Christian Losses Biggest on Both Coasts



The Northeastern part of the U.S., where the Puritans settled, and the West Coast are areas where the majority of polling respondents are categorized as non Christian. Springfield, MA, is the least Christian. Several cities on each coast are majority not Christian.

What is a "Christian" is always debated as I have discussed here countless times. The questions used to determine how "Christian" various area are was interesting and perhaps controversial. I cut and pasted a paragraph that listed some of the 16 questions, 13 of which had to be answered the way a "Christian" would answer them:

 To fit Barna’s label of “post-Christian,” a respondent had to meet at least 13 of 16 listed criteria, which included not believing in God, not attended church in the past six months, never made a commitment to Jesus, not prayed to God in the past week, having not read the Bible at all in the last week, believe that Jesus was not sinless, and not consider faith important in their lives.
One of the things one learns by reading the history of Christianity and by knowing a lot of Christians is that they look down on each other. There are a host of Protestant denominations and factions of Catholics and each considers it the true faith and all others somehow less. The questions asked by the Barna Group were no doubt vetted by many who were regarded as knowledgeable. This does not mean the average Christian agrees.

The questions reminded me of a definition used by author Steven Prothero when he summarized what the Jewish faith is about. From the point of view of the practicing Jew in the pews the faith is about "following rules."  The Barna Group's definition of Christianity has several "rules" used to determine if one is a Christian. Maybe one can be a Christian if he prays once a year instead of once a week. And maybe a Christian does not have to ever read the Bible. Instead of reading the boring book hearing a little about it on the news once in a while might be good enough.

Each year fewer Americans participate in the faith. This is consistent with religions of the past. Whether it will continue to fade we don't know.

 

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