No Longer in Decline?

Each of us, as believers in Christ, are called to advance the Kingdom of God. We are part of the body of Christ, and we have been empowered and equipped by God to do His will - and there is an expectation that we will grow in the Lord. In Ephesians 6, as Paul concludes a passage relative to the armor of God, he writes:
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

We are entrusted with the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and as we are faithful to be obedient to the Lord, we can be involved with the growth of the Church.

But, Pew Research has shown since a Religious Landscape Study in 2007 that the percentage of the population identified as Christian has been in decline.  The second RLS occurred in 2014, and the most recent, the third, took place over a portion of 2023 and 2024.  The main takeaway?  According to a survey summary at the Pew Research website:

The latest RLS, fielded over seven months in 2023-24, finds that 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christians. That is a decline of 9 percentage points since 2014 and a 16-point drop since 2007.

That certainly is not encouraging news - from 78% in 2007 to 62% in the most recent study. But, there is a nugget inside the survey summary. Pew notes: "But for the last five years, between 2019 and 2024, the Christian share of the adult population has been relatively stable, hovering between 60% and 64%. The 62% figure in the new Religious Landscape Study is smack in the middle of that recent range."

As an example, there has been a downward trend among Protestants, but that has leveled off, according to Pew, which reports:

• Evangelical Protestants now account for 23% of all U.S. adults, down from 26% in 2007.
• Mainline Protestants stand at 11%, down from 18% in 2007.
• Members of historically Black Protestant churches make up 5% of U.S. adults, down slightly from 7% in 2007.

It goes on to say:

Like the overall Christian share of the population, however, the total Protestant share of the population has been quite stable in recent years, hovering between 40% and 42% since 2019.

And, over the last 17 years, what is called "nondenominational Protestantism" has risen from 4.5% of American adults in 2017 to 7.1% now. 

What about those "nones" that have been identified over the years - "religiously unaffiliated adults," defined by Pew as "those who identify as atheists, agnostics or as 'nothing in particular' when asked about their religion?" Well, those are just under 30% of U.S. adults. But, the summary notes, "The size of the religiously unaffiliated population, which we sometimes call religious 'nones,' has plateaued in recent years after a long period of sustained growth."

There is a ton of information in this massive survey, so I'm likely to be returning to it.  I'd like to make a couple of observations.  One is that the Church may have been in decline, but history has taught us that the Church will always survive.  Because God has His hand on His Church, His body, and as Jesus said in Matthew 16: "...on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  So, the staying power, even throughout the rise and fall of the Church, is the victorious power of the Holy Spirit.

And, keep in mind that this is a survey of American religious practices.  But, there are areas of the world where the Church is exploding, even in areas where persecution is high.  In the fires of affliction, God is doing a tremendous work, bringing people to Him and strengthening the body of Christ, even when persecution would threaten to weaken it.  

While an end to decline isn't exactly something you would think we would want to celebrate, perhaps we can see a shift occurring, and these statistics are an indicator.  As Paul relates in Ephesians 6, we can continue to be in prayer for the Church - that we might all grow spiritually and that we might be faithful to share what God has done in our lives and effectively communicate the gospel message.