Losing Our Religion?

In Hebrews 9, we encounter a powerful passage that can motivate us to turn aside from works or practices that may seem religious but yet do not glorify God, and to pursue the life-giving presence of Christ:
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

God is calling us to walk in His life, to experience the fullness of His presence, to seek His face and to turn aside from works that do not bring glory to Him, some of which might even be considered religious in nature.  We may engage in those practices that seem religious, but God is calling us to allow His life to be expressed through us, to experience the dynamics of a walk with Him.  The reality of a that walk can communicate far more powerfully than religious activity that does not bring life or glorify God.

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This passage from 1st Corinthians 4 can remind us that we need to be strengthened in the ways of the Lord, who gives us power that He desires to release in our hearts and through our lives:
17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
18 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

Traditionally, the church as an institution has been highly influential in society, but a new Gallup poll suggests that the perception of organized religion is declining.  According to a piece on the USA Today website, Americans have less confidence in religion, which is a sign that that the church could be "losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation's culture."

Lydia Saad, author of the report, said that, "In the '80s the church and organized religion were the No. 1″ in Gallup's annual look at confidence in institutions.

The article relates that overall, church and organized religion is now ranked in fourth place in the Gallup survey — behind the military, small business and the police — while still ahead of the medical system, Congress and the media, among 15 institutions measured. Saad is quoted as saying, "Almost all organizations are down but the picture for religion is particularly bleak."

In the mid-'70s, nearly 7 in 10 Americans said they had "a great deal or quite a lot" of confidence in the church or organized religion. That has trended downward decade by decade to the new low of just 42%, according to the report.

And, Saad pointed out that the most significant influence on the religion statistic is the high number of Americans disconnected from organized religion and likely to have little or no confidence in it. For instance, as the USA Today piece reports, a Pew Research survey this year finds nearly 23% of Americans say they don't identify with any religion. The Gallup data — which combined this group with non-Christians — finds only 10% of these had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in religion.

Another Pew poll, from last year, said that three out of four Americans - 72%, a record high - believe that religion is "losing its influence on American life," but a majority of Americans, 56 percent, also believe this shift has been for the worse, according to a Christianity Today piece.  That poll also found that fewer Americans believed that churches should stay out of politics - 48%, down from 52% in 2010.

But, while organized religion may be losing its influence, that still does not mean that Christianity cannot have an impact.  And, Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research wrote in a piece for USA Today following the Pew poll in May showing the Christian share of the American population declining almost 8 percentage points from 2007 to 2014:

Rather than predict the impending doom of the church in America, this latest study affirms what many researchers have said before. Christianity isn't collapsing; it's being clarified. Churches aren't emptying; rather, those who were Christian in name only are now categorically identifying their lack of Christian conviction and engagement.

He says that, "Nominal Christians are becoming the nones and convictional Christians remain committed. It is fair to say we are now experiencing a collapse, but it's not of Christianity. Instead, the free fall we find is within nominalism."

So, we have to be clear to distinguish between religion and the practice of Christianity.  Stetzer mentions the clarification of Christianity.  I mentioned in an earlier blog post that there is no room in the middle, writing:

...the Bible doesn't teach some sort of cultural Christianity that emphasizes blending in; no, Biblical Christianity calls us to stand out, to be different, and perhaps even to face suffering because of our faith. We are not called to go along, but to go into the world and make a difference.

In the book of Revelation, God says that the lukewarm will be rejected.  God is calling us to go beyond a powerless religious practice and experience powerful Christian living.  Perhaps this new Gallup poll is communicating to us that we need to come away from dead works that might have a religious appearance and serve the living God and proclaim His presence.

We can admit that words and deeds that may be tinged with religion but lack the life and power of Christ do not provide the answers that our society is searching for.  Real, authentic, God-infused Christianity - Biblical truth - offers the insight and satisfaction that so many are craving.

The challenge for each of us is to realize the opportunity and allow God to use us to make a strong statement to our culture.   If we are losing our religion as a culture, that doesn't mean that our faith, our walk with Christ, and our communication of His truth cannot be a powerful force, a transformational element for people - they need to know a living and loving Savior.