AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Religious life in the United States is experiencing a profound transformation. A transformation that is not limited to the decline of church affiliation but also encompasses the rearrangement of America's religious map and the emergence of new groups and institutions. While the phenomenon of the "nones" (religiously unaffiliated) has topped reports speaking of the decline of Christianity in America, a broader look shows that the country's religious situation is more complex than can be reduced merely to the rise of one religion and the decline of another.
The Washington Post, in an article by Byron Johnson and Thomas Kidd, authors of the book "The Death of Religion? The Nones, the Others, and the Flourishing of Faith," writes that religious life in America is in a state of continuous change. Meaning that some parts of it are declining rapidly, while other parts are experiencing significant growth.
Increase in the Number of the Religiously Unaffiliated in America
According to these two researchers, the increase in the number of the religiously unaffiliated has contributed to the formation of the perception that American Christianity is collapsing. The number of Americans who declare they do not belong to any particular religion has increased compared to the late 20th century. While previously many Americans identified themselves as Christian even if they had little connection to a church.
However, according to the article's authors, the religiously unaffiliated are not a homogeneous group of atheists and agnostics.
Johnson and Kidd also believe that the image presented in the media ignores another group: millions of religious Americans who regularly attend church services but whose presence is not sufficiently reflected in statistics and media coverage.
They cite research estimates showing that statistics related to religious institutions in America may have recorded the actual number of church congregations at least 25 percent lower than the real figure.
A significant portion of churches unregistered or unaccounted for in statistics relates to evangelical, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches. Churches that particularly provide religious services to Black Americans, Latinos, and newly arrived immigrants.
Some members of these churches hold their religious ceremonies in small stores or buildings belonging to other churches. The authors also point to the doubling of the number of religious congregations in the greater "Boston" area from the 1960s to the early years of the new millennium. A growth that has occurred simultaneously with the acceleration of the establishment of churches for immigrants from Haiti, Nigeria, and other countries.
The Decline of Some Churches and the Growth of Others
This article concludes that a significant part of the confusion about the state of religion in America stems from the long-term decline of mainline Protestant churches. Including the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church, which have lost large numbers of members since the 1960s and, alongside internal divisions, have faced a continuous decline in the number of followers.
In contrast, the authors believe that evangelical, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches, which have a changing social base, are regaining more momentum and prosperity. They also point to the increased presence of some young Americans in churches and the declaration of Christianity by some well-known intellectual figures.
These developments also differ based on age, geographic region, and social background. Therefore, from this article's perspective, religious transformation in America does not necessarily mean the death of religion, but rather indicates a shift in the center of gravity of religious life in a spiritual marketplace that is rapidly changing and redistributing its followers among new institutions and currents.
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