You are here
Why Religious 'Nones' Are Now Largest Group in the US
COMMENTARY
By the Rev. Winslow Bartholomew
www.virtueonline.org
January 31, 2024
It seems to me that the cause of this can largely be traced to the massive loss of confidence in the Christian faith triggered by the Second Vatican Council. Its sudden abandonment of most of the cultural, linguistic, and doctrinal expressions of the Catholic Church which had evolved over so many centuries sent tsunamis of shock and bewilderment through its own structures, and signalled to secular
states and cultures that the Church no longer had any credibility for its historic status.
Apart from the Orthodox churches, which have not altered their worship or ministry, the Council's ripples have also unbalanced other historic denominations such as Anglicanism, in which neither scripture nor tradition hold the same authority for the Church's identity as they did prior to the Council.
The European Commission, faced with the decision of whether or not to include the Church in the formulation of its structures, in a continent shaped and guided by the Christian faith, chose to adopt a secular model and secular theories of law based on claimed rights rather than trusted values.
This catastrophic loss of confidence by the Churches has communicated itself far and wide and the outcome is the steady expansion of secularism in Europe and Nth. America, by people who see no reason to be part of an organisation which now seeks simply to emulate the State rather than to influence it, being now unable to propose or defend a religious faith or manner of life.
It is a rather cliched analogy, but there are parallels with the Decline and Fall of the Roman empire. Once a state - or a church - loses confidence in its values, its founding documents, its leaders, its culture, it quickly collapses and is overrun by barbarians.
In this case by the Frankfurt School and cultural revolution fomented on campus.
My hope is that the current secular culture and agenda quickly burns itself out. I am starting to see signs that some people are recognising that it is not delivering any kind of utopia, and in fact in many places is descending into totalitarianism against its subjects.
In addition to this there are also some welcome signs that the free ride which has been given to Islam is now beginning to be questioned as more and more people start to realise that it is not the benign mysticism which has been painted for it, but a form of imperialism determined to impose its one-party legal system on every human being.
Remaining Christians must not lose their nerve. We are the seed and roots of future generations of church growth. What it will look like is impossible to see, but every time the fortunes of Christianity have reached their lowest ebb, it has been the faithful witness of the remnant which has ultimately flowered. The Soviet leadership mocked the Church during its time in power - "there are just a few old ladies remaining!" The end came for the Soviets, and church life, even in
kleptocratic Russia, is springing back.
We must trust the Holy Spirit to restore the Church in our own countries at the opportune moment. We must ensure that we hand on to the future the seeds that it needs.
The original story can be seen here:
https://www.faithwire.com/2024/01/25/religious-nones-are-now-largest-group-i n-the-us/
