March 10, 2009

God as a 'Fashion Statement'

In a single generation, the number of people in the United States who label themselves—even loosely—as Christian has gone down 11 percent. According to the latest American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), almost all church denominations have declined since the original study was conducted in 1990.

Although that may not seem like new news to many pastors, this likely will: Americans who claim no religion at all now outrank every major religious group except Catholics and Baptists. These “Nones”—a term coined by the researchers for those who answered “None” when asked about their religious affiliation—currently represent 15 percent of the population, which is almost twice as many as in 1990.

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Generic Beyond Recognition

QUOTE: “There is now this shift in the non-Catholic population—and maybe among American Christians in general—into a sort of generic, soft evangelicalism. … It looks like the two-party system of American Protestantism—mainline versus evangelical—is collapsing. ..."

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As Pastors Lean Liberal, So Goes ...

Among the driving forces behind our nation’s cultural and moral shift, here’s one that can’t be overlooked: According to one of the most far-reaching surveys recently conducted among mainline Protestant clergy, almost half (48 percent) of all ministers consider themselves liberals, compared to about one-third (34 percent) who say they are conservative.

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Church Gunman Kills Pastor

An Illinois pastor was killed Sunday morning when a gunman entered the church and opened fire during the first of three morning worship services. Fred Winters, pastor of First Baptist Church of Maryville, deflected the first of four bullets with his Bible, causing pages to fly “like confetti,” witnesses said.

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God's 'Best Will'

Lou Yuanqi, a Chinese pastor imprisoned in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region before the Beijing Olympics last year, received a verdict of “insufficient evidence” on charges that he used “superstition to undermine the law,” according to the Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) and U.S.-based persecution watchdog China Aid.

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