Switch

We have heard reports about people re-examining their Christian faith and "deconstructing" from Christianity. Without debating whether or not those individuals had truly made a commitment to Jesus Christ, we can say that if we have truly been born again, we can have assurance of our salvation and confidently know that Jesus will not kick us out of the faith once we have received Him. We can read in John chapter 6:
35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

We're going back to Pew Research for some interesting and even troubling stats about what Pew calls "religious switching." Its website states:

In many countries surveyed, more people were raised as Christians and have left Christianity than have become Christians after being raised in some other tradition or without a religious affiliation.

In other words, Christianity has experienced an overall or “net” loss in adherents due to religious switching in many places.

Pew surveyed 36 countries, and its summary says: "Of the 36 countries surveyed, 27 have sufficient sample sizes of Christians to allow analysis of religious switching into and out of Christianity." Then, it relates: "More people have left Christianity than have joined it in many of the 27 countries analyzed." The website notes:

The survey finds that Christianity has sustained net losses due to switching of 20 percentage points or more of the total adult populations in Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Chile, the United States and Italy.

Spain leads the way, with 87% saying they were "raised Christian," but 36% indicate they have "left Christianity," with only 3% entering Christianity.  In the U.S., 80% said they were raised Christian, 22% have left, and 4% have entered Christianity.

A Religion Unplugged article on the survey noted:

An estimated one-fifth of adults around the world have left the faith group in which they were raised — with Christianity and Buddhism experiencing especially large losses from this “religious switching...”

It goes on to say: 

The figures — compiled by the Pew Research Center following surveys of nearly 80,000 people in 36 countries — show that 50% of adults in South Korea, 36% in the Netherlands, 28% in the United States and 21% in Brazil “no longer identify with their childhood religion.”

The article related that the survey summary stated: "...most of the switching is disaffiliation — people leaving the religion of their childhood and no longer identifying with any religion.”

In a broad overview near the end of its article, Religion Unplugged said that in 25 out of the 36 countries of the survey, Christianity has the largest net loss.  It added:

The report confirmed a trend that most of the loses have come from Western Europe. The top five nations on the list — Italy, Germany, France, Poland and Spain — are found in Western Europe. In Italy, for example, 28 people have left Christianity for every one that has become one.

In Asia, however, Christianity has made some small gains as a result of switching. In Singapore, for every Singaporean who has left Christianity, about three others have become Christians.

We are not talking about switching churches or denominations - not moving from a denominational church to non-denominational.  This survey indicates that people are rejecting the faith in which they were raised and either embracing a different faith perspective or not associated with a particular faith practice.  I would speculate that among those leaving Christianity would be those who claim to have "deconstructed" from it - in the midst of searching or questioning, they were not able to find the satisfaction of their hearts that they were seeking.  

That is seemingly becoming more common these days - we know the enemy is seeking to deceive and destroy, and those whose lives are not tethered to the firm foundation of the Word of God and the presence of Jesus will wander - the Bible says as much.  And, in an age of great stress, as well as an abundance of information relative to spirituality, one might seek out what he or she considers other options.  

Again, that's not the way God intended.  He desires for us to come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, to grow in our faith - to reflect the life of a disciple - and to spend eternity with Him when we leave this world.  If we are truly regenerated by Jesus, then He has begun a process of being more and more set apart.  But, we have to be committed to spiritual growth and not leave ourselves vulnerable to the enemy's attempts to take us out spiritually.  We have the resources available, including the reinforcement of the local church and Christian media, such as Faith Radio, in order to stay devoted to the Lord.