In the midst of Christianity’s decline, evangelicals continue to argue about why it’s happening—and more than that, what could end it. Today, we’ll explore their completely contradictory ideas both past and present, then match their ideas with the ‘casual dechurching’ we talked about last time.
(This post went live on Patreon on 9/6/2024. Its audio ‘cast is there too, and available to anyone by the time you see this!)
Christianity’s decline began subtly, at least around the early 1980s
When I was young, every single person I knew was a Christian of some sort. They weren’t all the same flavor of Christian, but still. At my high school in the late 1980s, Catholicism and Protestantism seemed about evenly matched in terms of raw numbers. There was one “weird kid” at my school who was rumored to have a vial of human blood and a copy of the Necronomicon in his schoolbag, but it didn’t even occur to me for years that he might not actually be Christian.
But even then, even that long ago, something remarkable and breathtaking was happening behind the scenes:
Church attendance was becoming optional and voluntary. Christians stopped being able to effectively punish anyone for not attending.
Younger Americans can’t possibly understand what it means to have church attendance be as mandatory as it’d been back in my parents’ day. Sunday mornings were for church. Nothing else was even open until at least noon—if at all on that day. The entire world seemed to hit the pause button on Sundays.
When my parents got older and more busy in the early 1980s—when I was about 10, they began skipping Mass. For some time, I dragged my little sister to Mass without them. We walked miles there and back by ourselves, with paper cups of hot apple cider to warm our little hands when the weather was cold. I felt very grown-up as I led my sister back home. All on our own, we had Done Something That Grown-Ups Do.
Of course, I was in the thick of a vast and unthinkable cultural change. These are very difficult to notice while they’re happening. More often, we realize such great shifts have occurred all of a sudden and long past their time. Between that and my very young age, then, I didn’t really understand yet just how incredibly shocking it was that so many adults weren’t making church a priority on Sundays.
Christianity’s decline had already begun. But I don’t think many people understood that truth yet. I certainly didn’t!
Christianity’s decline began to manifest in the late 1980s
When I got older and joined Pentecostalism as a teen in high school in the late 1980s, I knew by then of course that many Christians weren’t attending church. Everyone I knew was still Christian, of course. But it seemed like more Christians skipped church than faithfully attended each week.
And slowly, very slowly, businesses of all kinds began staying open on Sunday. In the newspapers I read, people began asking why Texas’ so-called ‘Blue Laws’, which forbade various kinds of shops from being open on Sunday, even existed anymore. I cruised into college, where—by the early 1990s—I finally began meeting people who were very vocally not Christian: Atheists, pagans, Muslims, and more.
Even then, though, and even with my growing understanding and perception, I did not realize that something even bigger was changing around me:
The very notion of affiliation with Christianity was becoming optional and voluntary. Christians stopped being able to punish anyone for rejecting their recruitment attempts.
That’s why these very vocally not-Christian people felt safe making themselves known, I think. They stood very little chance of getting a hefty dose of Christian love for their open rejection of my then-religion.
But it would be several more decades before that root change began to manifest in the leaves and branches of the religion tree.
Decades later, Christianity’s decline finally got real for Christians
In the early 2010s, I began paying attention to Christians again. Very quickly, I began to notice little odd details about how evangelicals in particular talked about recruitment and retention. One blog post that stands out in my memory involved an evangelical pastor complaining about people skipping church due to parking problems at her church or because of personal conflicts they’d had with church leadership. Another complained about parents choosing to attend youth sporting clubs for their kids rather than going to church on Sunday.
Posts like these blew my mind. Such reasons would have been seen as ridiculous excuses when I’d been Pentecostal. Something had changed in American culture—something absolutely huge.
To a man, Christians lived in complete denial of that change. I got into a lot of arguments about it on YouTube and other such sites with them, with none ending successfully.
