The Shift

In Titus chapter 2, there is instruction given to those who are older to be a good example for those who are younger, modeling Christian behavior.  And this passage, I believe, which comes after an exhortation to teach young men to be sober-minded is directed to those models:
7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,
8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

These are qualities that can speak powerfully to the culture.  We are called to do good works, as the Spirit enables us - that is the fruit of a person who is devoted to Christ.  We are to know what we believe and be strongly grounded in our beliefs.  We are also called to demonstrate "sound speech." We can strive to speak with clarity and depth, in a reasoned manner, so that our words may leave those who stand in opposition to the gospel with no recourse - in our flesh, that's impossible; in the Spirit, it can be done.

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In Ephesians 5, we counter a rather challenging passage of Scripture that gives us direction in living
in these times:
14 Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Over the last eight years, there have been significant changes in the overall attitudes and practices of Americans, according to a new Pew Research poll examining changes during the years that Barack Obama was President.  This is definitely an exhaustive piece of work, and religious views and activities were certainly part of the mix.

The survey summary states that:

When it comes to the nation’s religious identity, the biggest trend during Obama’s presidency is the rise of those who claim no religion at all. Those who self-identify as atheists or agnostics, as well as those who say their religion is “nothing in particular,” now make up nearly a quarter of the U.S. adult population, up from 16% in 2007.

Those identifying as Christians now represent 71% of the population, down from 78% eight years ago, but as Pew points out, this is due largely to declines in the number of adults in mainline Protestantism and Catholicism.  The summary notes that the "...share of Americans identifying with evangelical Protestantism, historically black Protestant denominations and other smaller Christian groups, by contrast, have remained fairly stable."

Overall, according to the poll:

Due largely to the growth of those who don’t identify with any religion, the shares of Americans who say they believe in God, consider religion to be very important in their lives, say they pray daily and say they attend religious services at least monthly have all ticked downward in recent years. At the same time, the large majority of Americans who do identify with a faith are, on average, as religiously observant as they were a few years ago, and by some measures even more so.

In a report on the Daily Caller website, it states:

The Obama administration consistently took actions that conservatives said demonstrated hostility towards religious believers. The administration was sued repeatedly over Obamacare’s contraception mandate, including by a group of nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Martin Castro, who has served as chair of the US Civil Rights Commission since Obama appointed him to the position in 2011, said last September that “religious freedom” and “religious liberty” are “code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance.”

 And, there's a telling quote in a Breitbart article about the survey:

According to Tim Schultz, the president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, the Obama administration often viewed religion as an enemy standing in the way of their policy objectives.

“They view religious freedom as a kind of inconvenient speed bump on the way to those objectives in some way,” Schultz said.

I don't want to necessarily suggest that one man is responsible for a decline in religious practice in America, but I am confident that Mr. Obama is emblematic of a dramatic cultural shift and he did embrace it.   This is clear in his support of the LGBT agenda.  CBS News rated same-sex marriage legalization as Obama's #2 accomplishment.   Sure, that was the Supreme Court that made that ruling, but the culture for it was set by the legitimization of gay marriage in the eyes of the public - and, based on analysis, this was more of a cultural ruling than a Constitutional one, and Obama-appointed justices signed on to it.  He moved from supporting traditional marriage in a forum hosted by Rick Warren during his first Presidential campaign to being a champion of radical support for gay rights.

And, gay rights is just a piece of the coalition of anti-Christian "values" that are confronting us today.
As the former President said in his farewell speech, according to the transcript from the Los Angeles Times:  

So just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are. That’s why, for the past eight years, I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firm legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, and reform our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans. That’s why we cannot withdraw from global fights – to expand democracy, and human rights, women’s rights, and LGBT rights – no matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression.

These so-called "values" are not our values as Christian believers.  These are powerful words, but, for instance, as we learned from that recent women's march in Washington, "women's rights" are centered around allowing a woman to take the life of her unborn child.  That is not a productive right at all.  Those that claim to fight "intolerance" seem to often be intolerant of Christian ideals.  Mr. Obama did not say he rejected "discrimination" against Christian Americans.   Again, we have to recognize there is a carefully orchestrated coalition that embraces agendas that stand in opposition to our deeply-held beliefs, faith perspectives that have shaped America.

But, we have to move forward.  We can't totally blame the former President for our cultural slide, for the seeds were planted long before he took office.  But, we now have to see that there is a bias in culture against Biblical truth - and that bias can sometimes take the form of hostility.  How do we counter it?  Live our lives for Christ in a credible manner, pray, acknowledge the differences while embracing dialogue without compromise, speak out in a winning manner.  I believe that the margin of error is smaller than ever, but the might of the Lord is great!