A spiritual awakening
New research from the Pew Forum ...
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups.
The Atlantic has a story on this - American Religion: Complicated, Not Dead ... A new survey suggests that more people of all ages are choosing their own beliefs.
This reminded me of a book by history of Christianity scholar Diana Butler Bass ... Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. She talks about her book in this video interview below. She sees the changes in religion not as sad or scary but as hopeful ....
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups.
The Atlantic has a story on this - American Religion: Complicated, Not Dead ... A new survey suggests that more people of all ages are choosing their own beliefs.
This reminded me of a book by history of Christianity scholar Diana Butler Bass ... Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. She talks about her book in this video interview below. She sees the changes in religion not as sad or scary but as hopeful ....
posted by crystal | 11:08 AM
3 Comments:
I find this very interesting. It's actually quite predictable: most churches leave little room for growth. Once people move past the conventional stage and begin to think for themselves ("choosing their own beliefs," as the Atlantic article put it), most churches become very unwelcoming places.
That article in The Atlantic mentioned that "only slightly more than a third of those raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses stuck with the faith." A third! But again, this is predictable; there is literally zero room for post-conventional thinking in their religion.
I've never read anything by Diana Butler Bass, but that book looks interesting. Have you read it?
No, I haven't read any of her books but I've read some articles by her. She's one of those Red Letter Christians, I think. She tweets here ... https://twitter.com/dianabutlerbass ... and here's a pbs video interview ... http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2013/03/15/october-26-2012-diana-butler-bass-extended-interview/13585/
Interesting. Thanks for the link.
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