Around 2015, however, their denial changed too. That is when Christians got a wallop upside the head from the Pew Research 2015 Religious Landscape Study. This monumental study showed in black and white that Christianity’s decline had begun in earnest. Churches were shrinking. More and more Christians were skipping church on Sunday. And more and more of them were walking away from Christianity itself.
The roller coaster only picked up speed from there.
Blaming Christianity’s decline (on whatever bugbear the judge hates most)
Almost ten years have passed since then. However, Christians still really haven’t dealt meaningfully with their religion’s decline. They haven’t really even been able to engage with why it’s in decline. They’re still blaming whatever element or group or people their tribe hates and fears the most.
Christians can only offer solutions based on their perception of the decline’s causes. If their perception isn’t accurate, then their subsequent solution has little chance of being effective!
Over the years, we’ve had a great time poking fun at the endless wave of non-solutions coming out of evangelicals in particular.
- A Southern Baptist report trying to play games with metrics
- Pastors trying to make church attendance sound essential and mandatory again
- Demanding Christians Jesus harder dammit
- Someone suggesting weird Christianity as the solution
- Pushing indoctrination at kids with storybooks
And that’s just in the past couple of years!
When you encounter a Christian’s non-solutions, look for the problem those non-solutions are meant to address. That problem will be what I call The Big Problem Here. Once it’s diagnosed, it’s easily resolved—in theory at least!
In reality, chances are good the non-solution is meant for a universe where that problem is both real and an actual part of Christianity’s decline.
The newest official cause of Christianity’s decline: ‘Pharisaical fallacy’
Last week, Baptist News Global offered an opinion post from J. Basil Dannebohm. I don’t know who he is, and I don’t have anything against him. We’re both fans of the American version of The Office, in fact. His post just caught my eye because of its title:
‘Unarmed truth and unconditional love’ will prevail over pharisaical fallacy
In the post, Dannebohm writes this:
In an observation worthy of a Shrute Buck, actor Rainn Wilson observed on X (formerly Twitter), “The metamorphosis of Jesus Christ from a humble servant of the abject poor to a symbol that stands for gun rights, prosperity theology, anti-science, limited government (that neglects the destitute) and fierce nationalism is truly the strangest transformation in human history.”
And of extremist right-wing Christians, he writes:
One thing always proved consistent: the individual(s) who protested the loudest usually had the shadiest secrets hidden deep within their closet. Their repetitious lament about attacks against their values and beliefs were, without fail, deflections from their own evils. It always was far more convenient to cry foul than to face their own demons and clean up their own houses. [. . .]
Am I suggesting all the leaders in the Christian nationalist movement are sinister wolves? To confidently quote former Governor Sarah Palin, “You betcha.”
He also makes an excellent point regarding the current push to enshrine the Ten Commandments into law by making their taxpayer-funded display in taxpayer-funded public schools mandatory: He asks why these nutbars aren’t pushing to get the Beatitudes on display. I really liked that observation.
To him, The Big Problem Here is obvious: right-wing extremist “sheeple” (his word; all quoted material comes from the source cited) live in fear and “don’t follow Jesus; they worship themselves.”
As a result of their fear and desire to worship themselves, they pursue a fakey-fake fake Christianity that manifests as Christian nationalism and extreme political positions.
(PS: Evangelicals in particular love to call anything they don’t like “pharisaical.” In Christianese, it means “pertaining to or in the manner of the Pharisees of the Gospels.” It means, roughly, to be rules-oriented, controlling, punitive, and missing the entire point of Jesusing. In reality, the actual first-century Pharisees weren’t at all like that. The anonymous writers of the Gospels took a lot of liberties with them to create their narratives. When you hear an evangelical use that term, then, prick up your ears: He’s about to set up an us vs. them tribalistic competition. King Him understands Jesusing, while they don’t!)
As the problem goes, so goes too the proposed solution
Having assessed The Big Problem Here, the solution springs into focus as equally obvious: Christian love, as shown through Dannebohm’s preferred flavor of TRUE CHRISTIANITY™. He even name-checks the trope in his post:
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church offers a starkly different Christian vision for our nation than the wolves and sheeple of the Christian nationalist movement. Curry writes:
Think and imagine a world where love is the way. [. . .] When love is the way — unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive — when love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again. When love is the way, we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream, and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook.
