible, who makes some pretty particular and exclusive claims on those who want to follow him.
It’s a shuddering question, but if you were forced to choose between being a good American individualist and a good disciple of Jesus Christ, how would that go?
Trending is written by John Chandler, leader of the Spence Network (www.spencenetwork.org/equip.htm)