Christianity Is Not Shrinking, But Growing Stronger

On his June 9, 2018 radio program, Rush Limbaugh shared from an article in The Federalist “New Harvard Research Says U.S. Christianity Is Not Shrinking, But Growing Stronger.” The author cites recent research from Harvard and Indiana University Bloomington stating that Christianity is not in decline at all, but only a certain brand of Christianity. Seems even churches are not immune to the liberal touch-—everything they touch they ruin. Liberal churches are closing the doors because they can’t maintain membership. Sounds a lot like the Democrat party which is nothing more than a bunch of liberals.

When the mainstream media reports church decline, of course, it is presented as a generic polling of “all Americans.” Anchors state authoritatively that this proves “OMG! droves are leaving Christianity” while they secretly clap, hoot, and holler during commercial breaks.

Can you believe that fake news has infiltrated reporting of Christianity’s statistics? Whether an intentional distortion of the numbers or leftist groups only polling “those like us,” in the end it all boils down to the same thing—fake news.

Two Must Reads

This article from The Federalist is a must read. The research is a must read. It is uplifting and explains a lot. Here is one quote which any good Christian knows to be the fulfillment of a biblical promise, the theological outcome of a “lukewarm” church:

There has been a growing gulf between the faithful and the dabblers for quite some time, with the first group growing more numerous. Think about the church you attend, relative to its belief system. It is extremely likely that if your church teaches the Bible with seriousness, calls its people to real discipleship, and encourages daily intimacy with God, it has multiple services to handle the coming crowds.
Most decent-size American cities have a treasure trove of such churches for believers to choose from. This shows no sign of changing. If, however, your church is theologically liberal or merely lukewarm, it’s likely laying off staff and wondering how to pay this month’s light bill. People are navigating toward substantive Christianity.

People don’t want fake Christianity, which is no Christianity at all, any more than they want fake news. People want the real thing. And when Jesus Christ is proclaimed faithfully, you get the real thing.

Here are Rush’s comments as he reads the article on air:

RUSH: Now, folks, here is another thing, another story that I’ll bet you didn’t see and you may not have heard about. Some of you may have. It dates back to January. It’s a Harvard research study. The version of this I have is in The Federalist, January 22, 2018. How many of you believe that the left is successfully conducting a War on Christianity and that the number of people in this country who say they’re Christian and practice Christianity is declining? Probably a lot of you are raising your hands right now.

Of course, the forces of anti-religion — which is the American left — are famous for pushing this. They want you to lose faith. They want you to be laughed at if you’re religious. They promote you feeling degraded and marginalized, because your faith is a competitor to theirs, and yours is much stronger and much more real, and they’re threatened by it. Plus, your faith helps to define morality and virtue and holdings on to certain traditions and institutions that have defined this country and its greatness — all of which they are trying to tear down.

“Oh, yeah, Rush! I see it every day. People are abandoning religion, leaving religion, leaving morality. Christianity is up a creek, ’cause it’s the only religion you can make fun of.” If you think that, you’d be wrong, at least according to this. “New Harvard Research…” Again, back in January, so we’re about seven months ago. “New Harvard Research Says U.S. Christianity Is Not Shrinking, But Growing Stronger — Is churchgoing and religious adherence really in ‘widespread decline’ so much so that conservative believers should suffer ‘growing anxiety’?”

Nope.

“Absolutely not. ‘Meanwhile, a widespread decline in churchgoing and religious affiliation had contributed to a growing anxiety among conservative believers.’ Statements like this are uttered with such confidence and frequency that most Americans accept them as uncontested truisms. … Religious faith in America is going the way of the Yellow Pages and travel maps, we keep hearing. It’s just a matter of time until Christianity’s total and happy extinction, chortle our cultural elites. Is this true? Is churchgoing and religious adherence really in ‘widespread decline’ so much so that conservative believers should suffer ‘growing anxiety’?”

According to this Harvard research: “Absolutely not. New research published late last year by scholars at Harvard University and Indiana University Bloomington is just the latest to reveal the myth. This research questioned the ‘secularization thesis,’ which holds that the United States is following most advanced industrial nations in the death of their once vibrant faith culture. Churches becoming mere landmarks, dance halls, boutique hotels, museums, and all that.

“Not only did their examination find no support for this secularization in terms of actual practice and belief, the [Harvard and Indiana University Bloomington] researchers proclaim that religion continues to enjoy ‘persistent and exceptional intensity’ in America. These researchers hold our nation ‘remains an exceptional outlier and potential counter example to the secularization thesis.’ What Accounts for the Difference in Perceptions? How can their findings appear so contrary to what we have been hearing from so many seemingly informed voices?

“It comes down primarily to what kind of faith one is talking about. Not the belief system itself, per se, but the intensity and seriousness with which people hold and practice that faith. Mainline churches are tanking as if they have super-sized millstones around their necks. Yes, these churches are hemorrhaging members in startling numbers, but many of those folks are not leaving Christianity. They are simply going elsewhere. Because of this shifting, other very different kinds of churches are holding strong in crowds and have been for as long as such data has been collected.

“In some ways, they are even growing. This is what this new research has found. The percentage of Americans who attend church more than once a week, pray daily, and accept the Bible as wholly reliable and deeply instructive to their lives has remained … constant for the last 50 years or more, right up to today.” It isn’t fading away. Now, to how many of you is this a shocking surprise? How many of you believe otherwise? I don’t know, but I would venture to say a lot of you do, simply ’cause this is what you hear. I mean, it’s everywhere.

It isn’t fading away. Now, to how many of you is this a shocking surprise? How many of you believe otherwise? I don’t know, but I would venture to say a lot of you do, simply ’cause this is what you hear. I mean, it’s everywhere.

Of course, the forces of anti-religion — which is the American left — are famous for pushing this. They want you to lose faith. They want you to be laughed at if you’re religious. They promote you feeling degraded and marginalized, because your faith is a competitor to theirs, and yours is much stronger and much more real, and they’re threatened by it. Plus, your faith helps to define morality and virtue and holdings on to certain traditions and institutions that have defined this country and its greatness — all of which they are trying to tear down.

Their failing to do it. Even though the media helps perpetuate the myth that Christianity is fading away, falling by the wayside (Catholicism in particular), it isn’t happening. You probably didn’t see this. Probably give a wide berth because mainstream media wouldn’t touch it. It flies in direct contravention of their narrative each day, that America is changing and transforming. But this is why they continue to laugh at you and make fun of Christians and Christianity and religious devotion, and it’s always going to happen.

They’re not gonna let up on it because you are competitors. —End of Rush

Of course, far be it from us to sin by not praying for these wayward churches. Pray that the false teachers are exposed. Let’s face it, they are making members “twice as much a child of hell as [them]selves” (Matt. 23:15). Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of the truth and that they will come to know the Jesus Christ of Holy Scripture. And pray for those who they’ve led astray, that they too will be convicted and seek a church where the truth of the Gospel is proclaimed.