Poll: America Growing More Secular by the Year

Just 63% of Americans self-identified as Christian this year, a marked drop from 75% a decade ago.

Christmas is just 10 days away, and most Americans will celebrate the birth of Jesus. But a new poll from Pew shows the share of U.S. adults who consider themselves Christian is falling.

Only 63% of Americans self-identify as Christian this year, a marked drop from 75% 10 years ago.

The declining number of Americans who say they are Christian is offset by a growing number of people who call themselves atheist, agnostic or people of no particular faith. These unaffiliated Americans make up a full 29% of the U.S. population, up from 19% in 2011. Read More

“This is at least in part a reaction to the political environment,” said David Campbell, professor of American democracy at the University of Notre Dame who has written about American secularization. “Many people turning away from religion do so because they think of religion as an expression of political conservatism, or as a wing of the Republican Party. That’s especially true of white Americans. The more religion is wrapped up in a political view, the more people who don’t share that political view say, ‘That’s not for me.’”

The politicization of Christianity in people's minds is regretable. Rather than being associated with the person and work of Jesus and his character, teaching, and example, Christianity is now associated with a set of politicial views.  Those who are genuine disciples of Jesus need to reclaim the Christian faith from those for whom it is a religious window dressing for their political views. It is not a good idea for Christianity to be associated in people's minds with a particular set of political beliefs. Such an association weakens the Christian witness to a wide, diverse group of people. Jesus did not instruct us to go and make disciples from the  people who share our political views. He said said go and make them from all people groups.