Indeed, love is the way of a true Christian walking in the light of God. Division and darkness come from the Father of Lies.
Now, Dannebohm admits that he has no way to force everyone in Christianity to accept his proposal. In fact, he seems to assert that until Christians do as he suggests, they won’t be in any moral position to force all of America to do as they command:
But as for the fallacious notion of Christian nationalism? With the various denominations of Christians themselves incapable of agreeing on a standard set of morals, how can we possibly believe we are capable or qualified to push our beliefs on others?
And he ends by asserting:
Yes, unconditional love will make Christianity great again.
I’ve heard this exact non-solution many times. Every single time, it makes me sigh from the tips of my toes up through my heart and finally from my lips.
IN THE WILD: Contradictory diagnoses and non-solutions
Christians always present a diagnosis based on their own subjective take on Christianity—and their resulting non-solutions flow from these diagnoses.
This past May, a Calvinist named Al Baker offered a diagnosis and non-solution regarding the entire exvangelical movement. To him, The Big Problem Here was that exvangelicals haven’t heard his preferred kind of preaching: Fear-based and focusing on the eternal torture that heretics and apostates richly deserve. So the solution is to somehow force exvangelicals to listen to that kind of preaching, and to make sure current evangelicals hear it so they won’t be tempted to flit away. Yes, because somehow Calvinists still haven’t threatened people often enough with their imaginary friend’s rage and bloodlust.
(In his writing, as you might guess from my description, Baker has definitely perfectly captured the utter sneering contempt and hatred Calvinists have for their tribal enemies.)
And this past June over at Outreach Magazine, Daniel Im offered his own diagnosis and non-solution. This time, The Big Problem Here is that church leaders are operating on outdated assumptions about how to grow a congregation. To attract members, their recruiters need to “focus on the interested” by casting a smaller, more focused net. Their quarry includes both Christians and non-Christians, since fakey-fake fake Christians are simply “consumers” who need to be led to TRUE CHRISTIANITY™ through the overreach and control-grabs that evangelicals call discipleship.
At the same time, recruiters should stop caring about those who aren’t interested in joining up. Because he’s a hard-sales recruiter, of course, Daniel Im calls uninterested non-Christians “Sleepers.” To Christian recruiters, we just haven’t been recruited yet, and we won’t be until Jesus strong-arms us into “loosening the soil of [our] hearts.”
(See also: The roofies of Christian evangelism; Discipleship and its many risks.)
Asking the right questions about Christians’ diagnoses of Christianity’s decline
When we run across a Christian diagnosing reasons for Christianity’s decline and then offering non-solutions based on it, we can ask critical questions of their premise and conclusion.
Al Baker, for example, assumes that exvangelicals have simply never heard his exact preferred brand of preaching. If they can be subjected to it, then they won’t leave their churches. Daniel Im thinks that somehow, discipleship fell out of style, so bringing it back would pack churches full of dedicated, ultra-fervent Christians. And J. Basil Dannebohm thinks that evangelicals have, as a group, lost touch with his own preferred flavor of Christianity. So if his god would be so kind as to strong-arm everyone into valuing that kind of Jesusing again, then Christianity’s decline is sorted forever.
Many evangelicals cherish similar errors in their hearts. More to the point, Christians all tend to assume that whatever flavor of Jesusing they like best would fix Christianity’s problems and end its decline.
But we can destroy every one of these diagnoses with ease:
- I’d be hard-pressed to find a single person using the label of “exvangelical” who hasn’t been threatened with Hell many times, guilted with Jesus’ supposed sacrifice, and constantly reminded of Yahweh’s deep bloodlust for humankind. That’s what evangelicalism is all about, especially on the Calvinist end.
