Theology Thursday: What's this about revival?

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's question:
Is America experiencing a religious revival?

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
There’s been much talk in American Christian circles the past couple years about signs of a faith revival in our country. Christian conferences, podcasts, online chatter, and pastors in the pulpit have been quick to jump on any popular and public expression of faith and worship by a decent-sized group as apparent evidence of a widespread renewed spiritual awakening, especially among young adults.

That would be great! I can’t imagine anything more wonderful! If only it were true.

The truth is that the decades-long decline in Americans’ religious affiliation and religious activity continues unabated. There’s gobs of data on this.

According to a recent Gallup poll, fewer than half of Americans say religion is “very important” in their lives. That’s down from 75% who said it was “very important” in 1952. At the same time, the percentage who say religion is “not very important” has risen from five percent 74 years ago to 28% today.

Religious affiliation and religious activity are both down. 57% of Americans say they rarely or never attend a worship service. That’s a 15% bump since 1992. And those who identify or affiliate with no religious group or tradition whatsoever - the “nones” - are at their highest recorded level ever: 24%.  

This is a trend that gets worse with each successive generation. When Baby Boomers were in early adulthood (18-30 years old), 25% were weekly church attenders, and 14% said that they never attended religious services. Now, among Gen Z (born 1997-2012), 19% attend weekly church service, and 38% never attend religious services.

Even for those who consider themselves Christians, faith is becoming less important to them over time (more on this next week). For example, In 2008, 16% of self-identified evangelicals described their church attendance as "seldom" or "never." In 2024, 27% said the same, reporting that they went to church less than once a year.

Data like this is complex, of course. There are meaningful differences here among denominations, Catholics vs. Evangelicals, racial and geographic considerations, etc. But just about any way you slice it, the news is pretty bad. The data showed a post-Covid bump in church attendance by young adults for a season, but that seems to have disappeared in the last two years.

Michael Keller says, "We are witnessing what researchers call “the largest and fastest religious shift in U.S. history,” with over 40 million adults having left church communities in the last 25 years. Today 62 percent of US adults identify as Christians, and while Pew Research polls suggest the decline may be slowing, it’s dropped 9 points since 2014, and 16 points since 2007. At the same time, a massive 75 percent of US adults aged 18–34 do not go to church regularly, a culture-shifting number unless it changes."

If you find yourself surprised by all of this, you’re not alone. A recent Pew Research study shows that a growing number of Americans - nearly a third - believe religion’s influence is on the rise in America. Sadly, they are wrong.

The fact is that Americans are becoming increasingly less religious, and church is becoming less important to people of all ages, with accelerated disinterest down the scale from older people to younger people. It’s not a pretty picture. For those of us who care about lost souls and Jesus’ “Great Commission” to make disciples - to say nothing of those of us who care about the benefits of Christian values to society at large - this is a disturbing reality.

But it is a reality. A true revival would be amazing - may the Holy Spirit fan such a flame! - but we are simply not experiencing one right now. A true revival would be miraculous, because true revivals are always (and only) miraculous. They are not our doing, but God’s. Thus, as others have written, they cannot be manufactured.

Russell Moore - editor at-large of Christianity Today - states, “ We should pray for revival. That starts with knowing what it is. Revival is not a market or an artifact. Revival cannot be controlled; it can only be received. Revival is the wind of the Spirit…Revival doesn’t start with a blueprint or, God forbid, a marketing plan, but with a state of helplessness and dependence. When God showed Ezekiel a field full of dried-out bones and said, “Son of man, can these bones live?” the prophet responded, “O Lord God, you know” (Ezek. 37:3–4). That was the right answer. And it should be ours.”

Amen.

RELATED RESOURCE
Russell Moore’s article: A Real Revival Is Not Controllable

TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.