People are Leaving the Faith; Why Did it Last so Long

A sociologist, who is a Christian, is not surprised at the shrinking faith. He is surprised it did not happen sooner. I was a practicing Christian for decades, but I also have now begun to wonder, also, how it has lasted so long. 

The link author mentions something not discussed on the Christian sites I follow. While all the sites now acknowledge number in the faith are falling, they do not discuss the seemingly inevitable cliff that lies ahead. With the percentage of young people who are not religious being much higher than older generations, the decline in those who claim to follow the faith will not be in a steady decline. It will be a dramatic drop. He predicts a decline that would normally take place over a couple generations. This one, he says, will require only 20-30 years. One has to include the disclaimer that no one can predict the future with certainty.

One thing seldom discussed was the end of the cold war. It made sense that to oppose godless Communism one should embrace a god. Once that ended U.S. citizens had sort of a permission to question the god and its faith. On top of that, the pushy nature of parts of the faith began to seem "unAmerican." Patriotism began to be found in not being religious instead of the opposite. 

Another reason we have discussed here was the rise of the internet. The number of non-believers may always have been larger than reported, but the internet allowed them to find each other. 

The third reason is in the numbers themselves.  Just as Christianity was the "norm" for decades, non-believers are becoming the norm. This acts as an obstacle for those who might consider leaving. The forces that kept Christianity popular are now helping keep non-belief popular. 

The sociologist looked at all branches of Christianity to decide which had the best barriers against decline. The one which had good fertility and the strongest barriers to escape was Mormonism he decided. Thus, it became the canary in the coal mine. If it suffers declines all others would be unable to avoid them.  Recently, Mormonism has seen declining numbers.