The Religious Revival that Never Came

In 2002 a Canadian writer regarded as an authority in religion predicted a religious revival would sweep through Canada. Instead, religion went into a nose-dive and has never recovered. Canada is ahead of the U.S.in the decline of religion but the U.S. is headed in the same direction.  

The reason for the projected increase in the faith numbers made back in 2002 was, "There is a longing out there which can only be satisfied by engaging the faith." It turned out the "longing" was not there of if it was it was satisfied with something else. What's ironic is that one can read the identical words written about the U.S. today on religious sites. It is said there is longing in today's society which will be satisfied by large numbers coming back the church. 

I suppose this comes from testimony of people who join or return to the faith. That some people claim the need experienced by recent converts can be assigned to the broader society. The facts are there is no "longing" and Christian numbers continue to fall.

The link, mostly discussing Canada, makes the observation that when the active Christian population gets down to about 10% it stabilizes. This seems plausible. I would not be surprised to see this eventually in the U.S. This would mean a large number of people in a huge country like the U.S. but, compared to today, many fewer churches and a smaller footprint in the culture and politics.

The revival predicted in 2002 never happened. If it did not happen back in 2002 what reason is there to believe a revival will happen today? There are more obstacles now than there were then.

The futile efforts to grow the faith, however, provide us with entertainment and it remains interesting to watch the wheels turn with no traction.