- Discipleship, as evangelicals today use the term, became part of Christianity only very recently. If it could be done without abuse, it might help with retention, yes. But evangelicals inhabit a system of dysfunctional authoritarianism. They can’t prevent abuse or stop it once it’s started. Any church, group, or leader who pushes hard on discipleship, therefore, must be treated as potentially dangerous.
- Though evangelical leaders have written at length about love and charity, their flavor of Christianity does not promote these values. If an individual evangelical cherishes these values, then good. Others will enjoy that person’s kindness. If not, though, nothing can force them to exhibit those qualities.
As always, Christianity’s decline comes down to the religious marketplace
Last time we met up, we talked about a world where Christian affiliation is both voluntary and optional. For many centuries, though, it was neither. People had no choice about joining churches and supporting them. If they refused, Christian leaders could make them suffer in a variety of cruel and unusual ways.
When America became a nation, its founders made sure to erect a wall of separation between church and state. Some of them, like Thomas Jefferson, had seen what happens when a government adopts an official religion. As one site about his life remarks:
Politically, Jefferson believed that the new nation required complete religious freedom and separation of church and state. Many historians note that the broad diversity of ethnicities and religions in the thirteen colonies meant that religious freedom was necessary if the union was to be successful. This is true, but for Jefferson the political necessity of religious freedom went further. Before the Revolution, Virginia had an official church – the Church of England – and dissenters from that Church (primarily Presbyterians and Baptists) were discriminated against and seriously persecuted. This deeply disturbed Jefferson. Later in life, Jefferson referred to the early battles in this conflict as “the severest contests in which I have ever been engaged.”
But it would be centuries more before Americans truly had freedom of religion. Real freedom of religion means joining any religion or none, as one’s conscience dictates. Until about the 1980s, what we had instead was more like the freedom to join whatever Christian church we pleased.
Once we got that, though, Christianity finally took its place among all other religions in the American affiliation marketplace. It finally sat on the same shelf as all of its competitors. More than that, its value finally aligned with that of any other group—religious or not—that people could join.
That’s what actually changed. That’s what led directly to Christianity’s decline. It’s not worth the time and money being asked of members.
By now, evangelicals can’t make affiliation worth the price of joining and supporting a church. It would be too much like admitting that church growth and retention has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus. Their Dear Leaders have spent way too many years convincing the flocks that growth means Jesus-approval, while shrinking and closing means Jesus-disapproval. They’ve also spent way too many years insulting megachurches’ dazzling array of programs and member perks.
Admittedly, any Christian would find any of those false assertions hard to walk back. But in evangelicalism, it’s impossible.
Finding value for the time and money
It comes to this: Christianity’s decline has nothing to do with discipleship, emotionally-manipulative preaching, or even a loss of love. It is happening because now people can spend their time and money as they please. Because of that shift, which itself happened because of Christian leaders’ loss of temporal power, Christian groups are finally reflecting their actual value to the public.
The real Big Problem Here is that they’re not worth supporting—often even for Christians who think church attendance is very important.
It’s interesting to see how evangelicals are tackling that problem.
As we’ve seen today, many of them are simply trying to make Christianity sound more essential than it actually is. But they can call bullshit chocolate all they please. What matters is if religious consumers are willing to buy and eat it. Increasingly, they are not.
Others work tirelessly to enshrine Christian privilege into law, so it doesn’t matter what people want to support or join. This strategy remains a real threat to religious freedom, even if it would probably seriously backfire.
Others still clearly seek only to sell other Christians non-solutions to their religion’s decline. After all, it’ll be many decades before the religion becomes completely irrelevant. It’ll likely be centuries more before it finally dies out, as every other religion on Earth has ever since humans invented gods in the first place (likely tens of thousands of years ago).
So evangelicals needn’t worry. There’s still lots of time left for clever folks among them to earn a living on that money train.
NEXT UP: Speaking of, we’ll have a horrifying deep dive into the vast money-making engine chugging along under evangelical Christianity. See you soon!
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