The majority of Americans leaving the church do so for rather humdrum reasons, sociologist of religion Ryan Burge said during a recent episode of the “CBF Podcast.” This phenomenon is known as “casual dechurching” and is typically overlooked because it’s…
‘Broken Churches, Broken Nation?’ A crisis of our times
“The very worst omen of the times is the fact that the religious (people) of the country stand apart to so great an extent in this hour of trial. Most of the Churches have split on the very rock upon…
Here’s what I’m learning about the ‘nones’
I interact with the “nones” nearly every week, and I’m constantly surprised at how religious they are. In recent years, American religious leaders have been obsessed with classifying, describing, understanding, discussing and evangelizing the “nones,” those people who when asked…
The stampede out of the church and the people of God and Christ outside its walls
“Stampede” may be an exaggerated word for the exodus out of the church in America, but no one can escape the reality. A date has been attached: 2070, the projected date when there will be more non-Christians than Christians in…
Templeton Foundation funds first-of-its-kind research into the religious ‘nones’
A team of scholars is launching a new research project aimed at learning about religiously unaffiliated Americans, including how they find meaning in life and when and why they stopped being religious. Funded by a three-year, $339,000 grant from the…
Are Americans ‘spiritual’ or ‘religious’ or both or neither?
Only 2% of Americans describe themselves as both “religious” and “spiritual,” while most others claim to be one or the other, according to a new study that examines how U.S. adults envision their faith identities. “Nearly half of Americans (47%)…
Pew study finds major shifts in U.S. Latino religious identity
Catholicism has taken the biggest hit from U.S. Latinos switching religious affiliations over the past decade or more, while the religiously unaffiliated have seen the most growth in that time frame, new research shows. The Pew Research Center study also…
Have the ‘nones’ hit a plateau?
The so-called “nones” may now have something in common with most American churches: They’ve plateaued, according to Gallup. Amid all the attention that’s been given to the dramatic growth of this segment of the American population — those who tell…
What to do with the nones?
Ryan Burge is rather convincing. As an academic (Eastern Illinois University) social scientist and American Baptist pastor, he has a foot in two of the worlds many of us occupy. He was our guest recently for a day of conversation…